Five years later, and I've been having similar problems trying to get a printInfo with a correct '-imageablePageBounds' Rect for A4 paper. In my case the incorrect y-offset is 41 when it should be 12. The good news is I've found a workaround:
NSPrintInfo *printInfo = [[NSPrintInfo sharedPrintInfo] copy]; // autorelease later
NSLog(@"As-received copy of sharedPrintInfo:");
NSLog(@" paperSize = %@", NSStringFromSize([printInfo paperSize]));
NSLog(@" imageablePageBounds = %@", NSStringFromRect([printInfo imageablePageBounds]));
[printInfo setPaperSize:[printInfo paperSize]];
NSLog(@"After [printInfo setPaperSize:[printInfo paperSize]]:");
NSLog(@" paperSize = %@", NSStringFromSize([printInfo paperSize]));
NSLog(@" imageablePageBounds = %@", NSStringFromRect([printInfo imageablePageBounds]));
and the 'noop' reset of the paperSize seems to trigger a recalculation of the -imageablePageBounds value:
As-received copy of sharedPrintInfo:
paperSize = {595, 842}
imageablePageBounds = {{18, 41}, {559, 783}}
After [printInfo setPaperSize:[printInfo paperSize]]:
paperSize = {595, 842}
imageablePageBounds = {{18, 12}, {559, 818}}
I've only tested this on Tahoe but I think it proves it's a macOS bug so I'll try reporting it again.