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+--- Thread: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page (/Thread-Beginner-question-setting-image-print-position-on-A4-page)
Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - nmw01223 - 04-22-2026
I am a beginner on GIMP (using 3.0.8). I am trying to print an image on an A4 sheet in a specific location.
It's actually a greetings card (made of an A4 pages folded in half) and the image needs to fill the bottom half of the A4 page, with a 5mm border all round.
I can set the image aspect ratio OK, but when I come to print it, I can see no way of placing it to a specific location on the page. In Photoshop, in the print dialog, you can specifiy the offset of the image to position it anywhere you like. But, I just can't see how to do that in GIMP.
Is there a way, what am I missing? The only thing I can see to do is pad the image with a lot of white space so it completely fills an A4 sheet and print that, but it does seem clunky.
RE: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - rich2005 - 04-22-2026
A bit of a problem using Windows 11. M$ has broken the Gimp print preview. It is fixed with a registry hack. https://www.winhelponline.com/blog/restore-legacy-print-dialog-windows-11/ but if you do not want to do that then make your image in Gimp and print using some other application such as LibreOffice.
I do not have a printer installed in my Win11 VM so this is Win 10.
[attachment=14381]
(1) When image is complete, Rotate 90 deg.
(2) In Image -> Print -> preview depending on how you created your image it might be too small / too large.
(3) Change print size by adjusting the resolution settings ( If originally very small, then go back and redraw your masterpiece at a larger size)
(4) Click and drag the preview to a suitable location - usually the left side which gets printed first.
Note: home printers do not use white ink. Anything white (or transparent) takes the color of the media.
A lot easier in linux and the gutenprint plugin, I did exactly this last Christmas, Use a bit of regular paper as a trial run. My printer which bends the card around a roller was not happy but I got there.
RE: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - nmw01223 - 04-22-2026
Thanks, the registry edit did it - I wonder how long it will work for. i should have realised actually - MS has already just deleted one print driver with no warning because it didn't like it (I was perplexed when my default printer suddenly changed to being a fax machine).
Incidently, I'm in the process of moving lock. stock and barrel to Linux at the moment, the above being one reason, the general direction of Windows being another. On my test Linux installation (Ubuntu 24.04) I found I could not get gutenprint to print sensibly at all with my photo printer (one of the Canon ip8700 series), and had to use the (commercial) Turbo print. That did a good job - but at a cost, of course.
RE: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - rich2005 - 04-22-2026
I use kubuntu 24.04 and Gimp 2.10.38 for printing. You can get Gimp 3.2.4 from a PPA but the gutenprint plugin is not yet updated for Gimp 3.
Usually you need your printer listed in CUPS see: https://www.openprinting.org/printers/manufacturer/Canon and I can not see an ip 8700 but Canon do supply linux drivers and maybe that is the problem with gutenprint. You might have to stick with TurboPrint.
Just as a reference, I have gutenprint set up as: Using Adobe PS level 2 and the ppd file installed by the Brother driver package.
[attachment=14382]
RE: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - nmw01223 - 04-23-2026
Unfortunately the only suitable Canon driver was dated 2014 (the printer came out in 2019)! It didn't work. I may have another go with gutenprint thanks, Turbo print worked really well though, and wasn't excessively expensive.
RE: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - rich2005 - 04-23-2026
If TurboPrint works well then stick with it.
Back in 2008 I had an unfortunate experience with a Canon printer, with a CD tray. The Canon linux driver would not print CD's (the Windows driver worked) TurboPrint (2.1.6) printed CD's but would not use black ink, blacks a muddy brown mix of CMY. The TurboPrint owner not interested. Not impressed by either Canon or TurboPrint.
RE: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - nmw01223 - 04-24-2026
I was wrong:
When I had Turboprint running OK, that was on GIMP 2.10. It appears it does not support GIMP 3 at all. What is more, it seems there are no plans to make it support GIMP 3, but they (Turboprint) are looking at creating a standalone app for loading and printing images.
And as far as I can see, and as confirmed above, neither does gutenprint support GIMP 3.
Back to GIMP 2, I guess. Which is very annoying, as I'd written some python GIMP 3 plugins, and they are NOT the same as GIMP 2 ones.
RE: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - rich2005 - 04-25-2026
You can have both 2.10 and 3.x installed in ubuntu 24.04 Apart from flatpaks which I consider a PITA there are regular installations from 'buntu PPA's
either
https://launchpad.net/~ubuntuhandbook1/+archive/ubuntu/gimp-3
or,
https://launchpad.net/~ubuntuhandbook1/+archive/ubuntu/gimp
and to go with that, appimages from here:
https://github.com/ivan-hc/GIMP-appimage/ There are links to the latest Gimp 3 also a "hybrid" Gimp 2.10.38 appimage that comes with python 2
Also a great 2.10 with python from Tasmania https://github.com/TasMania17/Gimp-Appimages-Made-From-Debs/releases/tag/Gimp-v2.10.38 also with python 2 for all those old useful scripts and plugins that no longer work with Gimp 3
...and that basically is what I use, a PPA Gimp 2.10 for scanning and printing and a Gimp 3 appimage to try and keep up with latest developments.
https://github.com/ivan-hc/GIMP-appimage/
RE: Beginner question - setting image print position on A4 page - nmw01223 - 04-25-2026
(Yesterday, 07:32 AM)rich2005 Wrote: You can have both 2.10 and 3.x installed in ubuntu 24.04 Apart from (oops edit) flatpack which I consider a PITA there are regular installations from 'buntu PPA's
either
https://launchpad.net/~ubuntuhandbook1/+archive/ubuntu/gimp-3
or,
https://launchpad.net/~ubuntuhandbook1/+archive/ubuntu/gimp
and to go with that, appimages from here:
https://github.com/ivan-hc/GIMP-appimage/ There are links to the latest Gimp 3 also a "hybrid" Gimp 2.10.38 appimage that comes with python 2
Also a great 2.10 with python from Tasmania https://github.com/TasMania17/Gimp-Appimages-Made-From-Debs/releases/tag/Gimp-v2.10.38 also with python 2 for all those old useful scripts and plugins that no longer work with Gimp 3
...and that basically is what I use, a PPA Gimp 2.10 for scanning and printing and a Gimp 3 appimage to try and keep up with latest developments.
https://github.com/ivan-hc/GIMP-appimage/
Thanks, yes, I figured I was going to have to do something like that. I just hope it all settles down at some point. I notice that Turboprint say they have no plans to support GIMP 3, but aim to produce their own standalone image printing app at some point. It all seems rather fragmented.