Printer Margins on Officejet 7612

[stevens1310]

I have intentionally left to OS info "unknown", because I have this same issue whether I use my Macs, my Windows machines, or just walk over to the machine and copy something.

The advertised minimum margins for this printer are something like 1/8" without going borderless.  Regardless of what I print from, I get about 5/8" top and bottom and 1/2" on the sides.  I get this same problem when copying, which is just built right into the machine - no computer involved.  If I try to copy two single-sided sheets onto a single two-sided sheet, it crops off the margins to fit these ridiculously large factory defaults.

I have searched through the forums, and found many others who have this problem.  The threads consistently look like this:

          Q: I have a problem with my margins.

          A: Go into the "Advanced" tab in the printer driver and choose "Minimize margins".

          Q: How do I do that?  I can't find any such option anywhere...

          A: <crickets>

          Q: Hello?  I still need an answer...

          A: <crickets>

Does anyone actually have a solution to this?  Or is HP just admitting that their big, fancy, expensive, wide-format printer is just a big pile of big-margin worthlessness?

[stevens1310]

I am having trouble with my Officejet 7612 when making 1-2 copies - that is, when I am trying to combine two single-sided sheets onto a single two-sided sheet.

When I copy 1-1 - that is, copy a single-sided sheet onto a single-sided sheet - the "imposed margins" are very small, allowing me to capture the entire page to within about 1/8" of the edge - so I get a little over 95% of the original area.  (This is consistent with the 5mm information in the guide.)  A lot of what I copy is close to the edge like this, so it works great.

BUT - when I try to copy 1-2, the copy margins suddenly become something like 5/8" at the top and bottom and 1/2" at the sides.  This crops off a lot of the information that I want to be copying, yielding just over 78% of the original area.  This causes anger and stress, and makes me ask questions on this forum. 😉

(The fact that these margins are also imposed when printing documents [unless I print my Word documents "borderless" on photo paper] - which also causes anger and stress - is a topic for a different discussion...)

Does anyone know how to make this @#*&! printer make a 1-2 copy without leaving 22% of what I am trying to copy off of my copy?  Thanks in advance...

[Gemini02]

Hi @stevens1310,

Welcome back to the HP Support Forums! I read your post and see that margins aren't correct, when copying and printing. I would like to help you out today. If this helps you to reach a solution, please click the "Accept as Solution" button down below in this message. If you wish to say thanks for my effort to help, click the " Thumbs Up " to give me a Kudos.

You can customize copy jobs using the various settings available from the printer control panel, including the following:
● Number of copies
● Copy paper size
● Copy paper type
● Two-sided printing (if the duplexer is installed)
● ID copy
● Copy speed or quality
● Lighter/Darker settings
● Resizing originals to fit on different paper sizes
● Copy collation
● Shifting the copy margin
● Copy enhancements
● Cropping the copy with the paper layout
● Copy preview
● Set as New Defaults
Please check the following settings in bold, from the list.

Let me know what settings you have selected and the paper size you are using.

Size is reduced:
● The reduce/enlarge or other copy feature might have been set from the printer control panel to
reduce the scanned image. Check the settings for the copy job to make sure that they are for
normal size.
● The HP software settings might be set to reduce the scanned image. Change the settings, if
needed. For more information, see the on-screen Help for the HP software.
● The dirty scanner glass might reduce the scanned image. Clean the scanner glass or lid backing.

Source: Officejet 7612.

For the issue of printing documents and the margins are also cut off, please check the driver settings for the paper type and paper size.

•  HP Printers - Change Print Settings (Windows 8).

• HP Printers - Printing and Changing Print Settings (OS X).

Try a Generic driver to see if you have the same results.

Windows 7:

On the computer, go to Start, Devices and Printers, select Add a Printer. Follow the steps, select the HP and Deskjet 9800 from the list. Set this one as the default printer.

Windows 8:

From Devices and Printers and select Add a Printer. Follow the steps, select the HP Photosmart PCL3 Class Driver.

Mac:

Click the Apple menu and then click System Preferences.
Click Printers & Scanners, then click the + sign.

Select the printer from the list.

Select the Airprint driver from the drop down and click on the Add button.

If you need further assistance, please provide in detail what steps you have taken and the results.

[stevens1310]

Thanks for the thorough reply.

Regarding the various copy settings I have tried:

● Copy paper size: I have tried both 8.5x11 and Auto.  No change in output.

● Copy paper type: I have tried both regular and photo paper.  No change in output.

● Resizing originals: I have tried nearly all of the various setting, but the issue is not reduction - if I want it to reduce things it works fine.  Doing a 1-1 copy set to full size, it works great.  Doing a 1-2 copy set to full size, it is NOT reduced - it is CROPPED with these really big margins...

● Set as New Defaults: the defaults are all still factory.

Size is reduced: No, it isn't.  The size is not reduced - the size is cropped.  It is as if doing a 1-1 copy uses "copy" margins, but doing a 1-2 copy uses the "print" margins that are set way too big.  (See below...)

As far as print drivers, I have just updated all of my computers with the latest print drivers from the HP website, deleted all of the old printers, and set up brand new printers as you suggest.  All shiny and sparkling clean - and still with huge print margins that crop off what I need to print.  There has to be SOME way of telling the machine itself to pay attention to the advertised ~1/8" margins, rather than the 5/8" margins it seems to set on.  The print drivers appear to be working correctly - they accept, for example, 1/4" margins as a completely valid setting.  They then send the information to the printer with 1/4" margins.  The printer then ignores that, and crops the print off with 5/8" margins...  Grrrrrr...

So if the drivers are up to date, and the computers are sending the right information, the problem must then lie with the printer itself.  I have seen other threads where the Support Staff talks about telling the printer itself to "minimize margins", but I have not seen where anyone has successfully found the magic window to actually do that...

Any further assistance would be GREATLY appreciated 😉  Thanks!

[stevens1310]

Just a friendly bump - I am still desperately searching for a solution to the getting the margins to pay attention to the advertising.  Any help?

[Gemini02]

Hi @stevens1310,

I asked another colleague and she thought it might be the way the duplexer grabs the paper and causing the cropped document, which is normal activity.

I have been trying to find more information on this issue, in the Copy settings, there is an option for Margin Shift, make sure it is turned off. There is also an option for Copy Preview, this way you can check it before printing it.

If you are still having issues, post back on the original thread and it should come back to me. You can PM me also, just to make sure I receive it. Then we can go from there. 

Is the printer still in warranty?

Thank you.
 

[stevens1310]

I wondered about the duplexer myself, but the printing problem is present whether I print single- or double-sided.  The duplexer is removed from the printing version of the problem - but it does seem that the duplexer makes things revert to printer margins instead of copy margins.

Now all that remains is to fix the printer margins... right? 

I found Margin Shift, played with it, it fixed nothing, so I turned it back off.  So, it is off as you suggest.

And no, the printer is not in warranty.  I opened a case number right after I bought the thing, then I got called out of town on business, so I wasn't around when HP called me to walk through the problem.  By the time we got done playing phone tag after I got back the case was expired.  Then I got distracted, and eventually came back to it, and then repeated the process a couple of times.  Suffice it to say that the warranty expired because of my business-obligation-induced ADD...   No fault of HP's - and now I get to reap the rewards of my (in)action.

Thanks again for trying to help with this.  It would be AWESOME to get this fixed!

[byrdieep1]

I have the SAME problem.  It is driving me crazy!  I have to print  things that matter on my old printer.  Grr.

[stevens1310 · Accepted solution]

UPDATE:

In an attempt to solve this problem, HP went so far as to sell me a discounted printer replacement at reduced price, even though mine was out of warranty. Their thought was that I had faulty hardware. Unfortunately, new printer = identical issues.

In the end they admitted that the margin issues are directly related to the duplexer. Their duplexer requires, apparently, a LOT of paper to hang on to. A LOT - in my opinion, possibly a lot and a half. I researched other brands, and found that most of them have this same issue.

Most of them...

I eventually found that Brother's wide-format printer actually has a duplexer that maintains small margins when doing 2-sided work. So I own one of those now - works great.

I have been a devout and loyal HP-ite for literally DECADES. It saddens me that they have let themselves slip to the point that Brother has surpassed them - but that is what I have found. I hope that HP will turn around and stop accepting half-solutions as "marketable" - but in the meanwhile, the only way to solve my problem was to jump brands...

[Skinbobrabbit]

I've just bought one of these printers for our shop.  This is already a serious problem and I'm only on day 1.

I want to print an A4 document and no matter what I try, it chops huge parts of the document off.  I'm very annoyed with this printer already.  I've a customer wanting 30 double sided A4 leaflets and I can't do them.

What's the solution?  Come on HP.  Finger out.

We use Macs btw.