Family Historian User Group

Greetings,
I have a descendants chart built in FH has several hundred entries and about 6 generations. Considering purchasing a 24" wide format printer. Some of the less expensive $700-800 units appear to have a length of print limit. For instance the Canon TC-20 will only do a max of 4m or about 13ft...maybe this is a driver limitation? Also considering the Epson T-3170 but not sure what it's spec limit is. While speaking to a Epson dealer yesterday he indicated the length of print is sometimes controlled by the software. My current FH Version is 7.0.19. So the short question is what max length would I be able to print with 24" roll product using Family Historian? Thanks in advance...Bob

If you are using Diagram > Save Diagram As > PDF File (.pdf)… then the maximum PDF page size supported by this method is 128″ x 128″ or 3276 mm x 3276 mm. So if you are using 24" paper the maximum size of your chart will be 24" x 128".

This page in the Knowledge Base gives some tips on how to adjust the scaling of your diagram to fit:
Single PDF Page of a Diagram

Rather than purchasing the hardware to print large charts yourself, have you considered using a specialist family history chart printing service? In the UK two reputable examples are

https://www.my-history.co.uk/acatalog/F ... harts.html

http://www.genealogyprinters.com/catalog

If you are purchasing hardware then there is no limit within Family Historian, the PDF limit does not apply. So when you print direct the length is related to the length of the roll used.
Most paper rolls are around 50m so I suspect that is probably the maximum.

Jane,
Could you please explain what you mean by "direct print"? Is there a way to print the diagram with creating a .pdf.

Thanks, Bob

Just plug the printer into your computer and select print from the file menu.

Yes, you can print directly from the Diagram Window to any local printer.
Use File > Print Setup... to choose your Printer Name and set the Paper Size, etc, as required.
Then use File > Print... to choose the same Printer Name and check its Properties before clicking OK to print the Diagram currently on display.

Thanks Jane and Mike for the guidance....Bob

Jane wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2023 14:45

If you are purchasing hardware then there is no limit within Family Historian, the PDF limit does not apply. So when you print direct the length is related to the length of the roll used.
Most paper rolls are around 50m so I suspect that is probably the maximum.

I wonder if there might potentially be a limit in terms of the amount of memory required to print out a 50m image? It must have to render the image before sending it to the printer and I'd expect that to use a fair amount of memory.

I know My History have printed 12m and longer diagrams, I suspect it is not done as a single image, but rather as "strips", but I have not played with printer driver code.

Jane wrote: ↑

14 Jun 2023 17:09

... I have not played with printer driver code.

The fact that you know what it's called is worthy!