crop marks on a two sided print

[Cimbian]

I need to print on two sides (20 copies of an 8cm x 5cm business card on a
sheet of A3).

I need the crop marks on the first side, but not on the other as they do not
line up properly however, if I disable the crop marks publisher 'helpfully'
closes up the gaps and increases the number of copies per sheet on this
side.... Aaaaargh!

Any ideas on how to stop this OR how to print the crop marks 'invisibly'
without printing to EPS and then editing the 'picture'?

Help, I am running out of time!

 

[Mary Sauer]

Separate the publication into two publications. Manually create the second page, i.e.
setup up the A3 page, use the arrange menu for your guidelines and margins. Copy the
second page from the original document and paste into each cell you created.

 

[Cimbian]

Thanks for your help, I suppose this method was a little too obvious for me ;-)

 

[Cimbian]

Hi Rob,

Forgive me but how does that solve the printing of the crop marks?

I will still get them on both sides or have all the work crunched together.

Publisher should have an option to use the crop mark spacing on page two but
without printing them..... or have I missed something?

 

[Cimbian]

Hi Rob,

If I switch them off then Publisher decides to 'help' me and reformats the
printout to be 5 x 5 pages per sheet, rather then the 4 x 4 that I will have
on page 1.... therefore, back and front will not line-up.

Regards,

Cimbian

 

[Cimbian]

Yes, if using crop marks.

Mary's suggestion using guidlines would work but this really doesn't sound
like the right solution as Publisher should be aware of the problem and
handle it... IMHO

Cimbian

 

[Mary Sauer]

It is almost impossible to get a correct line-up, especially if you are printing with
an inkjet. I have a super duper laser printer and I cannot get the back to line up
with the front even with a duplex unit. It isn't much of a shift, but it is
noticeable on smaller publications. It has to do with the way the printer feeds the
stock, it is not a Publisher issue. You might avoid this shift if you take your file
to a commercial printer or use a copier machine.

 

[Cimbian]

Mary,

It is precisely because of this slight misalignment with personal printers
that I want to be able to retain the 'with crop marks' layout but without
printing them on page two (or printing them but without a line colour).

I can live with a slight misalignment for the actual copy as they are not
referenced 'through' the page to each-other.

To me this seems like a relatively simple fix for MS but would make peoples
lives soooo much easier. After all, Publisher is not a 'serious' tool for the
'serious' pro that has access to 'serious' print services (I can hear the
"hang 'im high" complaints now).

I am a small businessman with a simple need to produce low-cost brochures,
flyers, cards etc. for my own use. Some stuff is sent to the pros for
printing, but they generally do not like .pub format files however, the bulk
of it I print on a selection of printer formats that I have here in the
office.

I use Publisher 'cause it came bundled with my PC and cash is, as usual, a
constraint however, I spend quite a lot of time 'faffing' about with small
issues like this one.... maybe I really should cost my own time ;-)

Regards,

Cimbian

 

[Mary Sauer]

It isn't just MS, I get the same shift no matter what program and it is always the
same amount of misalignment.

Have you tried rotating the contents of the second page 180 degrees and feeding it in
your printer basically upside down? I found this is prevents the shift. (I did
experiment). You have to remember if you have images they will have to be flipped as
well as rotated.

 

[Ed Bennett]

You have to remember if you
have images they will have to be flipped as well as rotated.

Why?

 

[Ed Bennett]

To me this seems like a relatively simple fix for MS but would make
peoples lives soooo much easier.

No no NO!

Mary clearly said that the problem was not in Publisher but in the printer.

The printer has to pick up the stock perfectly and exactly the same every
time in order to not get a malalignment. Microsoft has no control over the
accuracy of your printer, and so cannot fix this with a "simple software
fix".

If you haven't already, you will need to make sure that your paper guides
are as tight to the edge of the paper as they can get without causing the
paper to buckle upwards or bend.

 

[Mary Sauer]

If you want two images to be exactly lined up and you use the process I used, then
the second image has to be flipped.
I tried this method in Publisher and Corel. It works perfectly. Forever I have wanted
to do back to back images and never was able to accomplish the feat. Now I know how.

 

[Ed Bennett]

If you want two images to be exactly lined up and you use the process
I used, then the second image has to be flipped.
I tried this method in Publisher and Corel. It works perfectly.
Forever I have wanted to do back to back images and never was able to
accomplish the feat. Now I know how.

I don't think I understand what you're doing, as I still can't see why you
would flip the image.

 

[Mary Sauer]

When you use a duplex unit or even manually...
Try this on your printer.
Create an image, copy, on page two paste the image. It is in the same position. If
you don't flip the image they will not be the same front and back. One side will face
left; the other right. With the misalignment they still won't be exactly back to back
but it will be close. The original poster wouldn't have to flip the image because it
doesn't matter, I am only suggesting a way to do a back to back card of any stripe
that will be exact.
I made some goldfish for a magnet fishing thing, the fish never did align. Can do
now.