Preparing Images for Printing
Despite the great rush of picture makers to ‘all things web’, most treasured digital images still end up being printed at some stage during their existence. Contributing to this scenario is the current crop of affordable high quality inkjet printers whose output quality is nothing short of amazing. As little as 11 years ago it was almost impossible to get photographic quality output from a desktop machine for under £5000, now the weekend papers are full of enticing specials providing stunning pictures for as little as £100. See Figure 13.1.
Figure 13.1 Current inkjet printers are capable of providing photographic quality images at a fraction of the cost of comparative technology just a few years ago.
Printer manufacturers have simplified the procedure of connecting and setting up their machines so much that most users will have their printer purring away satisfactorily within the first minutes of unpacking the box. Software producers too have been working hard to simplify the printing process so that now it is generally possible to obtain good output from your very first page.
Elements is a good example of these developments, providing an interactive printing system that previews the image on the paper background ‘virtually’ before using any ink or paper to output a print. As we have already seen in Chapter 3, the package also includes the ability to print a section of an open image, make a contact sheet of images contained within a folder and produce a print package of different sized pictures optimized to fit on a specific paper stock. See Figure 13.2.
Figure 13.2 Elements contains an interactive print system that can not only produce single image prints, but also contact sheets, picture labels and multi-print packages. (1) Individual print. (2) Contact print. (3) Picture package. (4) Picture labels.
Editor: File > Print, Editor: File > Page Setup, Editor: File > Print Multiple Photos
All of the print settings in Elements are contained in four separate but related dialog boxes (see Figure 13.3): Print – Editor: File > Print (1); Page Setup – Editor: File > Page Setup (2); Print Photos – Editor: File > Print Multiple Photos (3); and Order Prints Online – Editor: File > Order Prints (4). Similar output dialogs were included in previous versions of Elements but the upgraded features in the new release of the program have made the printing process much easier and more flexible. The Print, Order Photos and Print Multiple Prints options are also available in the Organizer workspace.
Figure 13.3 Four separate dialogs control the majority of settings and options in the in Elements’ printing system. (1) Print dialog. (2) Page Setup dialog. (3) Print Photos dialog. (4) Order Prints dialog.
The Print dialog (previously called Print Preview) is the first stop for most users wanting to make a hard copy of their digital pictures. Here you can interactively scale your image to fit the page size currently selected for your printer. By deselecting the Center Image option and ticking the Show Bounding Box feature, it is possible to click and drag the image to a new position on the page surface. These advanced preview features alone will make a lot of digital photographers very happy. See Figure 13.4.
In Photoshop Elements 6 the dialog was revamped and now displays extra settings previously accessed by clicking the Show More Options button at the bottom of the window on the right side of the dialog. Here you find Output option settings such as printing the file name or caption alongside the photo, or adding a colored border, crop marks or even a background color. Just underneath the output options is the Color Management settings where you can choose to let Elements, or the printer, manage the transition of colors from your photo to print.
Figure 13.4 You can change the size and position of your image on its paper background via the Print (Editor: File > Print) dialog. (1) When printing a multi-page Photo Creations document or multiple pictures the next/previous page Navigation buttons appear at the base of the preview area. New for version 6 was the inclusion of Output and Color Management settings in the main dialog (2). Previously these controls have been accessed via a Show More Options button at the bottom of the window.
Once you are satisfied with the picture size and position, you can proceed to the Page Setup dialog using the button provided. It is here that you are able to change the settings for the printer, such as media type, size and orientation, printing resolution and color control, or enhancement. The extent to which you will be able to manually adjust these features will depend on the type of printer driver supplied by the manufacturer of your machine. When complete, click OK to return to the Print dialog. To complete the output process, click the Print button. This step produces a general Print dialog where the user has another opportunity to check the printer settings via the Properties button, before sending the image on its way with a click of the OK button. See Figure 13.5.
Figure 13.5 The Print dialog gives you direct access to your printer’s controls.
Printing from the Organizer workspace
Photo Browser: File > Print, File > Page Setup
As we have already seen in our brief introduction to printing in Chapter 3, you can output your pictures directly from the Photo Browser. In fact, the Print options available from the Organizer workspace are very similar to those available via the Editor. For quick printing tasks the Photo Browser: File > Print option takes you directly to the same multi-print dialog that is available in the Editor (File > Print Multiple Photos) and there is no practical difference between outputting your files from either space. See Figure 13.6.
Figure 13.6 The Organizer offers similar printing options to those found in the Editor workspaces.
The link between paper type and quality prints
When you first start to output your own images, the wide range of printer settings and controls can be confusing. To start with it is best to stick to a standard setup and allow the built-in features of the driver to adjust the printer for you. For most printing tasks, selecting the media type in the Print Properties dialog will be sufficient to ensure good results. The manufacturers have determined the optimum ink and resolution settings for each paper type and, for 90% of all printing tasks, using the default settings is a good way to ensure consistently high quality results. So if you are using gloss photographic paper, for example, make sure that you select this as your paper type in the Printer Settings dialog. See Figure 13.7.
Figure 13.7 Selecting a specific paper type will adjust your printer to the optimum settings for the media.
Making your first print
Editor: File > Print
With an image open in the Editor workspace, display the Print dialog (File > Print). Check the thumbnail to ensure that the whole of the picture is located within the paper boundaries. To change the paper’s size or orientation, select the Page Setup and Printer Properties options. Whilst here, adjust the printer output settings to suit the type of paper being used. Work your way back to the Print dialog by clicking the OK buttons. See Figure 13.8.
To alter the position or size of the picture on the page, deselect the Center Image option and then select the Show Bounding Box feature. Change the image size by clicking and dragging the handles at the edge and corners of the image. If you can’t see the handles try inputting a number smaller than 100% in the Scale box until the edge of the picture is visible. Move the picture to a different position on the page by clicking on the picture surface and dragging the whole image to a different area. See Figure 13.9. To print, select the Print button and then the OK button.
Figure 13.8 Change paper size, orientation and type via the Page Setup and Printer Properties dialogs.
FEATURE SUMMARY
1 Select Print (File > Print) after ensuring that the file has sufficient resolution for printing. Use a minimum of 220 dpi for photo-quality printing.
2 Click the Page Setup button.
3 Pick the Printer option to set the paper type, page size and orientation, and print quality options.
4 Click OK to exit these dialogs and return to the Print dialog.
5 At this stage you can choose to allow Elements to center the image automatically on the page (tick the Center Image box) and enlarge, or reduce, the picture so that it fits the page size selected (choose the Fit on Page option from the Print Size menu).
6 Alternatively, you can adjust the position of the picture and its size manually by deselecting these options and ticking the Show Bounding Box feature. To move the image, click inside the picture and drag to a new position. To change its size, click and drag one of the handles located at the corners of the bounding box.
7 With all the settings complete, click Print to output your image.
Figure 13.9 Change the size and position of the image on the page with the controls in the Print dialog.
Color Management in the Print Dialog
There are several settings in the Color Management Section of the Print dialog that are useful for ensuring that you get the best color match between screen and print. These settings are also the ones that many users have difficulties in understanding how and when to use them. See Figure 13.10. Let’s look at each in turn
Figure 13.10 The settings in the Color Management area control the way that photo colours are match with printer capabilities.
Color Handling
One of the key tasks that needs to be handled when printing is the massaging of the colors in the photo so that they fit the range of colors that can be output by the printer. The choices in the Color Handling menu of the Print dialog determine how this massaging will be handled. See Figure 13.11. There are three options:
Figure 13.11 Three Color Handling options are available to Elements users.
Printer Manages Color – The picture is sent to the printer and the printer massages the colors to fit. This option provides good results and is simplest to use.
Photoshop Elements Manages Color – Photoshop Elements controls the adjustment of the images tones to suit the printer’s capabilities. This provides the best results but does require the user to set both the Printer Profile and Rendering intent carefully as well as making sure that the printer is not using its own color management system. This needs to be switched off.
No Color Management – This option is not recommended as using it will mean that the photo, printer and Photoshop Elements will not share a common understanding about the colors in the photo.
Printer Profile
The Printer Profile is a small settings file that describes to Photoshop Elements the range of colors that are capable of being printed by the device. Most often these files are downloaded to your computer when you install the drivers for a new printer. Some printers have a single printer profile, others have several different versions depending on the paper surface that you are printing on. If you have selected the Photoshop Elements Manages Colors option then you need to also correctly choose the printer profile from the drop down list in the Color Management section of the Print Dialog.
At various points in the digital photography process it is necessary to change or alter the spread of colors in a picture so that they fit the characteristics of an output device, such as a screen or printer, more fully. The Photoshop Elements user has four choices of approach that the program can use in this conversion process. Each approach produces different results and is based on a specific conversion or ‘rendering intent’. specific conversion approaches can be selected from the Rendering Intent drop-down menu in the Color Management section of the print dialog. The options are:
The Relative Colorimetric setting squashes or stretches the range of colors in the original photo so that they fit the range of possible colors that the new device can display or print.
The Saturation option tries to maintain the strength of colors during the conversion process (even if color accuracy is the cost).
The Perceptual setting puts conversion emphasis on ensuring that the adjusted picture, when viewed on the new output device, appears to the human eye to be very similar to the original photo.
The Absolute Colorimetric option translates colors exactly from the original photo to the range of colors for the new device. Those colors that can’t be displayed are clipped.
Sound a little confusing? Well don’t worry. The default setting, Relatvie Colormetric, is usually a fine choice for most subjects.
Printing directly from Photoshop.com
Once your photos have been uploaded to Photoshop.com it is possible to print directly from the site to your desktop printer. Just choose the Print option from the menu that appears when you right-click a thumbnail. The is also an Order Prints button at the bottom of the window. Use this feature to place an order for prints to be made by Shutterfly.com. These options are great for the Photoshop Elements users, but even better news for their friends and relatives as they too can print to a desktop machine or Order Prints that you have shared with them online. It is even possible to allow the general public to print any photos displayed in the Browse workspace of Photoshop.com.
Of course being so generous as to allow every Tom, Dick and Harry, the ability to print your pictures might not be something that you want to do, so Photoshop.com provides a setting to control the printability of the photos you place on line. To allow users to print photos locate the Online Album in the My Photos workspace. Click onto the Album icon (on the left of the entry) and select the Allow Printing option. To restrict access to just viewing, that is, no printing (or downloading) allowed, make sure that the setting is not selected in this menu. See Figure 13.12.
Figure 13.12 Control whether your images can be printed, or downloaded, from your online albums via the settings in the Album pop-up menu. Click onto the Album icon (on the left) to display it.
In the last few years the digital camera market has exploded. Now digital camera sales easily outstrip their film-based counterparts over the same selling period. And with the onslaught of these new silicon shooters has come a change in the way that people take pictures.
Users are starting to alter the way they shoot to accommodate the strengths of the new technology. One of these strengths is the fact that the act of taking a picture has no inherent cost. In comparison, film-based shooting always involves a development cost associated with the production of negatives and prints, as well as the initial purchase of the film, whereas digital picture taking is essentially costless. Yes, there is the outlay for the camera and the expense associated with the storage, manipulation and output of these images, but the cost of shooting is zero. Hence, it seems that the typical digital camera user is shooting more pictures, more often, than they were when capturing to film. See Figure 13.13.
Figure 12.13 As there is no cost associated with shooting, digital camera users now take more pictures than when they were using film-based cameras.
Contact sheets
Editor: File > Print Multiple Photos > Contact Sheet
Digital photographers are not afraid to shoot as much as they like because they know that they will only have to pay for the production of the very best of the images they take. Consequently, hard drives all over the country are filling up with thousands of pictures. Navigating this array of images can be quite difficult and many shooters still prefer to edit their photographs as prints rather than on screen. The people at Adobe must have understood this situation when they developed the Contact Print feature for Photoshop and Elements. Elements 6 and 7 contains a version of the feature that is part of the Print Multiple Photos dialog.
From within one feature, the imaging program creates a series of small thumbnail versions of all the images in a catalog or those that were multi-selected before opening the tool. These small pictures are arranged on pages and can be labeled with file name, captions and dates. From there it is an easy task to print a series of these contact sheets that can be kept as a permanent record of a folder’s images. The job of selecting the best pictures to manipulate and print can then be made with hard copies of your images without having to spend the time and money to output every image to be considered. See Figure 13.14.
The options contained within the Contact Sheet dialog allow the user to select the number of columns of image thumbnails and the content of the text labels that are added. The page size and orientation can be chosen via the Page Setup button.
FEATURE SUMMARY
1 If working in the Editor workspace, open the images to be printed; otherwise multi-select the pictures from inside the Photo Browser.
2 Select File > Print Multiple Photos and choose Contact Sheet from the Select Type of Print menu. From the Photo Browser select File > Print and then choose Contact Print.
3 Use the Add and Remove Photos buttons to adjust the list of pictures to be included in the contact sheet.
4 Select the printer from the drop-down list in section 1 of the dialog. If need be, click the Printer Preferences button next to the printer selection to adjust the hardware settings to suit your output. See Figure 13.14.
5 In section 2 of the dialog select Contact Sheet from the drop-down list of print types. See Figure 13.14.
6 In the final section 3 choose the number of columns to use (and therefore the total number of thumbnails to place on a single sheet) and select the content of the label text to be included. See Figure 13.15.
7 Click Print to output the contact sheet.
Figure 13.14 The Contact Sheet option in the Print Selected Images or Print Photos dialog creates thumbnail versions of all the images from the thumbnail list.
Figure 13.15 The options in the Contact Sheet dialog allow the user to select the number of thumbnails per page by adjusting the columns value as well as what text will be included as labels.
Editor: File > Print Multiple Photos > Picture Package or Organizer: File > Print > Picture Package
At some stage in your digital imaging career you will receive a request for multiple prints of a single image. The picture might be the only shot available of the winning goal from the local football match, or a very, very cute picture of your daughter blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, but whatever the story, multiple requests mean time spent printing the same image. Adobe included the Picture Package feature in its Elements and Photoshop packages to save you from such scenarios. Previously located in the Print Layouts section of the File menu where the Contact Sheet command was placed, the revamped Picture Package has now been integrated into the Print Multiple Photos dialog. The feature allows you to select one of a series of predesigned multi-print layouts that have been carefully created to fit many images neatly onto a single sheet of standard paper.
There are designs that place multiples of the same size pictures together and those that surround one or two larger images with many smaller versions. The feature provides a preview of the pictures in the layout. You can also choose to repeat the same image throughout the design by selecting the One Picture per Page option. There is also the option to select a frame from one of the many listed to surround the photos you print.
Figure 13.16 The Picture Package option lays out multiple versions of the same image or several different pictures on a single sheet of paper and includes an option for surrounding the photos with a fancy frame.
Whichever layout and frame design you pick, this feature should help you to keep both family members and football associates supplied with enough visual memories to make sure they are happy. See Figure 13.16.
FEATURE SUMMARY
1 If working in the Editor workspace, open the images to be printed; otherwise multi-select the pictures from inside the Photo Browser.
2 Select File > Print Multiple Photos and choose Picture Package from the Select Type of Print menu. From the Photo Browser select File > Print and then choose Picture Package.
3 Use the Add and Remove Photos buttons to adjust the list of pictures to be included in the contact sheet.
4 Drag the photos on the preview page to reorder their sequence or alter their position in the layout. You can also add more pictures from the film strip by dragging them from the left of the dialog into the preview area.
5 Select the printer from the drop-down list in section 1 of the dialog. If need be, click the Printer Preferences button next to the printer selection to adjust the hardware settings to suit your output. See Figure 13.16.
6 In section 2 of the dialog select Picture Package from the drop-down list of print types. See Figure 13.16.
7 In the final section 3 choose the Layout and Frame design to be included. See Figure 13.17.
8 To repeat a single image on a page click the One Photo per Page option. To add many different pictures to the same page leave this item unchecked.
9 Click Print to output the Picture Package pages.
Figure 13.17 There are many different Layout and Frame designs included in the revised Picture Package feature.
Figure 13.18 The Labels option lays out multiple versions of the same image or several different pictures in a format to suit commercially made sheets of adhesive labels.
Picture labels
Editor: File > Print Multiple Photos > Labels or Organizer: File > Print > Labels
First introduced in Elements 3.0 for Windows, this additional Multi-photo Printing option lays out and sizes the images to suit the design of commercially available sheets of adhesive labels. The Layout box contains a variety of label sheet designs and just as with the Picture Package feature you can add frames to your label photos. To help with precise aligning of the print to the label sheet Adobe has also included an offset print settings box. Here you can make slight adjustments of where the pictures print on the paper surface. If the print is misaligned to the left then add a positive number to the settings; if the error is to the right then you will need to add a negative number to the dialog. See Figures 13.18 and 13.19.
FEATURE SUMMARY
1 If working in the Editor workspace, open the images to be printed; otherwise multi-select the pictures from inside the Photo Browser.
2 Select File > Print Multiple Photos and choose Labels from the Select Type of Print menu. From the Photo Browser select File > Print and then choose Labels.
3 Use the Add and Remove Photos buttons to adjust the list of pictures to be included in the labels sheet.
4 Select the printer from the drop-down list in section 1 of the dialog. See Figure 13.18. If need be, click the Printer Preferences button next to the printer selection to adjust the hardware settings to suit your output.
5 In section 2 (see Figure 13.18) of the dialog select Labels from the drop-down list of print types.
6 In the final section 3 (see Figure 13.18) choose the Layout and Frame design to be included.
7 To repeat a single image on a page click the One Photo per Page option. To add many different pictures to the same page leave this item unchecked.
8 Click Print to output the label pages.
9 If the label print doesn’t quite match the perforations on the sheet then adjust the print position using the Offset Print Area settings.
Figure 13.19 As with the other Print Multiple Photos options, the Picture Labels feature allows you to print a page of labels with different images (1) or, by selecting the One Photo per Page setting, produce a whole sheet with multiple copies of the one picture (2).
Individual Prints
Editor: File > Print Multiple Photos > Individual Prints or Organizer: File > Print > Individual Prints
Also included in Elements 7 is the ability to set up and print several individual photographs at one time. Until this version of the program the traditional Print dialog (Editor: File > Print) was the only way you could print one photo on a page. This approach is fine if all you want to do is print a single photo, but what if you have 10 pictures that you want to print quickly and easily? Well, this is where the Individual Print option in the Print Multiple Photos feature comes into play. This option allows the user to ‘batch’ a variety of one-image-to-one page photos at the same time. Though you don’t have as many options when outputting your picture with this feature you can still choose the size of the photo on the page and whether it will be cropped in order to fill the paper size fully. And for those times when you need a couple of prints of a group of pictures simply change the number of times the pictures will be used in the print batch. See Figure 13.20 on the next page.
FEATURE SUMMARY
1 If working in the Editor workspace, open the images to be printed; otherwise multi-select the pictures from inside the Photo Browser.
2 Select File > Print Multiple Photos and choose Individual Prints from the Select Type of Print menu. From the Photo Browser select File > Print and then choose Individual Prints.
3 Use the Add and Remove Photos buttons to adjust the list of pictures to be included in the labels sheet.
4 Select the printer from the drop-down list in section 1 of the dialog. See Figure 13.20. If need be, click the Printer Preferences button next to the printer selection to adjust the hardware settings to suit your output.
5 In section 2 of the dialog (see Figure 13.20) select Individual Prints from the drop-down list of print types.
6 In the final section 3 (see Figure 13.20) select the Print Size you desire. If you are using the Fit on Page option then you can also select the Crop to Fit feature designed to ensure the picture fills the print paper fully.
7 To obtain more than one print of each picture adjust the value in the Use each Photo option.
8 Click Print to output the individual prints.
Figure 13.20 At first glance the Individual Print option in the Print Multiple Photos feature might seem like a simplified version of the Print Preview dialog, but this option really comes into its own when you want to produce a series of prints of single images quickly and easily.
Balancing image size and picture quality
The printing techniques detailed abouve can be used for producing good prints for the majority of images, papers, inks and printers. To gain the ultimate in control over your printed output, however, you need to delve a little deeper. Let’s start by revisiting the factors that underpin good image quality.
Great prints are made from good images, and we know from previous chapters that digital image quality is based on high image resolution and high bit depth. Given this scenario, it would follow that if I want to make the best prints possible, then I should at first create pictures with massive pixel dimensions and huge numbers of colors. The problem is that such files take up loads of disk space and, due to their size, are very, very slow to work with, to the point of being practically impossible to edit on most desktop machines.
The solution is to find a balance between image quality and file size that still produces ‘good prints’. See Figure 13.21. For the purposes of this book, ‘good prints’ are defined as those that appear photographic in quality and can be considered visually ‘pixel-less’. The quality of all output is governed by a combination of the printer mechanism, the ink set used and the paper, or media, the image is printed on. To find the balance that works best with your setup, you will need to perform a couple of simple tests with your printer.
Figure 13.21 Just as is the case with photos optimized for web usage, good prints are made from files that balance file size and image quality.
Figure 13.22 Some printers are capable of outputting all tones in an image, others lose delicate highlight and shadow details in the printing process. (1) Lost highlight. (2) Shadow detail.
Getting to know your printer
Testing tones
There are 256 levels of tones in each channel (Red, Green and Blue) of a 24-bit digital image. A value of 0 is pure black and one of 255 is pure white. Desktop inkjet machines do an admirable job of printing most of these tones, but they do have trouble printing delicate highlight (230–255) and shadow (0–40) details. Some machines will be able to print all 256 levels of tones, others will only be able to output a smaller subset. See Figure 13.22.
To test your own printer/ink/paper setup, make a stepped grayscale that contains separate tonal strips from 0 to 255 in approximately five tone intervals. Alternatively, download the example grayscale from this book’s website. Print the grayscale using the best quality settings for the paper you are using. Examine the results. In particular, check to see at what point it becomes impossible to distinguish dark gray tones from pure black and light gray values from white. Note these values down for use later, as they represent the range of tones printable by your printer/paper/ink combination. See Figure 13.23.
Figure 13.23 Print the example grayscale, noting down the tones that your machine fails to print.
Figure 13.24 Drag the black and white Output sliders until they match the values of those found in the grayscale or tone test.
When you are next adjusting the levels of an image to be printed, move the output sliders at the bottom of the dialog until black and white points are set to those you found in your test. The spread of tones in your image will now meet those that can be printed by your printer/paper/ink combination. See Figure 13.24.
Testing resolution
Modern printers are capable of incredible resolution. Some are able to output discrete dots at a rate of over 5000 per inch. Many users believe that to get the utmost detail in their prints they must match this printer resolution with the same image resolution. Although this seems logical, good results can be achieved where one pixel is printed with several printer dots. Thank goodness this is the case, because the result is lower resolution images and therefore more manageable, and smaller, file sizes. But the question still remains – exactly what image resolution should be used?
Again, a simple test can help provide a practical answer. Create a high-resolution file with good sharp detail throughout. Using Image > Resize > Image Size makes a series of 10 pictures from 1000 to 100 ppi, reducing in resolution by 100 ppi each time (i.e. 1000, 900, 800, etc.). Alternatively, download the resolution examples from this book’s website (www.photoshopelements.net). Now print each of these pictures at the optimum setting for your machine, with ink and paper you normally use. Next, examine each image carefully. Find the lowest resolution image where the picture still appears photographic. This is the minimum image resolution that you should use if you want your output to remain photographic quality.
For my setup, this setting varies between 200 and 300 ppi. I know if I use these values I can be guaranteed good results without using massive file sizes.
As computer operating systems have developed, so too has the way that they have handled the management of color, from capture through the manipulation phase to output. A central part of this process is a group of settings, called a color profile, that governs the conversion of an image’s color from one device to another. A well-calibrated system will contain a profile for scanner/camera, screen, printer and a working profile that is used when editing the file in Elements. These profiles are used so that the image is passed from one managed space to another.
When printing with Adobe Elements it is possible to select the type of color management you want to apply to the output. If your printer came supplied with a profile, you can select it in the Print Space area of the Print dialog. Some printers are supplied with several profiles matched to different paper types. In previous versions of Elements you will need to select Show More Options to make the Color Management section of the dialog visible. If no profile is supplied, then you can either elect to use the same space the image was captured in or select the Printer Manages Color option in the Color Handling section of the Print dialog. Alternatively you may be able to download and install profiles for your printer from the companies website. See Figure 13.25.
Figure 13.25 If your printer is supplied with a color profile, use the extended options in the (1) Print or (2) Individual Prints dialogs to nominate this set of preferences as your preferred method of print color management.
For the majority of output scenarios these options will provide good results. If you do happen to strike problems where images that appear neutral on screen continually print with a dominant cast, then most printer drivers (the special printer software that manages the activity of printing) include a feature that can be used to change individual colors to eliminate casts. See Figure 13.26.
Figure 13.26 Rid images of persistent casts using the color slider settings built into your printer’s driver software.
Typical printing problems and their solutions
Surface puddling (pooling)
Prints with this problem show puddles of wet ink on the surface of the paper resulting from too much ink being applied. To help this situation, reduce the Cyan, Yellow and Magenta sliders in the printer’s dialog box. Make sure that you make the same change to all three sliders, otherwise you will introduce a color cast into the print. Also increase the Saturation slider; this will decrease the volume of ink going to the black nozzle. See Figure 13.27.
Banding
This problem usually results from one or more of the print heads being clogged. Consult your printer’s manual to find out how to activate the cleaning sequence. Once completed, print a ‘nozzle test’ page to check that all the print needs are working correctly. If banding still occurs after several cleaning attempts it may be necessary to install a new cartridge. See Figure 13.28.
Figure 13.27 Surface puddling results from too much ink hitting the paper surface.
Figure 13.28 Cleaning the print heads usually solves banding problems.
Edge bleeding
Edges of the print appear fuzzy and shadow areas are clogged and too dark. This usually occurs when using an uncoated paper. Use the corrective steps detailed in ‘puddling’ above, as well as choosing a media or paper type such as ‘Plain Paper’ or ‘Backlit Film’. These measures will change the amount of ink being applied, and the spacing of the ink droplets, to account for the absorbency of the paper. See Figure 13.29.
Figure 13.29 Edge bleeding can result from using an uncoated porous paper.
Web-Based Printing
Editor: File > Order Prints, Organizer: File > Order Prints
In designing Elements, Adobe realized that the web plays, and will continue to play, a large role in the life of most digital image makers. The inclusion of a Web-Based Printing option in the package shows just how far online technology has developed.
Although many images you make, or enhance, with Elements will be printed right at your desktop, occasionally you might want the option to output some prints on traditional photographic paper. The Order Prints option, located in the File menu, provides just this utility. See Figure 13.30.
Using the resources of kodakgallery.com in the USA, Elements users can upload copies of their favorite images to the company’s site and have them photographically printed in a range of sizes. The finished prints will then be mailed back to you. This service provides the convenience of printing from your desktop with the image and archival qualities of having your digital pictures output using a photographic rather than inkjet process.
Figure 13.30 The Online Services feature allows you to print digital files photographically direct from your desktop.
Figure 13.31 Images that are already opened in Elements can be uploaded directly to the kodakgallery.com website.
Making your first online prints
In previous versions of Elements you needed to access the Online Services feature before uploading your pictures to print, but Elements 7 streamlines the process by allowing you to upload directly from the Editor or Organizer workspace. The first time you use the feature you will need to register for the service but from that time onwards the feature works seamlessly from inside the Elements package. See Figure 13.31.
Although kodakgallery.com does provide a set of simple online editing and enhancement tools at its main site, I prefer to alter my images in Elements first before uploading. In addition to printing your favorite pictures, kodakgallery.com also provides album creation and image-sharing services, allowing you and your friends to upload your favorite photos, review them and then print those that you like the most. See Figure 13.32.
If you like the look of true photographic quality prints, then this online option provides a quick, easy and reliable service to output your digital images from your desktop.
To print online
FEATURE SUMMARY
1 Select or multi-select pictures from Photo Browser.
2 Choose File > Order prints.
3 Choose print numbers and size from the Customize section of kodakgallery.com. Click Next.
4 Select the recipient of the prints from the list or add new contact details and then click Next.
5 Review print and shipping charges at the next screen and then click Next.
6 At the Billing section insert your credit card information and add the billing address. Click Place Order, which will upload your pictures and then display an order confirmation.
Figure 13.32 The uploaded pictures can be stored in a series of photo albums on the kodakgallery.com website ready for sharing and printing. The online service can also be used for creating and printing cards, calendars and photo books.
FEATURE SUMMARY
To upload files for sharing
1 Select or multi-select pictures from the Organizer workspace.
2 Choose the Share Online option from the Share button in the shortcuts bar.
3 Choose the person you want to share the pictures with from the list or add new contact details for a new recipient. Click Next.
4 The files will now be uploaded and an invitation to share the pictures will be sent to the recipients selected in the previous step.
Options for web printing
Since version 5.0 Elements has contained a streamlined method of ordering online prints. Individual or multi-selected thumbnails are dragged and dropped onto contact names in the Quick Share pane (previously Order Prints). The photos to print are associated with the contact name and once the order is confirmed they are uploaded, printed and sent to the contact using the delivery details first entered when creating the contact. See Figure 13.33.
FEATURE SUMMARY
Using the Order Prints pane
1 Open the Quick Share pane by selecting Organizer: Window >Quick Share.
2 Select or multi-select images from the Photo Browser (Organizer) workspace to print.
3 Drag the selected prints to the Contact name (Target) in the pane. When the target changes color let go of the mouse button to drop the pictures.
4 Press the Confirm Order button to process the order with the online print company.
To add a new Order Print contact
1 Open the Quick Share pane and press the Add New Contact button by selecting Organizer: Window > Quick Share. Insert the details in the dialog displayed. ‘1’ in Figure 13.33.
To review and confirm an order for a specific contact
1 Open the Quick Share (Order Prints) pane, select a contact name from those listed and then press the View Photos in Order button. Review the photos shown in the dialog and then press the Confirm Order button to place the online print order. ‘2’ in Figure 13.30.
Figure 13.33 Use the Order Prints pane to drag and drop photos to be printed online onto the contact that they are to be sent to.