Issue 29924 - Printing doesnt work properly by several specific page format
Summary: Printing doesnt work properly by several specific page format
Status: CONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: Writer
Classification: Application
Component: code (show other issues)
Version: OOo 1.1.2
Hardware: PC All
: P3 Trivial with 39 votes (vote)
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: AOO issues mailing list
QA Contact:
URL:
Keywords:
: 24237 58320 66265 66434 71816 74526 83051 84439 89986 93500 110238 112430 117689 (view as issue list)
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2004-06-07 02:01 UTC by rongage
Modified: 2016-06-21 12:36 UTC (History)
18 users (show)

See Also:
Issue Type: DEFECT
Latest Confirmation in: ---
Developer Difficulty: ---


Attachments
printing is wrong using custom paper size (13.17 KB, text/plain)
2009-10-15 14:44 UTC, hwdooo
no flags Details
Non-standard size envelope (11.60 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text)
2015-11-30 22:12 UTC, Bruce
no flags Details

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Description rongage 2004-06-07 02:01:42 UTC
Just spent the past 45 minutes and 17 envelopes trying to get a single envelope
to print out correctly.

Printer at hand is a Brother MFC-8300 Laser.  Envelopes are center fed. 
Envelope size is #10.  Trying to print using the "sideways - centered" format
for an envelope results in the text being too far to the right by about 3/4" and
too far down by about the same amount.

Weirdness found when using the "sideways - left" (the sixth choice) format and
shifting the output using the shift down/right widgets in the format dialog. 
Shifting .1" or higher to the right results in the printing being shifted about
1" to the right.  Shifting down past 1.70" causes a similar jump.

I can honestly say that I don't recall printing of envelopes under Linux EVER
working correctly.  Granted, I am not a part of the OOo team, but this sure
seems like a major show stopper to me.

If necessary, I am willing to test code or work with the developer(s) to get
this issue resolved.

Ron
Comment 1 michael.ruess 2004-06-07 09:20:50 UTC
reassigned to HI.
Comment 2 h.ilter 2004-07-12 11:42:52 UTC
HI->SSA: May you commit with this reporter.
Comment 3 manicmike 2005-03-04 06:01:58 UTC
This is a MAJOR problem with 2.0b. If people can't print an envelope on an HP
laserjet, I can guarantee they will think a lot more carefully about whether
it's worth going to OOo. I tried for ages last night and still cannot print a
plain old envelope on my laserjet 5MP without using a hack (printing as A4
landscape and moving the frame to the right). I can't over emphasise how
important this is.
Comment 4 stephan_schaefer 2006-11-30 11:41:20 UTC
ssa->pl: envelope printing typically fails because a custom paper format is
selected even if the correct paper format is supported by the printer. this can
probably only be solved together with the writer's paper selection and the
corresponding dialog UI.
Comment 5 philipp.lohmann 2007-02-15 14:07:11 UTC
*** Issue 74526 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 6 kpalagin 2007-08-02 07:56:44 UTC
Dear developers,
please consider this issue for 2.4 - this really hurts thousands and thousands 
of our users, forcing ugly workarounds.

Thanks a lot for your attention.
WBR,
Kirill Palagin.
Comment 7 philipp.lohmann 2008-01-08 17:57:07 UTC
target, prio
Comment 8 h.ilter 2008-01-15 11:50:35 UTC
*** Issue 84439 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 9 h.ilter 2008-01-18 15:11:36 UTC
Summary renamed from:
Printing envelopes still seriously broken
Comment 10 h.ilter 2008-01-18 15:13:15 UTC
*** Issue 83051 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 11 jlynx 2008-02-29 18:40:51 UTC
Dear developers!
This problem has a long history... Could you please fix this bug to 3.0?
Thank you
Comment 12 kpalagin 2008-04-01 08:27:46 UTC
Philipp,
please consider this annoying issue for 3.0 - affected users are forced into 
messy workarounds, which waste user's productivity and undermine our image.
Thanks a lot for your consideration.

WBR,
KP.
Comment 13 hardycc50 2008-04-02 12:50:07 UTC
This is same problem I have with a center feed printer. Using Windows XP the
print driver takes care of the document, so even though the envelop is center
feed, you have to leave the setting in OOO printer setup on right feed, small
end first.
Comment 14 h.ilter 2008-04-04 11:35:58 UTC
*** Issue 66434 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 15 h.ilter 2008-04-04 11:37:47 UTC
*** Issue 71816 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 16 chkur 2008-05-16 12:23:15 UTC
Could this issue to be resolved in 3.0? Workers in my organization are often 
printing on envelopes, postcards, etc. There are problems...
Comment 17 h.ilter 2008-07-16 10:27:17 UTC
*** Issue 89986 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 18 kpalagin 2008-07-23 07:28:00 UTC
Every time I need to quickly produce label of some kind I am resorting to MS 
Word because printing label with Writer is trial and error and that takes too 
much time (and does not look good).

Philipp,
please finally fix this issue for 3.1.

Thank you very much for your effort.
Regards,
Kirill Palagin.
Comment 19 Mathias_Bauer 2009-04-15 08:26:39 UTC
According to pl the problem with this issue is that it happens only with certain
printers. So far I could only see one printer mentioned, Brother MFC-8300 Laser.
It seems that we don't have one and so we can't reproduce the problem. I hope I
got that right.

Instead of asking for a fix again and again it would perhaps help more to name
other printers that show the same problem. Perhaps we can get access to one of them.
Comment 20 mr_smyle 2009-04-15 08:54:45 UTC
HP LaserJet 1200  prints pages smaller than A4 (exapmle A5 and smaller) by
algning area to the left. But mechanical it should be centered.
Comment 21 kpalagin 2009-04-15 09:46:42 UTC
This printer 
http://www.zebra.com/id/zebra/na/en/index/products/printers/desktop/lp2844.html
 exhibits problematic behavior.
Some other models and formats are listed in duplicate issues.
Comment 22 taraman 2009-04-18 09:52:40 UTC
I am having this issue with a HP Laserjet 3030 MFP.
Comment 23 hwdooo 2009-10-15 14:39:21 UTC
Same problem here, issue still not fixed in 000 3.1.1 (Windows XP, Debian Lenny)
Printers: HP Laserjet 1200 and HP Laserjet 1150

If you change the paper size from 21cm x 15cm to A4 (21cm x 29.7cm) printing is
fine.

to reproduce:
open attached file issue29924.odt and print

Comment 24 hwdooo 2009-10-15 14:44:42 UTC
Created attachment 65387 [details]
printing is wrong using custom paper size
Comment 25 h.ilter 2010-03-22 10:13:12 UTC
*** Issue 110238 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 26 h.ilter 2010-03-22 10:18:35 UTC
Due to the amount of the votes and dups, target changed from 3.x to 3.3
Comment 27 philipp.lohmann 2010-03-22 11:09:46 UTC
@hi: get me a printer to reproduce the problem with then. If I'd have been able
to see the problem I would have fixed it for years. Either find me one or the
target goes back.
Comment 28 mr_smyle 2010-03-22 11:15:28 UTC
@pl: I have printer with error. I can attach some scans soon.
Comment 29 philipp.lohmann 2010-03-22 11:26:46 UTC
That is nice but won't help. I'm not arguing the problem itself, I just cannot
fix it without some development (aka trial and error). And for that I need to
reproduce the problem myself.
Comment 30 kpalagin 2010-03-23 11:55:04 UTC
Philipp, 
I think Mr_Smyle is willing to coopearate with you on this. May be even 
publish his printer over the Internet so that you can print, he will scan the 
printout and send it to you?
Comment 31 philipp.lohmann 2010-03-23 13:34:01 UTC
That is an interesting idea, however would fail with our firewall.
Comment 32 taraman 2010-03-24 00:59:32 UTC
How about trying to get a cheap used one?

The Laserjet 1200 is mentioned to show the problem and is really cheap to get:
http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-LaserJet-1200-laser-Printer-USB-PARALLEL_W0QQitemZ380217373578QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCOMP_Printers?hash=item5886b8b38a#

I don't know if you would get refunded for this from ooo.org, but this could be
a solution at a decent price...
Comment 33 rebelxt 2010-03-31 14:08:58 UTC
My system is Windows XP Pro SP3 with a HP LaserJet P1005 printer and OpenOffice
3.2.  The P1005 is a center-feed machine.  The envelope is fed short-side first,
with paper guides squeezed from each side to center it.

When a personal envelope (#6 3/4, 6.5x3.625 in.) is specified, the return
address is printed as if on a letter size (11x8.5 in., landscape orientation)
page, with the return address at the top left.  When a business envelope (#10,
9.5x4.125 in.) is specified, the addresses are in the proper places for that
format.  The personal envelope prints correctly in OOPortable 3.1, but not in
OOPortable 3.2.

My work-around is to specify a #10 envelope and adjust the margins so a personal
envelope can be used.

What is different for me from other complainants is that the envelopes printed
correctly in 3.1, but no longer do in 3.2.  I would regress to 3.1, but some bug
fixes in 3.2 will keep me there.
Comment 34 h.ilter 2010-04-12 13:14:34 UTC
If you look to the issue 106617, please try also the other envelope orientation
buttons. If you get the correct result with a wrong orientation button, then it
should be easier to locate the error. UI or code.
Comment 35 rebelxt 2010-04-12 15:49:00 UTC
hi, 
I tried all six envelope orientations.  The three horizontal icons would print
correctly on a personal envelope fed horizontally and centered.  The three
vertical icons print as described in my Mar. 31 post.  Just to reiterate, I have
a LaserJet printer for which envelopes are supposed to be fed vertically (short
side first and flap left).
Comment 36 philipp.lohmann 2010-05-03 17:36:03 UTC
@hi: the brother HL-5170 you lent me indeed prints envelope and letter (I used
C5 envelope and A4 "letter") on the envelopes coming from the Multi-Purpose
Tray. However this turned out to be the case because the print driver did not
know the paper sizes in the trays. In the printer driver's "Accessories" page
there you can set the paper formats that are actually in the tray; if you set
the "MP" tray to C5  and "Tray 1" to A4, the changing the paper sizes in the
driver actually works (the return code from the driver suggested success in the
"wrong" case, too) and the envelope was then automatically printed on paper
taken from the MP tray, while the "letter" was printed on A4 paper from tray 1.

So this case is "works" for me (a printer that cannot actually detect the exact
paper lying in the tray, especially the multi-purpose tray would be normal; the
user needs to tell the driver what paper is actually in there for paper matching
to work). Which does not tell us anything about e.g. the LaserJet reported to
have the problem unless someone who has such a printer can tell us that there is
a similar  solution in his driver settings.
Comment 37 eltonw 2010-05-06 15:34:45 UTC
I wonder if this is related to or affected by updates to the OS? I do not use Windows. Is it possible that 
the problem with print going to the wrong side of the printer may be related to OS updates?

Printer is: HP Photosmart C4345, and switched via USB (...as needed between two machines). One has 
Linux, the other is a Macintosh. Envelopes now print correctly in Ubuntu 10.4, but do NOT in OSX 
10.6.3

Kindly SEE my comments today (May 6, 2010) in issue 106617. 
Comment 38 eltonw 2010-05-06 15:42:37 UTC
ADDENDUM: Open Office version and build are the *same* in ubuntu linux and OSX.
Open Office 3.2.0 
OOO320m12 (Build:9483) 
Comment 39 h.ilter 2010-05-10 13:12:09 UTC
@PL: You've used C5 envelope but if you take a look to page - format, you won't
see C5 but User. Maybe this is the reason that you have to set the envelope
format, or OOo do not provide the envelope format anyway to the driver, does it?
Comment 40 philipp.lohmann 2010-05-17 09:49:18 UTC
hi: I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about.
Comment 41 rebelxt 2010-06-08 15:11:18 UTC
After I installed OOo 3.2 in my WinXP system, personal envelopes would no longer
print properly on my HP printer.  (See my original comment from Mar. 31.)  Then
about a month later it was again working properly.  The only changes I know of
that could possibly apply would be Windows updates.  So I, too, am now wondering
if at least some of this problem is OS related.
Comment 42 rogerz 2010-06-16 00:40:45 UTC
app-office/openoffice-bin (3.2.0)

FYI: I have a HP-M1522NF, again, HP has a center manual load tray for envelopes.
 I've found I should not select the "center feed" method, but the far right option.

Selecting the center feed option for the center feed manual tray on the printer
causes printing to be off-center and spaced one to two inches further down on
the envelope.  Selecting the far right option solves this.  Very odd.  Almost if
the GUI buttons are programed wrong!  My HP2600N did the same, so I can only
guess this might be a HP related issue.
Comment 43 h.ilter 2010-07-06 09:38:49 UTC
*** Issue 112430 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 44 drano 2010-07-12 19:21:00 UTC
I use an OKI C5150.  I can find no setting that will result in correct printing
of a #10 envelope.  This is remarkable considering how good OOo is otherwise. 
If I want to print an envelope I must use a different application.  For the most
fundamental usages of a word processor these functions are indispensable.  This
failure and the lack of the display of the line number are Writer's most glaring
flaws - and this one regarding envelope printing is much more important than the
line number display.  There is nothing wrong with having higher-level functions
but relatively few users will use them compared to the virtually universal need
on the part of users to print an envelope once in a while.  I wish the
developers would spend their time correcting the most basic problems with the
application before any razzle-dazzle stuff.
Comment 45 philipp.lohmann 2010-08-02 16:41:16 UTC
As much as I'd like to, this issue isn't apparently making 3.3 either.

change target
Comment 46 rogerz 2010-08-09 07:30:09 UTC
FYI: As of =app-office/openoffice-bin-3.2.0, I'm using the same settings
mentioned above for my HP-M1522NF center feed (specifying the far right feed
option), but I now also have to specify to shift the fields down and right by
1.50 inches!

I also now see 3.2.1 version available and will test this one sometime.
Comment 47 pietervercayie 2011-04-02 19:25:22 UTC
Hello to all,
Since I went from Ooo 3.2 to 3.3 I cannot print anymore on A5 paper, whatever I change in the setting for the printer (Brother DCP-7040). Even the small ^preview' screen shows it will not print out correctly on A5 format. When I cha,ge to my laptop with office 2007 installed, there is no problem, so it is not the printer.
Any suggestions please?
greatings, Pieter
Comment 48 h.ilter 2011-04-18 09:17:10 UTC
*** Issue 117689 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 49 h.ilter 2011-04-18 11:44:36 UTC
*** Issue 93500 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 50 eltonw 2011-04-18 16:03:27 UTC
Apparently there is now "Libre Office" as well as Open Office. AFAIK, both spring from common code, and they both STILL share this problem. I have been using this suite since it was "Star Office", then Open Office. In effect, since about 1995. 

This is the firs time I have had so much trouble to print an envelope with ANY wordprocessor

My PRINTER MODEL:
HP C4345.

The envelope MUST be / can ONLY be fed LENGTHWAYS on the *right* side of the paper feeder. 
RESULT: The printed output is ALWAYS sent to the *LEFT* side of the platen thus making a mess and wasting ink.

This is easily proven by feeding in a standard letter-size sheet (8 1/2" X 11"), and selecting a #9 envelope as the page size and output.

ODDLY ENOUGH, the Macintosh port: NeoOffice manages to to the job. 

QUESTION: How come that the mac port can print envelopes, but the 'original code' CAN'T ?
Comment 51 eltonw 2011-04-18 16:03:52 UTC
Apparently there is now "Libre Office" as well as Open Office. AFAIK, both spring from common code, and they both STILL share this problem. I have been using this suite since it was "Star Office", then Open Office. In effect, since about 1995. 

This is the firs time I have had so much trouble to print an envelope with ANY wordprocessor

My PRINTER MODEL:
HP C4345.

The envelope MUST be / can ONLY be fed LENGTHWAYS on the *right* side of the paper feeder. 
RESULT: The printed output is ALWAYS sent to the *LEFT* side of the platen thus making a mess and wasting ink.

This is easily proven by feeding in a standard letter-size sheet (8 1/2" X 11"), and selecting a #9 envelope as the page size and output.

ODDLY ENOUGH, the Macintosh port: NeoOffice manages to to the job. 

QUESTION: How come that the mac port can print envelopes, but the 'original code' CAN'T ?
Comment 52 eltonw 2011-04-18 16:05:20 UTC
Apparently there is now "Libre Office" as well as Open Office. AFAIK, both
spring from common code, and they both STILL share this problem. I have been
using this suite since it was "Star Office", then Open Office. In effect, since
about 1995. 

This is the firs time I have had so much trouble to print an envelope with ANY
wordprocessor

My PRINTER MODEL:
HP C4345.

The envelope MUST be / can ONLY be fed LENGTHWAYS on the *right* side of the
paper feeder. 
RESULT: The printed output is ALWAYS sent to the *LEFT* side of the platen thus
making a mess and wasting ink.

This is easily proven by feeding in a standard letter-size sheet (8 1/2" X
11"), and selecting a #9 envelope as the page size and output.

ODDLY ENOUGH, the Macintosh port: NeoOffice manages to to the job. 

QUESTION: How come that the mac port can print envelopes, but the 'original
code' CAN'T ?
Comment 53 David Lehrian 2011-11-14 06:59:59 UTC
I just started using OpenOffice and I was blown away at how difficult it was to print an address onto a #10 envelope. I have an HP 1600 which does a center feed with the printing being on the bottom of the envelope.  I worked for an hour and a half and used 8 or so envelopes and printed on each of them 5 or 6 times and I still couldn't get what I would deem an acceptable print.  It was incredible to watch as the program fought me all the way.  I created the envelope in the document as per instructions on http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_User_Manual/Writer_Guide/Printing_envelopes.  Format-> Addressee from left = 4.75” from top = 2.06”; Sender from left = 0.39” from top = 0.39”.  I didn't change this for the entire test.  Under Printer I chose the envelope landscape in the middle (2nd from the right) and Print from bottom.  Shift right and Shift down are 0” and 0”.  When it printed it was 1.3” to far from the top of the envelope and 0.75” too far from the left edge.  In Page->Format the Width was 9.5”, height was 6.31” and Landscape was selected.  So I adjusted the top margin from 2.19” - 1.3" to 0.89” but the left margin was already at 0 so there was nothing I could do to adjust it.  After I changed the top margin I drug the boxes up and further to the left to where they should look good.  The addressee looked fine but the sender was still 0.5” too far from the left edge and the first letters were cut off.  So I tried changing the width of the envelope from 9.5” to 10.0” and when I printed the addressee jumped up 1” and moved to the left 2” and the sender was completely off the page.  So I shortened the page from 10” to 9.75” and got the same result.  So I changed the width back to 9.5” and the addressee jumped back to the correct location in the middle of the envelope and the sender was visible but again it was 0.75” to far from the left edge.  So it seems that Writer will put the address anywhere but where I want it to go.  When I got close and tried to out think it by changing the envelope width it jumped the addressee and sender by well more than the 0.5" that I adjusted the page width.  Not sure what is up with that.  

Next attempt was to change it from center feed to right feed.  When I did this the page in Writer looked correct like I would expect an envelope to look, but guessing that it would print off the right side of the page I printed it to a piece of paper and sure enough I was correct, it was all the way to the right.  When I held it up to an envelope it looked perfect.  At this point Format->Page showed Width of 9.5”, height 4.13”, Landscape and 0 for all the margins.  So I went back to Insert->Envelope and on the printer tab chose to shift the print down what I would calculate to be the correct distance.  8.5” paper – 4.13” envelope divided by 2 = 2.19”.  After using a ruler to confirm that this would be the correct amount I needed to shift it down and pressing modify it changed the page to look just like the original page I started with using the center feed.  Here is what Format->Page showed.  Width 9.5”, height 6.32” and a top margin of 2.19” with all the other margins set to 0”.  And sure enough the print out had the same problem.  So now I have come full circle.  This prints 1.3” too far from the top.  This was the most unreal experience I have ever had.  It was like the software knew where I wanted it to put the return address but it actively worked to prevent me from putting it there.  

So final attempt.  I decided to try switching it back to right feed and not shifting it but instead attempt to feed the envelope in on the right side of the printer.  No luck, the manual feed sensor is in the middle of the feed tray and setting it to the right didn't cause it to grab hold of the envelope.  

As I have read thru this bug report it appears that pretty much everyone with an HP center feed printer has this exact same problem as well as an Okidata center feed laser printer.  It has been a problem for 7 years.  7 YEARS!  This bug report is filed against version 1.1.2 and I am using 3.3.0 which is the latest build and it has the same problem!  I also hear that you can't reproduce it because you don't have a printer to test with.  I would believe this if it were some obscure brand of printer, but many of these posts are people with HP printers which is a very main stream printer company.  I would think that someone in the past 7 years would have been able to test this with a center feed HP laser printer.  I wish that someone would take this problem seriously because it is truly a show stopper for many people, myself included.  I'm trying to figure out what to do and I'm thinking about writing a little Java program simply to print envelopes because I really don't want to go back to MS Office.  I have written java code before that prints output and I know that the printer API is a little complicated, but this problem should not persist for 7 years.  Please give it the attention it deserves.
Comment 54 David Lehrian 2011-11-14 08:10:09 UTC
I hacked and hacked and finally have a usable work around for center feed printers.  I want to post it here since this is where I ended up when I searched for a solution.  Hopefully it will save someone else hours of frustration and a stack of envelopes and paper.  It seems that any time I changed the page size I ended up with unpredictable results using center feed e.g. addressee and sender jumping around on the page and not going where I would expect them to go based on my calculations.  So I simply used letter sized paper and figured out the correct positioning for the addressee and sender.  Go to Insert-> Envelope as normal.  Enter the sender and addressee as normal.  On the Format tab make the Addressee Position 5.5" from left and 4.0" from top.  Make the Sender Position 1.65" from left and 2.25" from top.  For Size Format choose Letter.  It will make the Width 11" and Height 8.5".  On the Printer tab choose the center feed (2nd from the right) and for my printer (HP 1600) I have to choose "Print from bottom".  Put the envelope in the manual feed and print.  Looks good no?  Writer seems to remember these values too so you won't have to write them down or look them up in the bug report (but I would recommend saving them in a template or example doc just in case).
Comment 55 Nuge61 2012-08-17 05:44:14 UTC
Happens to Sharp Digital copiers too.  I'm on 3.3.0 Windows 7 and XP.

No matter what I do it gets the relationship between paper size, document orientation and image orientation all stuffed up.  Can't print a landscape page on landscape paper on manual feed custom size paper - ie C4 Envelope.  It's centre feed BTW.

Workaround is simple:

Save file as .doc for Word
Download Word 2003 Viewer
Print the .doc
Perfect result

or

Export as PDF
Load into Acrobat Reader
Print the .PDF
Perfect result

It's a sorry commentary on a 8 year old bug that: 

A) it's 8 years old and 
B) Microsoft (and Adobe) manages to make it work.
Comment 56 Rob Weir 2013-07-30 02:15:16 UTC
Reset assignee on issues not touched by assignee in more than 2000 days.
Comment 57 everton.job.lima 2013-11-15 00:43:43 UTC
Model Name:	MacBook Pro
Model Identifier:	MacBookPro10,1
Processor Name:	Intel Core i7
Processor Speed:	2.7 GHz
 
MAC OS 10.9 Mavericks
OpenOffice 4.0.1

I was able to reproduce the issue on my machine by following these steps,

> Create new document, populate it with some text or add a border. Additionally, download attachment 65387 [details] (presented by another user in this thread rather than the original bug report).

> Set page formatting to envelope (No need to do this for the attached file since its already in an envelope format).

> Print document with a custom page size.
Comment 58 Edwin Sharp 2014-03-13 09:30:49 UTC
*** Issue 66265 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 59 Roger 2014-03-13 12:33:10 UTC
When printing to envelopes, I've just found it much easier to just use enscript.

I'm printing envelopes using a HP M1522NF, centered and elongated, printing on atop the inserted envelope.

$ enscript -B -r -fCourierBold@14 --margins=170:::130  Envelope.txt

This rotates printing for landscape printing, using 130 for the left margin of the rotated envelope.

For the Envelope.txt file, create a text file using your favorite VIM or EMACS text editor and type the first three lines of the return address within the upper left corner using no spaces or indentations.

For the mailing or sending address, go five lines down (or skip five lines) and indent 20 characters (or 20 spaces) and begin typing the mailing address, indenting 20 characters for each line, likely only three lines.

Issue the above enscript incantation.

The major difference between using this enscript option and OpenOffice, whenever you specify a difference margin, the new margin value is immediately recognized and used with predictable results!  Using OpenOffice, results are unpredictable and values often ignored when looking at the results when using OpenOffice.

In the end, I save much more time using enscript and get something of similar quality compared to using an electronic typewriter.  About the only things missing are using the many custom fonts, bold types, highlighting or creating the bar codes.  All of which do tend to make mail sorting easier, but not really needed.
Comment 60 Bruce 2015-11-30 22:09:12 UTC
I often need to print non-standard sized envelopes. I just tried to print envelopes measuring 200mm x 130mm (20CM x 13CM).

My printer is an HP hpdeskjet 948C.

OpenOffice 4 requires the envelopes to be fed into the printer in landscape orientation. This is not possible with this size of envelope, because the envelope is not high enough to be able to push it into the printer feed tray.

The only way I could print these envelopes, was to use OpenOffice 3.2, which automatically accepts the envelopes in portrait orientation and prints sideways on the envelope.

This a a serious BUG in OpenOffice 4. I hope it will be fixed, otherwise I will revert to using OpenOffice 3.2, which doesn't have this BUG.
Comment 61 Bruce 2015-11-30 22:12:14 UTC
Created attachment 85185 [details]
Non-standard size envelope
Comment 62 Roger 2015-11-30 23:35:07 UTC
I use the following files alongside enscript.  This takes a little time to get the spacing and size correct, but well worth the time saved by not having to open OpenOffice!

Granted, OpenOffice should be able to handle this easily as the software use to in the past, but go figure.  I have no regrets of lighting my software usage, as a lot of today's software is merrily bloat in my view.

File: /home/roger/bin/enscript-envelope.sh
--- Begin of File ---
#!/bin/bash -
enscript -B -r -fCourierBold@14 --margins=170:::150 $1
--- End of File ---


File: /home/roger/Documents/Templates/Envelope-14pt.txt
---Begin of File ---
Roger Lastname
1100 Myroad Road
City, State  10101





                    SOME COMPANY
                    2200 THEIR RD
                    CITY, STATE  10101
--- End of File ---
Comment 63 Bruce 2015-12-01 00:04:48 UTC
This sounds like a complicated procedure and your code appears to be for Linux. I use Windows 7 myself.

In my case, it's easier for me to just revert to using OpenOffice 3.2, which does not contain this bug that prevents printing non-standard size envelopes in OpenOffice 4.

OpenOffice 3.2 works correctly and it's easy to print non-standard size envelopes like this, without any problems.

I don't know who introduced this BUG, but it really does need to be fixed. There's no point in using the latest version of software, when it has BUGS like this, which make it impossible to do something that could be easily done in an earlier version.

Thanks for your suggestion anyway.
Comment 64 Roger 2015-12-01 02:29:35 UTC
Install Cygwin and the package called enscript?
Comment 65 Nuge61 2015-12-01 02:43:02 UTC
(In reply to Roger from comment #64)
> Install Cygwin and the package called enscript?

Just export to PDF and print the pdf with acrobat - works perfectly.  

Or they could just fix it - it's almost an adult bug now.
Comment 66 Roger 2015-12-01 05:10:44 UTC
Cygwin & Enscript

Install enscript and cygutils-extra.  Prints like a charm.
Comment 67 Fred hayman 2016-06-21 12:36:22 UTC
I have an Epson XP 212 which has been working ok up to now, with OO ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PAGES STARTED COMING THROUGH BLANK. tHE PRINTER WILL PRINT FROM ALL OTHER SOURCES STILL, BUT THE OPEN OFFICE HAS SUDDENLY STOPPED PRINTING. IS THERE ANY SPECIAL THINGS TO TICK OR TO APPLY TO RESET THE PRINTER TO OPEN OFFICE