A reader’s having problems setting margins to very small.
Q: Robert Byrne writes: “I am using Access 2000 to create signs. It’s similar to a mail merge. I have a database with product information and create signs 5.5 x 4.25. It all works great except Access won’t let me change the margins. I need a margin of .01 around but Access defaults them to .2 and always one at .5. it throws off the alignment of the printing. I have pre-printed signs with perforation and they are sized 5.5 x 4.25, portrait, 2 across and 4 long, making a total of 8 signs per sheet. I created a simple report, but the margins are defaulting and won’t change.”
A: I am assuming that you are merging the Access data to a Word table, with sign data appearing in the table cells. Generally speaking, Word won’t let you set margins very small (say below .3 – the exact minimum amount depends on the printer). Sometimes you can set one margin smaller than that, but another might be set back to a higher value. Probably the best you can do is adjust the cell margins so that the left margin on the right-hand label cell is equal to the paper left margin, and the same with the right margin of the left-hand cell. That way at least each cell will have the same margins. The other cell margins can be set to 0. Test by putting maximum width text in one cell, and then copying it to the other cells. It should fit in all the cells.
