Check printing alignment

jeanderson

Have been using Quicken to print checks for decades. I use the 3 per page wallet checks and laser printer. I have not changed checks (Deluxe DLW001-1). Starting a few weeks ago, checks were printing too low. Date was where amount should be. Don't know if this had something to do with the new software version (it happened around the same time).

So, I played around with the alignment and ended up adding a vertical offset of 25. I used this offset for 2 checks and 1 check per page as well as 3 per page. Now, the first check prints fine. The checks further down the page are printing way too high. It's like all the lines on a page have been squeezed. I've never really understood the alignment settings and why there's a different setting for 3, 2 and 1 checks. Are these only for when a feed a partial sheet, or are they the offset for the 2nd and 3rd check? Totally confused at this point.

Rocket J Squirrel

Those settings are only for partial sheets of 1 or 2 checks. They allow for fine adjustment when the top check(s) are already torn off. I find it takes some experimentation & wasted checks, but I can get it to work. I use Intuit QuickBooks wallet checks.

jeanderson

> @Rocket J Squirrel said:
> Those settings are only for partial sheets of 1 or 2 checks. They allow for fine adjustment when the top check(s) are already torn off. I find it takes some experimentation & wasted checks, but I can get it to work. I use Intuit QuickBooks wallet checks.

Then I don't know how to fix my problem. The top check is fine (have tried on sheet with 3 and with 2 checks). It's the second check that the print is too high. This seems like an issue introduced by the latest software. I never had this problem in all the time I've printed checks.

What's really upsetting is that I just ordered 600 checks, and it was expensive!

Rocket J Squirrel

Ouch. Personally, I haven't observed any change in check printing. I have always used Intuit checks.

Are you seeing the misalignment with your old checks or new ones? If new, are you sure your Deluxe checks haven't changed from your previous batch? Do you have any old checks to compare with the new ones?

jeanderson

> @Rocket J Squirrel said:
> Ouch. Personally, I haven't observed any change in check printing. I have always used Intuit checks.Are you seeing the misalignment with your old checks or new ones? If new, are you sure your Deluxe checks haven't changed from your previous batch? Do you have any old checks to compare with the new ones?

I am still using the same checks I've used for several years now. New checks haven't arrived.

I found a strip of 3 stubs from checks I printed in June. I wrote 3 test checks and printed to plain paper. Then, I lined them up next to each other and drew a line underlining the date for the first check. Did the same for the third check. The date of the third check is 1/4" higher on the new checks than on the stubs from the checks I printed in June (see photo). Looking closely, it appears the font is just slightly smaller as well. It's like Quicken check output is shrunk.

FWIW, I am using Quicken for Windows in a Parallels VM on my iMac. But I've been using that setup for over a year and have not had a printing problem until now. Hardware, printer and blank checks are the same. The problem is either Quicken, Windows, Parallels or my printer driver. Using Brother laser printer.

Rocket J Squirrel

I can't tell much from your photo. I suggest resetting your printer settings in Quicken.

What Q version are you running? If you're using a modern version, you'll find this under File > File Operations > Validate & Repair. Check Reset all Quicken printer settings at the bottom and click OK.

Then File > Printer Setup > For printing checks and re-enter all your printer information.

UKR

What exact check style have you selected for your Wallet checks?
If Date and numeric Amount are not aligning properly,
change to "Wallet Checks (Check 21 ...)",
instead of the unsupported, old "Wallet Checks" style.

jeanderson

> @Rocket J Squirrel said:
> I can't tell much from your photo. I suggest resetting your printer settings in Quicken.What Q version are you running? If you're using a modern version, you'll find this under File > File Operations > Validate & Repair. Check Reset all Quicken printer settings at the bottom and click OK.Then File > Printer Setup > For printing checks and re-enter all your printer information.
I'm using the latest version (just updated this morning)


> @UKR said:
> What exact check style have you selected for your Wallet checks?
> If Date and numeric Amount are not aligning properly,
> change to "Wallet Checks (Check 21 ...)",
> instead of the unsupported, old "Wallet Checks" style.
Why should I have to change the type of checks when I've been using the same type for years?

I appreciate the feedback. But I'm beginning to think this is an issue with my Parallels VM, the printer driver or Parallels Toolbox (which controls interaction between the VM and my iMac). Parallels was recently updated. I am going to try printing some documents - directly from the Mac and from the VM - and see what it looks like. I'll post back if I find out anything.

jeanderson

I continued to experiment today. I used the Quicken PDF Printer for check printing and printed a sheet of 3 checks. I then printed the PDF file from Acrobat Reader on the PC (Parallels VM in Mac), and from Acrobat Reader on the Mac. Both were identical and both were misaligned. Again, the page appears to be shrunken - check #1 is OK, check #3 is more than one line too high.

This would seem to eliminate the printer driver under Windows as the problem - both PDF and Brother Printer exhibit same behavior. Also, when a printed another PDF document from my Mac and from Windows, the printed pages were identical.

This is beginning to look like a Quicken problem. Or at least a problem printing checks from Quicken for Windows in a Parallels VM on a Mac. Is there anyone else out there printing laser wallet checks from Quicken for Windows under Parallels on a Mac?

UKR

In Windows Printer Properties, have you made sure that the default setting for your printer specifies 8.5*11" Standard Paper, Portrait, no reducing/enlarging/ 100% scaling size?
If the default is something other, e.g., auto-detect paper size or auto-fit to page I suspect you'll get the results you are seeing: it prints a little too small.

jeanderson

> @UKR said:
> In Windows Printer Properties, have you made sure that the default setting for your printer specifies 8.5*11" Standard Paper, Portrait, no reducing/enlarging/ 100% scaling size?
> If the default is something other, e.g., auto-detect paper size or auto-fit to page I suspect you'll get the results you are seeing: it prints a little too small.

On the Advanced dialog of printer properties, I see under Printer Features a Scaling dropdown. The choices are "None", "Fit" and "Fill". I have "None" selected. Tried "Fit" and "Fill". No difference. I don't see any other printer settings.

Quicken_Tyka

Hello @jeanderson

Thank you for the response, although I am sorry to hear that the trouble continues to persist.

At this time I would recommend contacting support directly for advanced troubleshooting steps.

https://www.quicken.com/support#contact-support

Quicken Care has the ability to initiate a screen share to view the issue in real-time to review and research this further.

Thank you,

-Quicken Tyka

jeanderson

> @Quicken_Tyka said:
> Hello @jeanderson Thank you for the response, although I am sorry to hear that the trouble continues to persist.
>
> At this time I would recommend contacting support directly for advanced troubleshooting steps.
>
>
> https://www.quicken.com/support#contact-support
>
>
> Quicken Care has the ability to initiate a screen share to view the issue in real-time to review and research this further.
>
> Thank you,
>
> -Quicken Tyka

I'd like to report this problem to support, but when I click "Talk to Support", nothing happens.
To further illustrate the issue, I'm attaching a sample printout that clearly shows the shift at the bottom (3rd check).

UKR

jeanderson said:

...
I'd like to report this problem to support, but when I click "Talk to Support", nothing happens.
...

To contact  Quicken Support please note the posted hours of operation

Note: Your browser must allow popups from https://www.quicken.com for chat to function

Rocket J Squirrel

Let us see your Check Printer Setup dialog and its 3 sub-dialogs Font, Alignment, and Logo.

jeanderson

> @Rocket J Squirrel said:
> Let us see your Check Printer Setup dialog and its 3 sub-dialogs Font, Alignment, and Logo.

Here you go...

jeanderson

> @UKR said:
> (Quote)
> To
> contact  Quicken Support please note
> the posted hours of operation
>
> Note: Your browser
> must allow popups from https://www.quicken.com
> for chat to function

Using Chrome on a Mac. Pop-ups are not blocked.

Rocket J Squirrel

I see your problem. Unless your check stock is ancient, you need Wallet Checks (Check 21 image compatible) as your check type.

NotACPA

Try changing your "Check Type" to "Wallet Checks (Check 21 image compatible)" and see if that resolves the issue.

jeanderson

> @NotACPA said:
> Try changing your "Check Type" to "Wallet Checks (Check 21 image compatible)" and see if that resolves the issue.(Image)

That only made matters worse (see attachment). The amount is 2 lines down from the date on each check and the dates shift for check #2 and #3, as they did before I tried Check 21.

Anyone who think they might be able to help, please look carefully at the image here and the image in my earlier post (AnonymizedChecks.jpg). The problem is that the check printing output that goes to the printer seems to be shrunken. The lines of text at the middle and bottom of the page of checks are shifted up (more shift the further down the page). No amount of tweaking in the alignment dialog will fix this. The adjustments are from the top of the page, whether it's 1, 2 or 3 checks to a page.

To repeat: I am using the same checks I've used for over 5 years now, which up until a month ago worked just fine. My setup has not changed - I am running Quicken on a Windows 10 virtual machine using Parallels on my iMac, running the latest version of Mac OS (Catalina 10.15.7). Latest updates to Windows. Latest updates to Quicken.

Rocket J Squirrel

Well, the "Check 21" style is the right choice unless your check stock is over 20 years old. So stay with that setting while you tweak other stuff. You could try different fonts and font sizes, for example. I use Arial 10 Regular and it has always lined up fine. Consolas is new to me.

Your latest picture of checks shows the first check misaligned. I suggest you get the first check right and tweak from there to try to get the others aligned.

Other than that, I'm out of ideas. Good luck.

jeanderson

I fixed the problem!!!

It's not Quicken. It's the Windows printer setup under Windows in the Parallels VM. I was printing through Windows to the printer directly, using a Windows printer driver for Brother (sounds OK, but it's not). Solution:
1) On Mac, go to System Preferences, Sharing, check Printer Sharing and check the Brother Printer.
2) In Parallels, open the configuration dialog for the Windows VM. Select the hardware tab, click Shared Printers. Check "Share Mac printers with Windows 10"
3) Restart Windows VM.
4) Go to Windows Printer Configuration page and select "Brother Printer". On Advanced tab, be sure the driver selected is "Parallels Shared Printer".
5) In Quicken, select "Brother Printer" as printer for checks. 0 for all alignment values (default).

Checks now print correctly.

I upgraded my Parallels software right around the time Quicken came out with a new software release. Guessing that something in the upgrade of Parallels screwed up printers or drivers or something. I don't really fully understand what it means to share a printer with my Mac vs. just connecting to the printer directly from the Windows VM. The printer is on the network.

Skeeter_Jawn

Thank you! I had the same problem printing standard three-to-a-page checks. I went to my printer in the Window settings and found that the driver in use was "Microsoft IPP Class Driver" (whatever that is). I selected the driver for my Brother printer instead and now checks align as they should. 😊