Pages per Sheet (printing)

[ChrisGreaves]

(Please see also Special-size envelopes)
(Please see also Printer Profiles?)

Early this morning I discovered (please see image) a facet of my HP2600N color laser printer that allows me to print regular letter-size pages from Word in a 2-up fashion.
Instead of hefting 16 pages (8 sheets paper double-sided) downtown, I took only 4 sheets of paper (2-up double-sided) for study on my way to meet with the prospective client.

I like that.
I can read the smaller font, and make notes on a "page" and ...

Now I'm wondering how to implement this to best effect for Word, Access and Excel (2000) applications.
My options seem to be
(1) VBA code to change the HP2600N printing preferences on-the-fly, restoring to a default of 1-up at the end of a job.
(2) A second installation of the HP2600N called "Laptop Laser TWO-UP" with 2-up set as default, so VBA code merely has to select one of two printers
(3) VBA code to cunningly mess around with page-Setup options.

(3) Seems to me to be masochistic, even by my DIY-VBA standard of living.
(2) Seems risky - who knows what evil lurks in the heart of DLLs and drivers
(1) Seems sanest to me - the VBA code ought to be straightforward and application-independent, that is, 100% copyable to any office application.

I'd be interested in comments, especially from anyone who has tried any of these (or other) methods.

P.S. On this specific issue I'm not really worried about "chopping down trees" as I am about reducing the number of loose bits of paper in my wallet and/or the cost of laser cartridges.

5.JPG

[HansV]

ActiveDocument.PageSetup.TwoPagesOnOne = True

isn't so difficult...

[ChrisGreaves]

ActiveDocument.PageSetup.TwoPagesOnOne = True
isn't so difficult...

True.
That's why we don't do it here!

It has taken me a while to block out the time, but here is a documented trip in using the Start, Settings, Printers and faxes wizard to Add two more printers to my system.

Both new printers are based on the already-installed HP2600N color laser jet printer.
One new printer is set at 2 pages-per sheet, the other is set at 4 pages-per sheet.

I completed the setup early this morning and it seems to work well.

Of general interest might be the following comment:

On the “Finishing” tab I choose 2 pages per sheet.
I note in passing that only the multiples 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 16 are available and ponder this.
In particular I wonder why some multiples of 3 are allowable (3x3) but not others (1x3, 4x3).

[HansV]

In particular I wonder why some multiples of 3 are allowable (3x3) but not others (1x3, 4x3).

Those options are printer-dependent, so perhaps you could ask HP...

[StuartR]

...In particular I wonder why some multiples of 3 are allowable (3x3) but not others (1x3, 4x3).[/color]

I would guess it is to do with how much blank space they have to leave on the page after scaling and rotating the pages to fit.

It's easy to see how you could shrink and rotate two pages to fit on one sheet, but three would not work very well.

[John Gray]

In the mists of time, we usually chose to have multiple 'printers' set up for the same physical printer device, usually a large laser printer, with alternative options like duplex, two-up, and so forth. Worked fine, provided the users were intelligent enough to choose the appropriate one for their needs. Not all were...!

[ChrisGreaves]

It's easy to see how you could shrink and rotate two pages to fit on one sheet, but three would not work very well.

Hmmm. Why would three not work very well? Or any integral number, for that matter?
The logic seems to be straightforward.
HP've got 2 and multiples of 2 covered.
HP've got SOME multiples of 3 covered.
I suspect it's something to do with programming courage; after all, how much time do you want to spend on specialized coding for a low-end printer?

I suspect too the matter is related to the paper size, but I am confused.
When I cut a piece of letter-size paper in half, the 8.5x11 sheet becomes two sheets of 5.5x8.5.
The two sheets fit snugly, re-arranged, on an un-cut letter-size sheet of paper.
Yet the ratio 11/8.5 is 1.29 while the ratio 8.5/5.5 is 1.55.
I had expected the ratios to be the same, since the paper pieces fit snugly.

[HansV]

I had expected the ratios to be the same, since the paper pieces fit snugly.

That's the ratio(nale) behind the An, Bn and Cn paper sizes - their height:width ratio is (square root of 2):1, and this remains the same when you cut the paper in half. See ISO 216.

This is not the case with the letter and legal paper sizes used in the USA/Canada.

[JudyL]

In the mists of time, ...

I love that there are so many of us "old-timers" in this forum.

[ChrisGreaves]

That's the ratio(nale) behind the An, Bn and Cn paper sizes

Right! I remember that from my time working for a UK firm in Adelaide, many years ago.
What surprises me is the difference in the ratios seems significant, but the cut paper fits so snugly!

[ChrisGreaves]

I love that there are so many of us "old-timers" in this forum.

I rather wish that there were one less ....


(( Me, in the sense that I wish I were young again !))

[JudyL]

Yes, sigh. Anna Nalick wrote interesting lyrics about aging in her song "Breathe" --

"But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button now"
...

(okay, I'll stop being off-topic now!)

[ChrisGreaves]

(okay, I'll stop being off-topic now!)

You've read the book.
Now see the movie.

The sound effects are not me being gummy; I had an incoming call about used clothing, burnt the cookies, and was trying to eat charcoal while recording with Camtasia ...

[ChrisGreaves]

... multiple 'printers' set up for the same physical printer device, ...

Hi John.
I think I've learned a bit more. "Think" because sometimes I'm not sure of results until I've run with them for a while.

On my BigBeigeBox I installed the HP2600N as BBBLaser2600N.
Works fine.
Still on the BBB I Added Printers, clones of the 2600N, and set them (Properties, Preferences, Finishing) to 2- and 4-pages per sheet.
I called them "BBBLaser2600N2Up" and "BBBLaser2600N4Up".
I tested them on the BBB and sure enough, I get 1-, 2- and 4-pages per sheet.

I trot across the network to the Laptop, and on the laptop Add Printers.

I add the 3 networked printers "BBBLaser2600N", "BBBLaser2600N2Up" and "BBBLaser2600N4Up" as printers available to me on the Laptop ("this may install drivers..." warning etc.)

For the Laptop I find that I need to set the last to to 2- and 4-pages per sheet in order for them to function as required.

That is, cloning a network printer seem to make a decent copy of the printer, including drivers, but not the preferences (in my case pages-per-sheet).

This may be a unique feature of the HP2600N, or of my Win XP SP3 installation or .... but I post here as a reference for those-who-follow.

[DaveA]

It might help to see the full picture if you were to include what OS is being used when referring to the different machines. The drivers for each OS is going behave a little differently as they are installed. Remember that some of the drivers MAY be using generic drivers for the NEWer OS's, as the OEM's of the printers may not have supplied Microsoft with drivers for the newer OS's.

Also note, about your video, I would not be using the older Classic styles if these videos are being shared, as there are a lot of newer users that have NEVER seen the older Classic styles.

Just set up another user account and use the Default style to make these videos. The steps taken may be different.

[Leif]

That is, cloning a network printer seem to make a decent copy of the printer, including drivers, but not the preferences (in my case pages-per-sheet).

I wonder if that is because you chose to share it before you set up the preferences? i.e., if you had installed it without sharing, set your 9-up preferences and saved it, then went back and shared it, would the preferences follow...?

( Is that your voice? You sound, well, so Australian... )

[wasbit]

That's a very nice tutorial Chris - oh that all of YouTube were so good.

I noticed that you didn't click on Apply at the end. Should you have?

Regards
wasbit

[ChrisGreaves]

It might help ... The drivers for each OS is going behave a little differently ...

Thanks Dave, a valuable codicil.
I am guessing that the drivers are congruent, since all machines are installed as Win XP SP3 with updates turned on, and the original drivers came from the (now archaic) OEM CD.
I should perhaps locate the drivers and check the file date/size stamps.

... video, I would not be using the older Classic styles ... Just set up another user account ...

I must confess to some confusion here.
By "Classic style" are you referring to my Windows XP screen, or to some aspect of Camtasia (or even YouTube)?
Thanks again.

[ChrisGreaves]

... share it before you set up the preferences?

Hoo Boy!
Another experiment to make on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Should be easy enough: remove all printers from both machines, clean the registry, reboot.
Reinstall the printers.
Test.

(Is that your voice? You sound, well, so Australian... )

Yup!
'Sme.
My accent serves me well on "cold calls" by phone; I know that for most people they are intrigued, and have trouble working out whether I'm Canadian (at the start of the call), Australian, English or South African.

Mercifully, very few people mistake me for a Kiwi

[Leif]

Should be easy enough: remove all printers from both machines, clean the registry, reboot.
Reinstall the printers.
Test.

No, just install another new printer with, say, 16-up printing. I can give you a link to a video showing how it's done if you like....