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Resampling forces the software to create a new pattern of pixels, but Photoshop Elements 2.0 (like Photoshop itself) does this poorly.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
Digital photo workflow, Part 3: Printing using templates


Feb. 22, 2004


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard

   To me, the goal of digital photography is something you can hang on the wall.
   Unfortunately, this love of photographic prints comes at a cost. There's the expense of a good photo-quality inkjet printer and the cost of ink and paper. Frames add up, too; I always frame my prints behind glass. They look more professional that way.
   But the cost in time is minimal. I've developed a digital workflow that lets me print any of my digital photos quickly and easily. I'll share it with you this week. (If you haven't seen the two previous articles in this series on my digital workflow, you can read them online on my Web site, http://technofileonline.)
   I do three things to make printing work better:
   1. I edit all my photos before storing them on CDs.
   I convert the images worth keeping to TIFF format and immediately crop photos that need drastic edge fixing and that kind of thing. I then edit the TIFF versions to correct color and black-and-white balance (usually called "contrast"). I never leave out this step even on pictures that seem OK.
   2. I size my photos for printing, setting them to 300 dots per inch.
   I open each picture in my image editor, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, and adjust the picture's dots-per-inch (dpi) setting to match the dpi setting my printer normally uses. In my case, and probably in yours, this is 300 dots per inch.
   This is an optional step. You never have to specify the dpi of your pictures because your printer handles this on its own. But I do it so I can control the printed size perfectly. By knowing exactly how my printer deals with 300 dpi images (and by having a color-matched display, the subject of a future article), I can make sure that what I see on my screen is precisely what I want from my Epson.
   But there's a trick to it. I never allow Photoshop Elements 2.0 to resample the image. There's a checkbox for resampling in the menu, but I always leave it unchecked.
   Resampling forces the software to create a new pattern of pixels, but Photoshop Elements 2.0 (like Photoshop itself) does this poorly. When I actually do want to resample an image, I use pxl SmartScale, a Photoshop plugin from www.extensis.com. It costs (ouch!) $200.
   3. I use printing templates, turning printing into a simple drag-and-drop operation.
   I have templates for all likely print sizes and combinations. On Windows, I've used the excellent Qimage Pro software, which costs $45 from www.ddisoftware.com. On Mac OS X, I use the equally good Portraits & Prints, which costs $20 from www.econtechnologies.com. Qimage Pro has template-making functions built in, but Portraits & Prints users will want to get the $10 Portraits & Prints Template Maker.
   Templates I've made include both bordered and borderless sizes, from multiple wallet-size prints on a single 8-inch by 10-inch page to a collection of multiple 4-inch by 6-inch and 5-inch by 7-inch sizes on a single page. I've even made many collage-style templates, some with a lot of small prints and others with one large, dominant print and a few smaller ones on a letter-size page.
   When I'm ready to print with either program, all I have to do is drag each image to its spot on a template and click the Print button.