6x4 Post Cards on a line printer

[dgerdner]

I need to print 6" wide by 4" high post cards on a tractor fed matrix printer.

I would think through Page Setup I could define this as a User Defined size, but when I define the height and width Crystal switches from Portrait to Landscape - which is not at all what I want - and I cannot override it.

I need it to be 6" wide, 4" high, but print portrait (ie: in line printer terminology, "horizontally") not landscape (ie: "sideways").

 

[DataDog]

In Crystal, I would start by going to File / New / Mailing Label Report. Because a 6x4 mailing label is what your basically trying to accomplish. When it comes time, either pick an Avery Label or go to user defined and put in your own #s. Just set the Horizontal and vertical Gaps to Zero.

Good Luck

DataDog
If God wanted us to count in Hexadecimal, then why did he only give us A fingers?

 

[dgerdner]

I've tried that, but it's not working. As I said, I cannot put in the combination of "Portrait", 6" wide, 4" high. Crystal flat won't let you define "Portrait" if the width is more than the height.

So I have tried defining the form as 6" by 12"; with 3 per form. But when you print the system does not recognize the idea of 12" paper, so it assumes 11" and prints them as if the're to be squeezed into 11 inches rather than 12.

 

[DataDog]

Scratch the User Defined....
Select "Index/Post Card (Avery 5389)" which is already set up for 6X4!

DataDog
If God wanted us to count in Hexadecimal, then why did he only give us A fingers?

 

[DataDog]

What Version of Cyrstal you running? I'm running XIr2 and I can set my Page SetUp to Protrait, no problem. Granted, I don't have a tractor feed matrix printer, but that should cause any problem. However, can you print Portrait to another printer?

DataDog
If God wanted us to count in Hexadecimal, then why did he only give us A fingers?

 

[dgerdner]

Crystal 2008. It will let me choose "portrait", naturally. But if I proceed to define a page size in which the width is greater than the height, it immeidately changes it to "landscape."

btw, I did start by going through the wizard, and selected the Avery 5839 because I saw that it was 6x4. But when you're finished and look at "Page Setup" you'll see that it's wanting to print on a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper; because the Avery postcard is, in fact, two postcards on an 8.5 x 11 paper, with perforations that allow you to "punch out" the labels.

My labels are literally 6x4, with tractor feed guides on each side.

 

[DataDog]

I guess I'm at a loss here. Have you or anyone else ever been able to accomplish this type of project with this printer? Different Version of Crystal? Different BI Tool (i.e Cognos)? Different OS (Meaning a different Printer Driver)? As you can see, I'm grabbing at straws here. By the way, after selecting 6X4, in Design View, I do see a box that is 6 inches wide and it won't let you put a field outside it.

DataDog
If God wanted us to count in Hexadecimal, then why did he only give us A fingers?

 

[dgerdner]

I've pretty much figured it out.

First, yes, with any old-fashion tool (Cobol, etc) this was very easy. Also, I can create an HTML file with Linefeeds embedded and make it work.

The problem is simply that Crystal will always want to pick one of the pre-defined paper sizes for the printer.

So the solution was to create a new form in Windows (Control Panel, Printers and Faxes, File -> Server Properties.

This, however, is only half the solution. You still cannot define 6x4 or Crystal will shove it into Landscape mode. So I created a form 6x8 and designed the Crystal report to print 2 per page.

The user then needs to select the printer, and use the "Advanced" function to set the Paper Size to 6x8. I'm trying to set that programatically in Crystal to save the user that step, but I'm still having problems with that.

This is probably confusing to anybody who doesn't have to deal with tractor fed printers -- because when you're dealing with laser printers everything is based on letter or legal size forms; even if the labels, postcards, etc are another size they're still placed upon an 8.5 x 11 paper so the problem doesn't come up.

 

[DataDog]

So does the Printer Driver for this printer exist? at all? It sounds like it doesn't (thus you're forced to "Build your own") Is that correct? I wouldn't be surprised since tractor feed paper is quite old technology.

DataDog
If God wanted us to count in Hexadecimal, then why did he only give us A fingers?