Printingimagesisoftenseen as a luxury
amongstenthusiastphotographers today.
Duringthedaysoffilm,nobody would consider
a negativethefinalimage,but in the digital
age,a physicalprintisoften reserved only for
themostimportantimages. The vast majority
ofdigitalimagesproducedremainasdigital
IMPROVE YOUR PRINTS
Take a look at some of the essential steps involved in reliably
producing stunning prints from your digital captures
files, even in the professional arena, with more
and more clients requesting photographs
in electronic format. Therefore it can come
as a shock to those new to pro-level printing
just how much is involved in the process of
outputting a quality paper print, which matches
the performanceofthecameraandlensusedto capture the image. Software processes
provide a critical step in the print preparation
workflow. There are a number of key actions
that can improve print reliability – below we
explore some of the core stages, while looking
to some of Photoshop’s lesser used tools for
solutionstocommonproprintingchallenges.Crop to size
The Crop tool is one of the most used tools in Photoshop, but
saving custom crop preset is an effective way of streamlining
your printing workflow. Professional studios
oftenreceive requests for unconventional
print sizes, which don’t conform to
standard dimensions. Save presets
as you go and have the correct size
and resolution for any print at
your fingertips.Targetedsharpening
Toimprovecrispnessofsmallareas of
theframeandproduceprintswith lifelike
depth,theSharpentoolis ofgreat benefit.
Bysettinga lowStrengthyoucan gradually
buildupthesharpeningeffect. This is perfect for
extractingdetailin theeyesof a portrait or small textures without
introducingglobalnoise.Thisis most effective when using mattpaper.ChooseBlack/White
pointpositions
SettingtheBlackandWhitepoints has
longbeenseenasanessential method
ofavoidingshadowandhighlight
clipping,whileintroducinggood levels of
contrasttoanimage.Whenediting your
RAWfilesforprint,setyourpoints based
onpapertype,notsolelyhistogram
informationorimageappearance.
Withexperienceyoumaydecide to set
yourBlackpointhigheror
Whiteslower,producing
washed-outfiles,but
preventingprint
detailloss.Use Blend Modes
A quick and easy method of brightening
or darkening an image for print is via the
use of layer Blend Modes. If after running a
test print your image is a little over exposed,
duplicate the Background layer (Ctrl/Cmd+J)
and change the Blend Mode of the copy to Multiply.
Inversely, should your shot be a little dark, use the Screen Blend
Mode to brighten it. Lower layer opacity to 30% or as required.Conclusion
In order to do justice to the detail and colour
we strived so hard to achieve in our RAW
files, it is essential to adopt an effective
standard software workflow, to ensure all of
this information makes it onto the surface of
the print medium unhindered.Selectivecolour
Anoftenunder-used
PhotoshopTooltoday,
SelectiveColourallows
easymanipulation
ofindividual
coloursin an
image.This
is useful
where
printed
images
havean
unwanted
colourcast
affecting
somehues
morethanothers.
Hue/Saturationis
analternative,but
SelectiveColour’sslider
basedsystemallows
finecontrol.Curves for colour
Take full tonal and colour
control by using the
Curves. Where prints
exhibit difficult-to-
target colour shifts in
shadows and highlights
individually, edit the
Curves colour channels
in turn, to differentially
adjust the bias at any
point on the tonal range,
from shadows, through
midtones, to upper
highlights. Change the
Curves Adjustment
Layer Blend Mode
to Colour to edit
colour only, leaving
tonal contrast
unaffected.Add noise
Glossy prints are the
most popular with
the buying public due
totheoften strong
colour saturation
and superior
sharpness.
However
this paper
type is not
ideal for
textured
landscapes.
To i n t r o d u c e
greater
texture without
over-sharpening,
consider adding noise
(Filter>Noise>Add
Noise). Choose Gaussian
and Monochromatic.PRINT & SHARE