Hope someone can help me. I printed out my pattern and the first page has four numbered circles (1 through 4)for matching. The next page under the first page does not have the last numbered circle which should be # 4 to match to the above page. All subsequent pages also do not have that corresponding #'d circle to match up to. My margins for top and bottom are set at .5. Should I make them smaller (.00) or make them larger numbers, for example .8?
What I'm trying to say is this - if page one ends with a circle with "4" in it shouldn't the next page under it start with a circle with a "4" in it so you can accurately line up the pattern piece? Or am I making this harder than it is? I've been away all summer - working 12 hour days up to 6 in a row leaves no time for fun
Each circle is 3 inches apart so you need to line up the circles and measure from 4 to 5 so they are 3 inches apart. I also measure the circles on the other side of the paper to make sure they are 3 inches apart. Hope this helps. Karen
What I'm trying to say is this - if page one ends with a circle with "4" in it shouldn't the next page under it start with a circle with a "4" in it so you can accurately line up the pattern piece?
No, sorry. The markers start with one at the top and increase every 3 inches down the pages. Depending on your paper height and margin settings, there probably will not be an overlap between vertical pages. As long as they are 3 inches apart, you should have things lined up properly. If the paper size and margin settings you see in "File - Page Setup" do not match what your printer is actually doing (it will have some built in margins that it just cannot print to, so you cannot set your margins less than what the hardware can deliver), then there may be strips of pattern that get left out of the printout. That is the only real worry. If some parts of the lines are just missing, then you need larger margin settings in the program to match what your printer is leaving out when it cannot get as close to the paper edge as the margins you are using. Half inch margins are almost always safe. Going tighter may leave out bits of lines that are critical.
I hope this makes sense. It is quite confusing since there are so many printers and they all behave differently. But, if you ever get it set and working once, you never have to touch it again.
Ask again about different methods people have used to align their pages. Peg-boards, light tables, taping patterns to a sliding glass door - there are a variety of ways to make it easier. Wish we could all afford a printer that could just print pages large enough for the entire pattern, of course. But, that's still out of reach for some of us...
I lay my patterns on a 1" grid cutting mat under a strong fluorescent light, weigh them down with fabric weights, and tape together. By far the fastest and most accurate way I've found!
Ok, my lights -- an overhead enclosed compact fluorescent (not that bright, really, but it came with the house), a portable 13 watt Ott light that gets put wherever I need it, and a 20 watt fully adjustable Ottlite floor lamp that rolls around on a dolly. I'm blessed with, ahem, "mature eyes", so I need a fair amount of light for just about everything! B-)
Your mileage may vary, of course, but I do like having light coming in from 3 directions.
Even us guys get mature eyes. I use 75 watt equivalent LED spotlights in clamp to the edge of a desk or table. I have one for each of my three machines and one on my cutting table. The advantage to the LEDs is that There isn't any heat if you need to get the light down really close to your work like when doing something in black.
