Change Finder Printing default to print 100%, not scale to fit

finderpdfpreviewprintingterminal

I am trying to print groups of pdf files without opening the files.

I am trying to print from either the automator app, which is a hot folder to print, or drag and drop onto printer. Every time it prints the page scale to fit. I changed the setting in terminal to…..

defaults write com.apple.Preview PVImagePrintingScaleMode 0

Thinking that maybe those uses the preview app to print. That did change the setting if I open up preview but it did not fix the problem.

I have logged into CUPS but I am not seeing anything in there about scaling.

If I open the pdfs in preview or acrobat and manually print them and have the setting at 100% they come out correctly.

lp -o fit-to-page. ??? but do I just type that into terminal? does it need to have a false on the end?

Not sure what needs to be done to fix the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best Answer

If you drag and drop onto the Printer queue window, or otherwise send a job to print without settings the print options, then CUPS will fall back on the default options for that queue.

Check the manual to see if there's a way to set the default for your printer using its control panel, or other method.

Failing that, you can set the default options for a specific queue in the CUPS web front-end. First, make sure that you can access the CUPS web interface:

cupsctl WebInterface=yes

Then in your browser, go to http://localhost:631

Click on Printers in the menubar at the top. Click on the print queue. Then choose Set Default Options from the 2nd drop-down menu. CUPS menu

..

You may find a Fit To Page parameter, with options:

CUPS menu2

But the available options will depend on the definable characteristic of your printer. The fact that it is scaling suggests it does have such a setting.

As for the lp command: that command sends files to a print queue, and you can specify the job options that are used. To find the appropriate options, use:

lpoptions -l <printQueueName>

The print Queue Name is optional for the default printer.

So, for my HP LaserJet, I get (among other things)

HPPaperPolicy/Fit to Page: PromptUser *NearestSizeAdjust NearestSizeNoAdjust

The asterisk shows the current default. If I wanted to change that for a specific file, I would use:

lp -d <printQueueName> -o HPPaperPolicy=NearestSizeNoAdjust /path/to/file

Again, you don't need the -d flag to set the destination if it's the default printer.

Related Question