Printing cut by margins

[Kurt Pfeifle]

> Hi, I've made a PostScript file with background image that fills all the paper. When I previewed it in GhostView, it showed normally. But when I printed it with a printer, the background image was cut a few milimeters by the top, right, left and bottom margin. What I don't understand is how come in GhostView there's no margin whatsoever but when it is printed, there's margins in the top, bottom, left, and right side of the page? Can anybody tell me how to remove this margins so that I can print the background image in its full image?
>
> Thanks in advance.


Ghostview "prints" on a medium that has no physical limitations re. its borders.

Most printers do have such a limitation (and it is described in the printer's PPD; search for "ImageableArea"). Sometimes vendors play safe, and use a higher margin in their PPD description than what the engine actually can handle and fill with ink/toner.

The CUPS filters read the PPD and send only the ImageableArea to the machine. If you hack the PPD, CUPS sends a "bigger" image, and you can see if the printer's mechanics actually do support that (or not).

If it is a PostScript printer, just send the test page:

  lp -d printername -o raw /usr/share/cups/data/testprint.ps

and the black frame printed on it (if any) and the details reported in the printed info boxes will show what the printer's internal interpreter reports about its capabilities. (If you print the testpage to a non-PS printer, you can't use "-o raw", and the printout will reflect what is layed down in the PPD...)