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Scribus => Beginner Talk => Topic started by: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 04:17:25 AM

Title: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 04:17:25 AM
Several weeks ago I downloaded Scribus 1.4.0Rc2 and have spent considerable time working with it to learn how to use it. I am writing a book and have the first chapter completed with Headers, Page Numbers and Line underneath. The first page of the chapter also has a Chapter title. Everything looks great but, unfortunately, when I go to print it the Body Text on the first page does not print even though it shows up clearly on the computer monitor. All other pages print perfectly. I have searched everywhere trying to find out why when I try to print the Body Text does not print. :(

Could someone help me with this problem. If you can't help me correct this situation can you help me work around it?

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: John_Jason_Jordan on April 15, 2011, 04:41:55 AM
Printing directly from Scribus is often a problem. I recommend exporting as PDF and then printing the PDF from Adobe Reader or whatever PDF viewer you use.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 05:02:10 PM
When I try to print to PDF I get the same results--No Body Text on first page. :(

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Christen_Anderson on April 15, 2011, 06:08:51 PM
Quote from: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 04:17:25 AM
Everything looks great but, unfortunately, when I go to print it the Body Text on the first page does not print even though it shows up clearly on the computer monitor. All other pages print perfectly. I have searched everywhere trying to find out why when I try to print the Body Text does not print. :(

Just a thought.....do you by any chance have the first page body text on a different layer than the rest of the text? if so, check and see if printing is disabled for that layer.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: John_Jason_Jordan on April 15, 2011, 06:14:27 PM
Quote from: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 05:02:10 PMWhen I try to print to PDF I get the same results--No Body Text on first page. :(

Are you _printing_ to PDF from Scribus (e.g., with a print to PDF utility) or are you _exporting_ to PDF from Scribus. If the former, try the latter. If the latter, check in Scribus Preferences for the font you are using for the missing text.

Also, try opening a new document, create just one simple text frame, and fill it with some text, then set the font for the frame to the same font as in your original document.

You may also have found a bug, in which case it is very important to report it at bugs.scribus.net.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 09:05:29 PM
Hi Guys! Thanks for your input. I redid page 1 and now it works like a charm. Also, I now believe the problem was that I upgraded the program while in the middle of this.

Now I have some additional questions if I could avail myself of your expertise:

How can I substitute the new page I just did for the old page that does not work?

In order for text to flow from page to page I had to put all the Body Text in first and then add other Text Boxes. Is there a simpler way to do this?

I put the page numbers in manually. Exactly how, step by step, do I set this up to do this automatically.

Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: John_Jason_Jordan on April 15, 2011, 11:45:33 PM
Quote from: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 09:05:29 PMHow can I substitute the new page I just did for the old page that does not work?

You can import pages with Page > Import. Or you could select all the items on the new page and copy them to the Scrapbook, then drag them from the Scrapbook into the old page.

Quote from: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 09:05:29 PMIn order for text to flow from page to page I had to put all the Body Text in first and then add other Text Boxes. Is there a simpler way to do this?

You can make text frames appear automatically with a checkbox on the New document dialog box. They will also be automatically linked.

Quote from: Bob P on April 15, 2011, 09:05:29 PMI put the page numbers in manually. Exactly how, step by step, do I set this up to do this automatically.

There is an option to create page numbers, but I prefer to do it on a master page. First, open the default master page (or create a new one), then use the Insert menu to add a page number where you want it. Finally, apply the master page to all the document pages that you want to display the page number. If you haven't figured out master pages yet, this is a good time to learn. Master pages are very handy time-savers.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 17, 2011, 05:03:37 PM
I have finished the first chapter of my book and am trying to convert to PDF file so I can print the four pages on front and back of an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet using my Canon Duplexe printer. (Each page of my book will be 5 1/2 X 8 1/2)  When I do this my PDF file is reduced in size. I have worked with this extensively and I can arrange the pages in the proper order for printing but the pages have been reduced significantly in size. I feel like there is something I am missing here. Perhaps someone can give me a clue about what is going on.  :(

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Meho R. on April 18, 2011, 11:19:43 AM
I personally would recommend you to create a normal PDF from Scribus, normal page sizes, normal page order... After that, you can use one of imposition tools described here (http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/PDF,_PostScript_and_Imposition_tools#Multiplatform).

Also, if you're using Adobe Reader for print, pay attention to "Page Scaling" option in Print dialog, it is turned on by default and scales page automatically which is probably what you do not want it to do.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 22, 2011, 07:58:55 PM
Quote from: Meho R. on April 18, 2011, 11:19:43 AM
I personally would recommend you to create a normal PDF from Scribus, normal page sizes, normal page order... After that, you can use one of imposition tools described here (http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/PDF,_PostScript_and_Imposition_tools#Multiplatform).

Also, if you're using Adobe Reader for print, pay attention to "Page Scaling" option in Print dialog, it is turned on by default and scales page automatically which is probably what you do not want it to do.

I have made progress in using Scribus but am at a stalemate in getting a document printed. I have PDFill PDF Writer installed and have taken your advice and have installed Bookbinder program on my computer but I am not getting good results. I print to PDFill to get a PDF. Then when I go to Bookbinder for the Imposition clicking on Generate Document seems to take me to Adobe Reader. It appears that since I don't have Acrobat it cannot produce a PDF so I get a blank document. Could you help me sort out this mess so that I can produce a chapter of my book in Scribus, Print to PDFill for a PDF, Impose in Bookbinder and print on my Canon Duplexe Printer?

I shall be grateful if you (or someone) can help me over the hurdle. 
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Meho R. on April 23, 2011, 01:08:31 AM
First, I wouldn't use any of PDF creators/distillers to "print" a document from Scribus to PDF. Scribus excels in PDF creation so use its own way: File > Export > Save as PDF (or simply click PDF icon on the toolbar).

Now, for imposition tools. If bookbinder doesn't work for you (though it should; check your home dir for a new folder named after the PDF you're imposing), try multivalent, it's very nice little app, despite the fact that you'll be using commands via Terminal/Command Prompt. If you're ready to give it a try, download the file from here (http://www.mediafire.com/?t80sqnx9mmtbzyg) (this is an older version which includes all necessary tools, unlike the last version). Here's an example command (on Linux, Multivalent.jar and PDF docs in the same folder; for Windows check here (http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/How_to_make_impositions_with_Multivalent)):

java -cp Multivalent.jar tool.pdf.Impose -dim 2x1 -verbose -paper-size "11x8.5in" -layout "2,3,4,1" Test.pdf

An example file with Scribus file, bookbinder and multivalent outputs can be downloaded from here (http://www.mediafire.com/?7955wog4d895b7s).
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 23, 2011, 04:07:38 AM
Quote from: Meho R. on April 23, 2011, 01:08:31 AM
First, I wouldn't use any of PDF creators/distillers to "print" a document from Scribus to PDF. Scribus excels in PDF creation so use its own way: File > Export > Save as PDF (or simply click PDF icon on the toolbar).

Now, for imposition tools. If bookbinder doesn't work for you (though it should; check your home dir for a new folder named after the PDF you're imposing), try multivalent, it's very nice little app, despite the fact that you'll be using commands via Terminal/Command Prompt. If you're ready to give it a try, download the file from here (http://www.mediafire.com/?t80sqnx9mmtbzyg) (this is an older version which includes all necessary tools, unlike the last version). Here's an example command (on Linux, Multivalent.jar and PDF docs in the same folder; for Windows check here (http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/How_to_make_impositions_with_Multivalent)):

java -cp Multivalent.jar tool.pdf.Impose -dim 2x1 -verbose -paper-size "11x8.5in" -layout "2,3,4,1" Test.pdf

An example file with Scribus file, bookbinder and multivalent outputs can be downloaded from here (http://www.mediafire.com/?7955wog4d895b7s).

I was unaware that Scribus has a builtin PDF application. I downloaded Multivalent.jar along with the Test file and the example file as you suggested. All worked beautifully. When I followed your instructions to produce a PDF file of my Book chapter I, once again, wound up with a blank file in Adobe Reader. Apparently, there is something wrong with my document. Could it be that I actually have a Master file instead of a regular document? If so, how can I find out or, better still, how can I convert the file to a document file?

Needless to say, this is driving me up the wall.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on April 23, 2011, 10:56:56 AM
Quote from: Bob P on April 22, 2011, 07:58:55 PM
Then when I go to Bookbinder for the Imposition clicking on Generate Document seems to take me to Adobe Reader. It appears that since I don't have Acrobat it cannot produce a PDF so I get a blank document.

You must be doing something totally wrong. Bookbinder does not need Adobe Acrobat, it will take one input PDF and create one or several output PDFs. The PDFs created can then be opened by any PDF reader.

Bookbinder should not launch any other program.

I launch Bookbinder3.0.jar, go to File and Open Input PDF.

The in the upper left corner I can see the number of pages and the page size of the input PDF.

I chose Booklet and click on Generate Document. Bookbinder the creates a folder with the name of the document and the suffix "-files". There I get two files, one for the fronts of the sheets and one for the backs (this is because I told Bookbinder that my printer is simplex).

Nowhere in this process is Acrobat used.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Meho R. on April 23, 2011, 02:17:44 PM
Quote from: Bob P on April 23, 2011, 04:07:38 AM
...I was unaware that Scribus has a builtin PDF application.
High-quality PDF output is one of the greatest features of Scribus. Actually, it's so good that I always use Scribus as the last phase in graphics preparation process, save them as PDFs and include them in projects I'm working on. Works beautifully every time.
Quote
I downloaded Multivalent.jar along with the Test file and the example file as you suggested. All worked beautifully. When I followed your instructions to produce a PDF file of my Book chapter I, once again, wound up with a blank file in Adobe Reader. Apparently, there is something wrong with my document. Could it be that I actually have a Master file instead of a regular document? If so, how can I find out or, better still, how can I convert the file to a document file?

Needless to say, this is driving me up the wall.
Can you present first 3-4 pages of your document for people here to inspect? Or put some dummy text instead of the original one and post the .sla file here. It's hard to say anything without an example file...
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 23, 2011, 04:43:11 PM
I produced a Test document in Scribus without using Master Pages. I printed to PDF and I had no problem with it. It looks like the problem has something to do with using the Master Page feature. I am going to redo my chapter document without using Master Pages and see how that works out. In the meantime, If anyone can come up with any other ideas, I will welcome them.

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Meho R. on April 23, 2011, 07:24:46 PM
But that still doesn't solve the problem. You really should post an example .sla which uses master pages and results in the empty first page so people can inspect it. I've never encounter any problems of this kind, though I use master pages in all my projects.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on April 23, 2011, 07:40:37 PM
I think the issue is that Scribus uses layers (a perfectly legal PDF feature) for the Master pages (since Master pages work as a background).

I think someone suggested to export as PDF 1.3, I think that is an older PDF version that does not support layers, thus Scribus will flatten the file. If the PDF reader can not handle layers this will probably give a working PDF. And it will show that the bug is in the PDF reader, not in Scribus. If the PDF reader can open PDF files of newer versions it should support all features of that PDF version, or it is defective.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 26, 2011, 12:54:44 AM
An update.  I redid the chapter document from scratch. I printed to PDF. Then I used Bookbinder to do the imposing choosing to go for using the duplexing feature of my printer. I could never get this to work. There seemed to be a conflict between Adobe Reader and my printer software. The next day I tried to go back to the new document and print to pdf again. This time I again got a blank pdf. After repeated effort and no success I decided to reboot my computer. (I seldom shut down my computer.) After rebooting I tried again to get a good pdf and this time I was successful. I used Bookbinder and this time I chose the option to produce a file for each side. Everything worked out well except for one minor glitsch on the part of Bookbinder. It switched inside margin to outside margin and vice versa.

I'll let you know the outcome of this.

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on April 26, 2011, 07:19:29 AM
Quote from: Bob P on April 26, 2011, 12:54:44 AM
I printed to PDF.

I really hope you mean you used Scribus feature to export to a PDF. Scribus printing sometimes seem to have glitches, most people never print from Scribus but instead export to PDF and print from Adobe Reader. So using a "PDF printer" and printing from Scribus is not recommended.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on April 26, 2011, 03:41:43 PM
When I say print to pdf I do mean that I export to pdf. I took the advice of from this forum and would not attempt to print directly from Scribus. All the knowledge gained from this forum is gradually coming together.

Thanks,
Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on May 01, 2011, 04:35:00 AM
Update 2. I know you guys are tired of my posting but I am getting real close to getting what I want.

I have learned that I can get close by exporting my document to PDF from Scribus. I then can print it from Adobe Reader vs. 10 by using the booklet settings which also uses the Duplex feature of my printer. The results look nice but Adobe shrinks the page—I suppose, to compensate for an unprintable area. This presents no problem for the height of the page but I would like to get just what my page looks like in Scribus. My inside margin is set to .750 in. the Body Text is set to 4.125 in. and outside margin is set to .625 in. When I fold the 8 ½ X 11 sheet in half to obtain a book page of 5 ½ X 8 ½ I get the following. Inside margin is approximately .750 in. (Close enough), Body Text is approximately 3.875 in. (.250 narrow) and outside margin approximately .875 in. (.250 wide).

I have not tried to compensate for this by changing margin settings in Scribus. I don't know if this would work or not.

Is there a program that will impose and also handle the printing to avoid Adobe Reader? What about PSUtils? Will it work for this?

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on May 02, 2011, 09:45:34 AM
There is (or at least should be) a setting in the Adobe Reader print dialog regarding scaling pages.

It is by default set to "scale to paper size", I mostly change it to "reduce large pages" (because I don't want Adobe Reader to blow up small things, but also want to be able to print A3 pages on the printer with only A4 paper), but it you want to keep the margins correct you should set it to "never scale".

(The settings I mention are probably not exactly called that, I have swedish Adobe Reader so I had to translate.)
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on May 02, 2011, 05:20:05 PM
I am including a screen print showing the settings for printing in Adobe Reader. (If it works. I have never done this before.) You will note that Page Scaling is set for Booklet which precludes any other settings. I have compensated for the print problem shown in my most recent post by changing the settings in Scribus. This produces pretty much what I was striving for so if no one else has a better solution I can live with it. The downside of this is that should I decide to have the book printed commercially I will have to change Scribus back to the original settings which will be a lot of work.

If the Screenshot of Adobe is not attached I will try again.

Bob

[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on May 03, 2011, 08:16:02 AM
You should impose the PDF to a booklet using some other software and then print. Then you can set page scaling to None.

Are you sure you are not including bleed in the PDF?
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on May 03, 2011, 03:02:37 PM
I tried to Google the issue and it seems that more people have problems with Adobe Reader shrinking the pages for booklet printing. But no solution.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on May 04, 2011, 03:57:25 AM
Quote from: Nermander on May 03, 2011, 08:16:02 AM
You should impose the PDF to a booklet using some other software and then print. Then you can set page scaling to None.

Are you sure you are not including bleed in the PDF?

I tried imposing in Bookbinder a number of times last week. Bookbinder created its PDFs but when I clicked on the file it immediately opened in Adobe Reader so I still had the problem. That's the reason I asked in an earlier post if someone knew of a program where I could print from the same program that handled the imposition to avoid Adobe Reader. I also asked if anyone was familiar with PSUtils and if it would avoid Adobe. No one posted regarding this so that did not help.

Still hoping someone comes up with a solution.

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on May 04, 2011, 07:42:17 AM
I do not understand why the file opens in Adobe Reader. Bookbinder uses a normal Open File dialog and should only open the file itself. You must be doing something wrong or have a serious problem with your installation.

You could always try Multivalent, but it requires some crafting of the command line to use.

Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Meho R. on May 04, 2011, 03:23:21 PM
Quote from: Bob...
I tried imposing in Bookbinder a number of times last week. Bookbinder created its PDFs but when I clicked on the file it immediately opened in Adobe Reader so I still had the problem.
You mean, clicked on the created PDF file? Then install another PDF reader (e.g. PDF-XChange (http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer) is a good one), right click on the PDF file > Open With... and choose that another reader. I'm beginning to lose a clue what the actual problem here is. Having pages imposed correctly using multivalent, then printing them with Page Scaling set to none should do, even in Adobe Reader.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on May 04, 2011, 07:47:10 PM
O.K. Here, exactly, is what I do.

In Scribus I open the document I want to print. I click File>Export>Save As PDF. This, of course, produces a file with the same name except .PDF instead of .SLA. I then open Bookbinder, click on File>Open Input PDF. I find the file I want to print and in Bookbinder make the settings I want. I then click Generate Document. I find the folder where all Bookbinder files are stored and find the file I want to print. Right clicking the file tells me it will open in Adobe Reader (default) with the opportunity to change it to a program of my choice. I tried to open it in Word and Word crashed. I tried sending it to PDFill, a PDF writer which I have on my computer but when the file opened in PDFill it had that diagonal text on it which one finds frequently in trial programs. I would try Multivalent but I am not familiar with the process of using Command Lines. If the free version of PDF-Xchange will work on this I will download it and give it a try. I am even willing to learn how to do Command Line if someone will walk me through it.

Thanks,

Bob
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: John_Jason_Jordan on May 04, 2011, 10:22:43 PM
Quote from: Bob P on May 04, 2011, 07:47:10 PMO.K. Here, exactly, is what I do.
In Scribus I open the document I want to print. I click File>Export>Save As PDF. This, of course, produces a file with the same name except .PDF instead of .SLA. I then open Bookbinder, click on File>Open Input PDF. I find the file I want to print and in Bookbinder make the settings I want. I then click Generate Document. I find the folder where all Bookbinder files are stored and find the file I want to print. Right clicking the file tells me it will open in Adobe Reader (default) with the opportunity to change it to a program of my choice. I tried to open it in Word and Word crashed. I tried sending it to PDFill, a PDF writer which I have on my computer but when the file opened in PDFill it had that diagonal text on it which one finds frequently in trial programs. I would try Multivalent but I am not familiar with the process of using Command Lines. If the free version of PDF-Xchange will work on this I will download it and give it a try. I am even willing to learn how to do Command Line if someone will walk me through it.

I haven't been following this story, so I am not aware of what OS you are on. But regardless, there are other PDF viewers besides Adobe Reader. I know Foxit and Cabaret have free versions for Linux and Windows, and there are probably others. I would suggest they are worth a try. And if it turns out there is a bug in Scribus, once you are sure that it is a bug, please post it on bugs.scribus.net.
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on May 05, 2011, 07:36:15 AM
Quote from: Bob P on May 04, 2011, 07:47:10 PM
I find the folder where all Bookbinder files are stored and find the file I want to print. Right clicking the file tells me it will open in Adobe Reader (default) with the opportunity to change it to a program of my choice.
Yes, since Bookbinder creates a PDF (or several, depending on the settings) this is logical. Why don't you open the PDF in Adobe Reader and print it??
Quote
I tried to open it in Word and Word crashed.
Word can not open PDF...
Quote
I tried sending it to PDFill, a PDF writer which I have on my computer but when the file opened in PDFill it had that diagonal text on it which one finds frequently in trial programs.
Isn't PDFill intended to create a PDF? If you already have a PDF, why try to open it with PDFill??

What is it you are trying to do with the PDF created by Bookbinder? I thought you wanted to print it??
Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Bob P on May 09, 2011, 03:37:18 AM
If the free version of PDF-Xchange will work on this I will download it and give it a try. I am even willing to learn how to do Command Line if someone will walk me through it.

Since I posted the above, I downloaded PDF Xchange Viewer and tried it. Although it seems to be a good viewer, the results I get are the same as I got with Adobe Reader. Perhaps I will try another reader.

I don't believe the problem lies with Scribus and I don't believe there is a problrm with Bookbinder. The problem IMO is with the PDF Reader, my printer or a combination of the two.

My Canon printer has settings for printing Booklet. I have tried using these settings and keeping PDF Reader simple. (I used none for Page Scaling). It did not work. I tried settings for simple printing on my printer and Booklet printing in PDF Xchange and still unsatisfactory results. When I say unsatisfactory results I mean that my pages are shrunk producing abnormally large margins and narrower width of text body.

When you look at the document in the preview window of the PDF Reader, you can see the outline of the margin that is added.

What I need is software that will allow me to print the file/files produced by Bookbinder without allowing additional margins.

Looks like I'm going to somehow learn Command Line so that I can try Multivalent.

Any more suggestions, guys?

Bob

Title: Re: Printing Problem with Scribus
Post by: Nermander on May 09, 2011, 10:26:13 AM
Multivalent is not what you would use to print the PDF, it was suggested as an imposition tool instead of Bookbinder.

I would try a systematic approach to find the error.

Create a document in Scribus with just square boxes on the pages. Make sure you know the size and placement of the boxes.

Create a PDF (with one page per page).

Print that PDF and using a ruler measure to see whether the pages were scaled. If the pages are scaled here the problem is in the PDF viewer or printer (or printer driver). Try different viewers, try different printers (for example bring the PDF to a friend who has another printer).

If the pages are not scaled in that PDF, impose it to a booklet PDF and print that one. Again, bring out the ruler and measure the location and size of the boxes. If the pages get incorrectly scaled the problem is in the imposition software. Try different settings and different programs.