Test: Using Crop marks in indesign CS4 with Epson 3800 Mac 10.5.7

Question

Jun 19, 2009 9:35 PM
Crop marks using indesign CS4 with Epson 3800 Mac 10.5.7
My crop marks and pages are printing larger than my document sizes.  My paper size is 13x19, so I should have crop marks at the exact corners of the page sizes.  But indesign is printing the entire document larger.  So my document which is 11x14.75 is now printing 11.25x15.5.  All my settings are correct. So, is anyone else using an Epson 3800 with CS4 indesign having issues such as the above?  And can I ask (beg) a few of you to do a test print with crop marks and let me know the results?
My workflow has been completely stalled because I can't get my pages to print the right sizes with the crop marks at the right measurements.  I'm printing a photo portfolio on the Lumijet double sided paper and "when" it did work awhile back sometime several months ago, the finals looked great. I've already reinstalled both the Epson 3800 driver and the Indesign CS4 software, but the results are still the same.
So, here are my settings:
document size: 11x14.75
in the print panel:
Printer: Epson 3800
Setup: Paper size: Super A3/B13x19, scale 100% width & height, page position Centered
Marks & Bleed: Marks: "Crop Marks" checked. offset: 0, weight: .25, Bleed and Slug: Use Document bleed settings, include slug area.  The bleed is 0 for top, bottom, left and right
Color Management: Document profile: Adobe RGB, Options: Indesign handles colors, Printer Profile: (A custom made profile using Xrite for the 3800 with Lumijet paper)
The settings on the Epson 3800
Epson 3800 Printer
Presets (set for the profile mentioned above)
No Color management
Sometimes, on a whim, the printer and indesign cooperate together like good little children should. But not often.  And I can not conclude why they are nice to each other sometimes, but given the same detailed data at other times, they fight.
If anyone could run through a similar process using indesign with a photo layout and setting up the printer settings for both the Epson 3800 and in the indesign program and let me know their results, I would value your conclusions very much.  You don't even have to waste paper or ink.  Finally, after wasting so many pages of paper and of ink. I deleted the photos from the page, and printed it blank with only the crop marks for me to measure if it was coming out right or not.
Thank you for any response.  And feel free to call me if you want to vent about Epson 3800's or about Indesign CS4 anytime! I'm up late....  646 256 8853.
Thaddeus

Answer 1

I specified the paper size as strictly 13x19, no boarderless, no retain size.  Same problem.   I also did as you suggested below.  The pdf document does remain true to the document.  As a pdf doc. I changed the color mgmt to Adobe rgb 1998.  It looks okay, but not as lively as I get when printing correctly with my color mgmt working and in sync. 
Your final question about simply using photoshop.  Well... I might go back to it and give up on Indesign if this is the case that it won't simply crop my documents to the sizes that I input them to be cropped as.  But, I am using Indesign so that I can create a page layout that I can't do in Photoshop.  My folio is about 25 or more pages with double page spreads.  I am printing on a two-sided Lumijet paper and my folio was custom designed to be cut out at 11x14.75.  If and when it is printed correctly, I am printing on both sides of the paper and trimming it to exact size.
It sounds as if you have exhausted the potential problems and don't have a clear explanation for why the doc isn't printing correctly in Indesign either with the color mgmt. or the document sizes.  I'll try one more print using a different color profile similar enough to get at minimum, an okay print. If it doesn't print at least okay, then it isn't most likely my profile..... Okay done.  Crazy.  The color is inaccurate, but for some reason or another, the document size printed correctly. It measured exactly 11x14.75.  What I have done during this period of time is:
First) I did as you suggested and turned the Print to Adobe PDF 9 and created a print there. I measured it and it did measure correctly.  I didn't love the color, but... at least it is measuring correctly. 
Second) I turned the Printer back to Epson 3800 (I'm beginning to think that this simple gesture was what caused the printer to print correctly)  I didn't change any settings, but I did make sure that they were set correctly as before. The paper size was set to 13x19.  When I make sure this setting is right in the "printer" dialogue for the Epson 3800, and then switch back to ID, the printer dialogue in Id changes to "Define by Printer."  But I changed nothing, other than the profile to an older one that I used before. The color is still inaccurate, but at least for two prints just now back to back, the measurements were correct.   What to do? Lol.
Thanks again for all of your time spent trying to resolve this issue.
Sincerely,
Thaddeus