Label print mis-alignment on LJ 1012

[gak]

I've seen a few old posts here and there on a similar problem, but never with any useful resolution.

I am running OO 2.3.1 on Windows XP with an HP LaserJet 1012 printer. When I create labels using the included template for Avery 5160 address labels (these are standard 3-across by 10-down format) they appear fine on the screen in both normal mode and print preview mode. When I actually print them, though, what I get is a block of about 4 inches wide by 5 inches high (this is about 5 by 1 1/2 labels) in the horizontal center and vertical top of the physical print page. In other words, it looks as if my left and right margins were set to about 2.25 inches and my bottom margin set to about 6 inches. If I "Export as PDF" and then print the resulting PDF using Acrobat Reader, on the same machine under the same OS with the same printer, then it prints OK.

I read a suggestion somewhere that this could be due to the HP printer driver. However: a) I have verified that I have the latest available driver for this printer and b) if I export as PDF and print, using the same machine, then it's using the same driver, which to me takes it out of the picture.

I have experienced this problem with earlier versions of OO as well. I have not tried it under 3.0, but this seems fairly clearly a problem with OO and not with the printer.

Any suggestions?

[TheGurkha]

I would upgrade anyway, 2.3 is very deprecated nowadays. But if you get prompted to transfer your old personal settings say no, it can lead to problems.

As you say it doesn't seem as though it can be the printer driver or the printer.

Can you attach a test document created on your system here so I can try to print it? [Forum] How to attach a document here

[TheGurkha]

Actually, I'm just printing labels, Staples own-brand, same as Avery J8160/L7160.

I've got a huge box of these, and have printed on them very frequently (I help run an automobile club). Today they were mis-aligned, but not as drastically as yours seem to be. I couldn't figure what was different to every other time I've done this.

Then it dawned on me. I always 'print' to a single file, open it and check it, then print that file. This time I wanted to hand edit one or two details in a couple of the labels. I didn't want to change my database, because I'd only have to change it back so I made the changes in the file itself. But as an .odt it was read-only because it was the output of a merge. So I Saved As a .doc to get an editable version, which was fine, but I didn't notice it had also adjusted the label layouts ever so slightly.

The labels are in 3 columns. Column 1 was OK, column 2 was just acceptable (the thinnest sliver of the first character of each line was trimmed off) but column 3 was missing the frst 1 and half characters.

[gak]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, and sorry about the delay. Just for grins, I upgraded to OO 2.4.2, and got the same results. A file which produces the problem on my printer is attached to this post.

As long as I have you, here's another, related problem. This label sheet has 30 labels. The data file I'm working from has about 150 entries. When I select all of them from my Data Sources view, and then hit the Data to Fields button, OO will fill the page with the first 30 rows, and stop. I can't find any way to make it continue, and I have to do a page at a time by selecting 30 rows at a time from my Data Sources view. Pretty annoying, as you can imagine.

Thanks for your help.

[thomasjk]

Don't use Data to Fields. Select File-->Print and answer yest to form letter question. Se this article for some help http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/art ... office_org.

[gak]

Thanks for the reply. But if I follow your instructions, I get 150 labels, each showing the first record in the database.

Edit:  Wrote too soon -- that "Update all links?" dialog is crucial to the process. Click yes, and I get 150 of the first label. Click no, and I get 150 different labels. How, exactly, does this make any damn sense?