Word 2008 Mac not printing to bottom of page (even to PDF!)

Question

I'm trying to convert a (basic) InDesign newsletter to word (so it can be offloaded to other people), and am having real trouble printing to the bottom of the page (on top of the usual issues of trying to use Word...). This cuts off our border (which is rather important in having a decent looking newsletter...)

Does anybody know a workaround to this issue?

I've tried:

• Borderless printing
• Sending to PDF
• Changing borders to 0
• Reducing the font size in the footers (which don't exist, but just in case).
• Putting all sorts at the bottom of the page - backgrounds, images, text. Nothing will show

Answer 1

If you've tried all of those things on the computer-side to fix the printing, and it's still not working, chances are it might be that what you're trying to print is outside the printable area of the printer you're using. You could try setting it up like you said for testing on your printer, and printing it at a professional copy place - It might be expensive for one print, but that should give you a clear indication of whether it's an issue with the document somehow or just your printer.

Answer 2

Does the problem show up when you preview the PDF? If so, it is probably the case that your printer will not print to the edge, as most printers will not.

There is a standard workaround for this, which is to print the A4/letter size centered on a larger paper size, usually either B4 or C4, and cut them to size using a paper guillotine. You may find it most convenient to just ask your nearest print shop to do this, but otherwise, for reference, the relevant paper dimensions, in increasing height, are:

1. A4 — 210x297 mm
2. Letter — 216x279 mm
3. C4 — 229x324 mm
4. B4 — 250x353 mm

C4 prints on most A4/letter-size printers. And, of course, if you are offloading a job you don't want, you just need to tell someone else this, and then it is their problem...

Answer 3

Do you have a HP printer? I was having the same problems. I adjusted all the settings you did and in preview or saving as pdf it was always showing a bottom border. So back to my HP question, even though HPs print borderless photos some (probably not all) don't allow borderless documents which is so stupid! So despite all margins being zero it still forces a ridiculously large border on the bottom. I changed it to my Canon printer and that reduced my border woes. I wasn't able to completely eliminate the border but I just wanted it to be less anyway.

... a late response but I was just googling for an answer so this might help someone.