Re: quick request for help; changing printer's and formatting; angry boss

[Bill Bledsoe <bill -dot- bledsoe -at- CMS-STL -dot- COM>]

To add, and slightly alter Robert's comments about this...
Robert Plamondon wrote:

> This is the Age of Science.  Surely you can make the experiment.

Yes you can do this.  Different printers will most commonly have,
different distances from the edge of the page that they can print on.
Test printer A and printer B by putting some text at about .63in from
the bottom and top of a page.  That's the limit for an HP LaserJet 4.
Any HP before that was about .66, after the LJ4 is really close to
that.  There are also limits for the sides as well.  Your printer manual
will tell you what those limits are.  Bottom/top limits can certainly
have an effect on where pages "wrap" and "break."

>
>
> In any event, no competently designed program reformats a document
> just because you changed from one printer to another (presumably
> with the same size of paper in it).  But there are plenty of
> incompetently designed programs out there.  Some are the "industry
> standard."

Well... if it were up to just the program, then I'd agree.
Unfortunately, there are also:

* hardware limitations (as described above)
* in Windows, Printer Driver differences
* differences in "installed fonts" for printers... (Believe it or not,
there can be versions of Times New
  Roman)

so, it is not just the word processor that does the formatting... this
is especially true in Windows.

> I have seen the effect you mention, but can't remember which
> program it was.  PageMaker?  Quark?  One of the kludgier
> packages, in any event.

you can add Frame for Windows and Word for Windows onto that list.

Bottom line to the original poster, you're not nuts.  You boss doesn't
have enough technical knowledge to know about printer differences.  Does
he/she have pointy hair perhaps???  ;-)

ciao,
--
****************************************************
Bill Bledsoe
Senior Technical Writer - CMS
Bill -dot- Bledsoe -at- cms-stl -dot- com or intlidox -at- anet-stl -dot- com

Prediction 4
"The people who are studying Tai Chi Chuan instead
of saving money are planning to beat us up and take
our stuff when we've retired"

Scott Adams - The Dilbert Future
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