Paper margins incorrect, printing cropped in 16.0.1

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by StuartM8, Sep 30, 2020.

  1. StuartM8

    StuartM8 Bit poster

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    I'm having a problem in Parallels 16 and 16.0.1 where printing to Mac printers or Mac PDF files produces pages that are cropped around the edges. The problem does not occur if I use Microsoft-provided printer drivers.

    I'm using an in-house Windows program that's designed to use the full printable area of the paper, and it was working fine until we upgraded to Parallels 16. Now the program is behaving as if the entire sheet of paper is printable, and the result is that the outer 1/2 inch or so of the printout is clipped. I assume that the new Parallels 16 printer drivers are incorrectly reporting either the paper size or the printable area.

    I'm the programmer of the in-house Windows application, so if I can provide additional details please let me know. I've attached a sample Mac PDF file so you can see the problem.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. StuartM8

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    If anyone else is having this problem, I just went through a long screen-sharing session with Parallels support to show them the issue. Ticket #2808115.
     
  3. LALOUXF

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    I'm having the same problem... what's the issue? thx for your help
     
  4. StuartM8

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    Parallels support is looking into it.

    The workaround is to use a Windows printer driver to print, rather than using one of the Parallels drivers that forwards the printing to the Mac. For instance, if you use the Microsoft Print to PDF driver that comes with Windows 10 to create a PDF, the PDF is fine and you can print that with the Mac. Or if you want to print directly to a real printer, you can install the printer driver in Windows and print that way.

    If you have a reproducible case that you can describe here, that would be helpful. My own case involves an in-house Windows medical application that I can't easily provide to Parallels support. If you have some simpler way of reproducing the problem, I will add that to my support ticket.
     
  5. LALOUXF

    LALOUXF Bit poster

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    Thx for your help, I'll try to install the printer driver in windows.

    My problem appears with Microsoft Excel and BOB50 Software... I think it's the same for any software.
     
  6. StuartM8

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    Parallels support wrote me to say that they've identified the problem, and it will be fixed in a future release of Parallels Desktop.
     
  7. Hello,
    as a temporary workaround please perform the following steps:

    1. Make sure that the virtual machine is shut down (Actions > Shut Down). If it is in a suspended state, please run it and then shut down (Actions > Shut Down).
    2. Go to the virtual machine configuration (see: https://kb.parallels.com/117287 ) and click "Hardware > Boot Order > Advanced Settings > Boot flags".
    3. Paste the following text in the "Boot flags" field:

    devices.printer.mfg=HP
    devices.printer.mdl="Color LaserJet 2820 2L8"

    4. Run the virtual machine and see if the issue reoccurs.
     
  8. StuartM8

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    Yes, Maria, tech support gave me that fix, and printing margins are working properly now. I was reluctant to share that workaround on the forums, because I wasn't sure if it was specific to my setup or would work for anybody. It's good to know that the fix might work for others.
     

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