Printing
Printing is specific to the printer, software being used to print from, file type, computer operating system and even the paper being printed on. Like everything in digital photography, there is no "one way" to print. The following shows how to print from Adobe Photoshop CS2, as well as the free Picasa software from Google, and the significant differences between the two.


From Picasa
The main window in Picasa looks like this:



At the bottom there is a button labeled "print". Select that button and any image selected (shown in the photo tray on the bottom left) will open in a print option window, as shown below:



I know, it's a different image than what was in the tray, but it's funnier... anyway, on the left are your options for size (physical print dimensions)and printer selection.



Once you have selected a printer from the drop down list, you have the ability to select some options that are printer specific like paper type etc.

This is pretty much all you really have control over, and though usable, not very good. Just make sure to choose the correct paper type from the printer options.

From Adobe Photoshop CS2
With an image open in photoshop, go to the file menu at the top and select "print with preview" from the drop down menu. From this point on you will never use "print" or Cntrl-P ever again, you will always use the print-with-preview command.



This is the part that makes print with preview so good. Here you can resize the image, but even better, this is where you can tell photoshop (the application) to manage the color, not the printer,



and you can even tell it to use a specific profile made for that printer with that paper. Above the selected profile was downloaded from ilford.com and is for the ilford smooth pearl paper to be printed on the epson 2400 printer! Now when conversions in color happen, they will be much more specific to the printer and the type of paper even though they are all from different companies.

Once we have that set, then click the page setup button. This brings up the page setup box allowing you to choose a printer if you have multiple printers, as well as page orientation and paper size.



Hit ok, and then hit the print button.



This usually brings up the printer driver (the software that actually controls your printer). Keep in mind that all drivers are different, even if the printers are made by the same company, so yours may not look like this one. This is the driver for the Epson 2400.

From the driver you will be able select settings that are specific to your printer.

On this driver, clicking the drop down menu that says copies and pages will give you other settings such as print settings, where you can choose the surface (matte, glossy, semi glossy...) as well as the print speed and the print quality. There will always be different quality settings based on the type of media (paper) that you use.



Probably the most important setting is the color management setting, because here is where we tell the printer not to color manage anything, and to let photoshop (the application) deal with it. Some printers, such as the HP 8250, require you to hit an "Advanced" button to access these settings.





There are other settings, but these are the two main ones. Make sure you have the paper in the printer facing the right way or the ink will sit on the surface and collect on the feed rollers, which will continue to roll off on all subsequent prints. Hit Print.

Some printers are very basic and may not have either of these settings, which means they are allowing the printer to do all the work for a variety of papers that it knows nothing about. You get what you pay for =)