Hello,

I shoot Canon 5d Mark II and print fairly large on HP Z3100. I usually process my RAW files via ACR and then send them to CS4 (MacBookPro). If I wish to be picky I use Canon DPP. I don’t have RIP.

The issue is small prints; yes, sometime I need them too!

In such a case I create a “noodle” of several images in PS and print them on 24” roll. They need to be of the same file size otherwise their dimensions are unpredictable. Generally, this method works but it is a fairly complicated and time-consuming process.

Recently I downloaded LR demo. It is much better than Adobe beta versions light years ago! One feature that immediately caught my eye was printing, particularly the very convenient presets for small prints. I can simply drop any file into LR template and it takes care of the sizing, etc. (BTW – I still don’t know how to mix several different photo files within the same template).

Therefore, my question is: Do I need Lightroom? Are there any other specific “lifesavers” within or aside of the printing section that I should know about? (Yes, I will download Michael Reichman’s video).

Thanks in advance for your always very useful input!

Vlad3

Lightroom does an awful lot more than just printing! From your description, I wonder if QImage isn't really what you need. It's windows-only, but sufficiently useful to me that I run it, when I need it, on my Mac under VMWare Fusion. It works very well. I'm sure there are other alternatives to LR.

That said, LR is a fantastic piece of software, which I use daily. It might just be overkill for your specific requirements.

Jeremy

I second that. The RAW import of Qimage shouldn't be underestimated too. It had a fix for the 5D MK II black dot issue before any other application had it and the Canon firmware upgrade doesn't do it better.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html

Qimage - much better at print layout than LR in my experience, excellent upressing and OK sharpening (I turn it down a bit quite often on my Z3100). You'll get to the point that you never want to print from an adobe product again.

Lightroom is great as a workflow solution and has a nicer interface than ACR used directly, but in terms of the important stuff (to me) doesn't offer more than Bridge, ACR, CS4 and does tend to takeover your workflow. You find the effort to use DPP or DXo as an alternative is suddenly that much greater.

Mike

Edited to say - Qimage is also very good value and the Studio edition comes with lifetime upgrades. You don't need to downl;oad every one, just occasionally update to the latest. I've not used the raw engine lately, but if I just wanted to make a set of prints of holiday photos for the album etc that would be my first all.That's not meant to undersell it, just a commentary on my workflow (scatter method usually employed - I was pleased to see that Gary Winogrand had the same problems finding his negs as I have my negs and files). Also, I still shoot a lot of film, so the proces and print functions are more separate for me than might otherwise be the case.

Hi guys,

Thank you so much for your quick replies! This group is wonderful and always reliable! Good to hear from you Ernst again! Many years ago we were in touch quite often when I was still using my Epson 3000 with Jon Cone’s Sundance quadtone inks (these good old simplistic days).

In short, you have resonated many issues buzzing through my head already. Yes, LR is wonderful but the ACR-CS4 combination works equally well (at least for me). I hear so much about Qimage – except I am on MAC with no Windows installed. Therefore, could you recommend any other (affordable) MAC compatible software that would allow me to print small sizes on HP Z3100 without too much headache (just drop and push the button)?

I can easily continue my current “noodle” printing method – but not asking this group for opinion would be an unforgettable sin, art least in my eyes.

Cheers,

Vlad3

Vlad3, although ACR-Bridge-CS4 does work fine on the Mac, from a printing workflow point of view LR is much easier. Mostly because of the ability to create your own templates and do batch printing. For example, select a group of images, click your template, and hit the Print One button. No more messing around with printer dialog boxes, and don't have to go through each image one by one to print it. You can easily make sure that the maximum physical print dimension of each image is limited to your required size (e.g., 6" on the longest side).

I'll second the vote for Qimage. It is the most flexible way to print, would certainly allow you to set up a template for small prints, or just drag and drop them. Incidentally, the interpolation in Qimage is easily as good as Photoshop's, and does it on the fly so you never have to make a large file or save it. Qimage's smart sharpening is also done on the fly, and is paper/profile/output size/resolution aware.

I would opt for Lightroom because of all the other benefits it offers in addition to printing. I use Lightroom to print batches of small prints, and it is great for this.