There is nothing that can compare with a good print, properly mounted for showing off our images to best effect.
Users of word processors and similar programs could be forgiven for thinking
that clicking on "Print" will produce the desired result.
Unfortunately this is not the case - we need to find our way through a seemingly
endless series of dialogue boxes.
Decisions, decisions, decisions! It's enough to frighten-off the faint
hearted.
The resources that follow here are designed to help you to navigate through all of these dialogue boxes in order to establish a reliable and consistent printing routine.
| 1. | decisions to make at the "taking stage" | considerations in order to capture the best image for printing. |
| 2. | colour settings in Photoshop Elements | setting-up "Elements" with printing in mind. |
| 3. | colour settings in Photoshop | setting-up "Photoshop" with printing in mind. |
| What happens when you choose
"Print" varies slightly depending on which version of Elements
or Photoshop you are using. This is the reason for having five different tutorials covering the print dialogue. |
||
| 4. | the print dialogue - Elements 5 and earlier | |
| 5. | the print dialogue - Elements 6 and later | |
| 6. | the print dialogue - Photoshop 7 and CS | |
| 7. | the print dialogue - Photoshop CS2 | |
| 8. | the print dialogue - Photoshop CS3 and CS4 | |
| Having successfully navigated
through Elements/Photoshop's print dialogue, you now have to do battle
with the dialogue for the printer itself. Details depend on the make and model of printer you have, The following explains the dialogue for an Epson R2400 printer. If you have an Epson printer, your choices may be very similar. If your printer is from another manufacturer, it is still worth studying this tutorial to see how it relates to your printer driver. |
||
| 9. | the printer's print dialogue | |
| Even when you have successfully
sorted out all of the above, it is likely that your print may not be a
perfect match to what you see on screen. Assuming that you have a modern monitor, the colours ought to be pretty close, but you may find that the print is unacceptably dark compared to the screen image. Having your monitor correctly profiled will help a lot. If you need help with this, consult the Competition Secretary for advice. The tutorial that follows explains how to emulate the darkroom worker's "test strip" in the "digital darkroom." |
||
| 10. | digital test strip | use this in Photoshop or Elements to establish the correct adjustment needed to correct the image so that the print has the correct density. |
| 11. | digital test print using Lightroom | use this in Lightroom to establish the correct adjustment needed to correct the image so that the print has the correct density. |
|
Once you have your print it's time to mount it. If you've never done this before you may be surprised what a big difference a well-chosen mount can make.
|
||
| 12. | cutting a window mount | |
| 13. | matworks |
An excellent (and free) utility for the Windows operating system that makes short work of calculating all the measurements needed for matting a print. |
| 14. | using matworks | A tutorial for the Matworks program. |
