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Question about printing from Illustrator...

oldirty

Hey, there is probably a really simple answer to this, but I can't figure it out...

I am trying to print a bunch of pages for my portfolio-they are 9"wide, 6"tall, full bleed, and double sided. I can't figure out how to do this direct from Illustrator-even when the print preview does not show the artboard, the printer ends up printing a border which I don't want. I am doing this from my Mac laptop. So, that's it-does anyone know how to set it up so that I can print irregular size full bleed sheets from Illustrator on the Mac? I know this is a simple question, but I have been really frustrated trying to figure this out and any help would be appreciated. And if no one out there knows the answer, the name of a reasonable, helpful print shop in Manhattan that could do this for me would be appreciated as well. Thanks.

 
Feb 27, 06 11:35 pm
manamana

One thing I don't follow, are you trying to print borderless on 9x6 pieces of paper, or are you using a larger paper size with crop marks and bleed in order to have it cut down later?

It sound like it's probably the former. if so, it's a printer thing and not an illustrator thing. make sure your printer can print borderless with an irregular page size. if it can, you will need to enable it in the print settings.

either way, you can make your life easier by compiling all your illustrator pages into a multi-page PDF via either acrobat pro or indesign, if you have one or both

Feb 28, 06 1:38 am  · 
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A Center for Ants?

yeah... i agree w/ manamana . bleeds are usually defined by the printer and paper not the software.

even if some printers claim to be "full bleed" sometimes it's with special paper that's essentially perforated. my easy solution is to print to a 8.5x11 and trim...

Feb 28, 06 2:09 am  · 
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8888

i'm a pc person not a mac person, but i know for full bleed in illustrator on a pc you need to go to your print properties and mess around with the paper settings.
usually certain higher grade papers will give you a full bleed option while plain paper will not even make that option apparent. click around in your print setup in illustrator and see what choices become available when you change your paper types.

Feb 28, 06 9:03 am  · 
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oldirty

actually, screw it...can anyone just recommend a reasonable priced and knowledgeable print shop in Manhattan? I am sick of wasting my time on this by myself.

Thanks for all the advice from you guys-I am just slow at this-I should have just done this at letter size single sided and saved myself the grief.

Feb 28, 06 5:14 pm  · 
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mightylittle™

Hey it sounds like you might be done with the hassle anyway,but here's my two cents.

Unless you have a fancy-pants high end off set printer (Most of which won't do it either) you'll never be able to directly print with a full bleed. No matter what your software. And what prints 6" x 9" anyway?

The best to see what I mean is this...Set your illustrator options to full bleed. (Using the page setup dialog, there's an option for slugs, bleeds and crops.)

Then print from illustrator to a pdf like manamana mentioned, and then print to your printer. You will notice that the onscreen version of your prints look great. Full bleed and everything, but then your prints will come out with a border.

The printer will always need to hold onto the paper somewhere, and that's why there's a white border.

What you'll need to do (And what I did for my M.Arch portfolio) is use an artboard sized like you did at 9 x 6 or so, print it out and cut 'em yourself. Or have someone cut 'em for you.

Long story short, you always need to print, and then cut down to size. That's how the print shop will do it too.

If you want a full bleed on 8.5 x 11, you'll need to print on oversize paper and cut it down too.

sorry i was a little late in getting to you...but just so you know you're efforts weren't completely in vain.

Mar 1, 06 12:04 am  · 
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mightylittle™

@ least that's my xperience. ymmv.

Mar 1, 06 1:34 am  · 
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tagalong

don't print from illustrator...saving as a pdf and printing from acrobat is much more straight forward and safer.

Mar 1, 06 1:40 am  · 
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