How do I print on 36" endless roll paper without having to set a custom paper size every time?

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Level 1

22 points

How do I print on 36" endless roll paper without having to set a custom paper size every time?

I have an M3 MBP running Sonoma 14.1.2 and would like to print to an HP DesignJet T630 36" wide plotter with roll paper.

When printing from any application (though I'll mostly be printing from Illustrator), I can get a good print but have to create a custom paper size that's slightly larger than the document every time. There is no option for roll paper and I have to specify both the length and width of the paper to be printed on.

If my document is 36" x 79.25", I have to create a custom paper size of 36" x 80".

If my document has three art boards that I'd like to print separately, I either have to set the custom paper size to be a little bigger than the largest one and waste paper on the smaller ones, or print each art board in a separate print activity, defining a custom paper size for each one.

I would love to have the plotter automatically cut the paper after printing each document, but don't see any options for Arch E (36") width paper in a roll format in the media size options on my MBP. Does anyone know how to accomplish that?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.1

Posted on Dec 23, 2023 1:08 PM

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Answer 1

MartinR

Level 7

24,125 points

Dec 23, 2023 3:15 PM in response to ShopRat906

What you describe would be functions of the HP T630 driver and the apps (Illustrator, etc.) but mostly the HP driver.

If you have not already done so, start with HP Support for your T630 - https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/setup-user-guides/hp-designjet-t630-printer-series/33508840

Also, if you have the printer set up as an Airprint printer you will not get any of the special features your T630 supports. Check your printer setup in Settings. You need to use the HP driver.

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Answer 2

Dec 23, 2023 7:57 PM in response to ShopRat906

We have a Z6 HP plotter at work. I created custom page sizes for my most common graphics to print, and saved them as custom pages - named usually the dimensions: 24w x 36l, 32w x 60l.

Then it's just a simple matter to select the page size when printing.

I've never seen "roll paper" option, which I'm guessing is something where you just send the file to the plotter and it prints is at 100%, and uses as much length of paper it needs.

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Answer 3

ShopRat906 Author

Level 1

22 points

Dec 23, 2023 5:58 PM in response to MartinR

Thank you, Martin! I've poured over the HP documentation many times and HP Support says it's an Apple issue because there are no "roll paper" options in the print screen paper selection. The settings to add "roll paper" options that I'm finding with online searches either only apply to Windows or are from pre-2010 MacOS versions and don't apply to the modern MacOS.

I've tried printing through the native Apple print dialog and through the HP Smart printing app and neither do what I'd like them to. I've also tried through Illustrator, Acrobat, and exporting to a TIFF (which is an absurdly huge file size and wouldn't be a viable option for production workflow) through Apple Preview, none of which give me the automatic paper-to-document sizing that I'm after.

I'm afraid that I may just be stuck with creating custom paper sizes for every art board and printing them individually...

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