How do I save paper when printing photos on a poster printer?
January 13, 2011 10:16 AM Subscribe
How do I efficiently print many 8x10 photo prints on a 24" poster printer?
I need to print about 40 photographs and have access to a poster printer loaded with a roll of 24" paper. I'd like to print three (8x10) photos per row, so I don't waste 2/3 of the paper by printing one at a time (which is what I've done in the past, but not for so many prints).
The photos are large TIFF files of all different sizes, so I expect I will have to resize each one to 8x10 and then... what?
I have to do this in the next 24 hours, so simple is best. (When is simple not best?) I have access to Photoshop Elements but am completely unskilled in using it. I am running Windows XP; no Mac access or talent.
Thanks MeFites!
I need to print about 40 photographs and have access to a poster printer loaded with a roll of 24" paper. I'd like to print three (8x10) photos per row, so I don't waste 2/3 of the paper by printing one at a time (which is what I've done in the past, but not for so many prints).
The photos are large TIFF files of all different sizes, so I expect I will have to resize each one to 8x10 and then... what?
I have to do this in the next 24 hours, so simple is best. (When is simple not best?) I have access to Photoshop Elements but am completely unskilled in using it. I am running Windows XP; no Mac access or talent.
Thanks MeFites!
Hm, as far as resizing goes, the easiest way (assuming that you may have different image aspect ratios) would look something like this:
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:05 AM on January 13, 2011
- Open PS
- Under preferences, set your units to inches
- Click the crop tool. In the tool-option bar across the top, you should see windows for Width, Height, and resolution. Change this to 10, 8 and 300 respectively.
- Click and drag in the image window until you've got as much of the image as you want selected. You can fine tune this by clicking and dragging the little square handles on the sides of the crop window
- Press CTRL+ENTER to commit the changes
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:05 AM on January 13, 2011
When I used to run out of 8.5x11 paper at work and needed to print 8x10 photos on larger sizes, I would create a file in photoshop that was the size of my paper. Then I would drag the images I wanted to print into the photoshop file and alig as desired. I would then print the file I'd created and trim to size.
I'd give yourself a quarter inch on each edge of the paper for bleed, and a half-inch between each image so that it's easier to trim. Which gives you two photos per row. Meaning that, if the paper roll is exactly 24" wide, the file you create should be 24 by 17. You could fit all three photos on the same row if your paper was 27", so definitely double check that.
I'm assuming the computer you're using is already set up to work with the large format printer, but you might need to add a custom paper size the photoshop print dialogue. This can be sort of tricky, but I trust you'll figure it out with a bit of teeth gnashing and hair tearing.
posted by Sara C. at 11:07 AM on January 13, 2011
I'd give yourself a quarter inch on each edge of the paper for bleed, and a half-inch between each image so that it's easier to trim. Which gives you two photos per row. Meaning that, if the paper roll is exactly 24" wide, the file you create should be 24 by 17. You could fit all three photos on the same row if your paper was 27", so definitely double check that.
I'm assuming the computer you're using is already set up to work with the large format printer, but you might need to add a custom paper size the photoshop print dialogue. This can be sort of tricky, but I trust you'll figure it out with a bit of teeth gnashing and hair tearing.
posted by Sara C. at 11:07 AM on January 13, 2011
but I trust you'll figure it out with a bit of teeth gnashing and hair tearing.
Yeah, I forgot to add that you might want to hear a hat or something. You'll need something to throw that isn't your hair.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:28 AM on January 13, 2011
Yeah, I forgot to add that you might want to hear a hat or something. You'll need something to throw that isn't your hair.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:28 AM on January 13, 2011
Yay for poster printers! I loved having access to a fancy printer for a while.
I don't think you can do this in photoshop elements alone. You might be able to, but it is going to be a pain(in that photoshap wlements is often kind of crippled. Maybe I'm wrong.
What you can do is take each photo in photoshop elements and resize it, making sure to also change the resolution. You don't need more than 300 DPI for photo-quality prints.
Download and install the open source application Inkscape. Inkscape is like Adobe Illustrator, but free! It works great to make posters. Make a new document that is 24 in by whatever length. I can't give step-by-step directions, because I don't have it on my laptop, and the internets at the airport are too slow to download it.
Start pasting in your photos. You probably want to snap to grid to make them nicely spaced.
When you are done, you can try printing directly from Inkscape, which should work fine. You might print a small test bit to make sure that the orientation of the paper is right.
I would probably print no more than 9 photos in any one document, the avoid making the printer barf. If this is a really new printer, you can send it larger files.
Have fun.
posted by rockindata at 11:46 AM on January 13, 2011
I don't think you can do this in photoshop elements alone. You might be able to, but it is going to be a pain(in that photoshap wlements is often kind of crippled. Maybe I'm wrong.
What you can do is take each photo in photoshop elements and resize it, making sure to also change the resolution. You don't need more than 300 DPI for photo-quality prints.
Download and install the open source application Inkscape. Inkscape is like Adobe Illustrator, but free! It works great to make posters. Make a new document that is 24 in by whatever length. I can't give step-by-step directions, because I don't have it on my laptop, and the internets at the airport are too slow to download it.
Start pasting in your photos. You probably want to snap to grid to make them nicely spaced.
When you are done, you can try printing directly from Inkscape, which should work fine. You might print a small test bit to make sure that the orientation of the paper is right.
I would probably print no more than 9 photos in any one document, the avoid making the printer barf. If this is a really new printer, you can send it larger files.
Have fun.
posted by rockindata at 11:46 AM on January 13, 2011
Photoshop Elements should work fine for this. One thing I would advise you to be careful of is to try to print all the way to the edge of the paper - You said the roll of paper is 24" wide, but digital printers can't print directly to the edge of the paper. There's usually a margin of about 1/8" on each sides (this could vary, check your printer driver.)
To set up the files in Photoshop Elements, here's what you do:
(note: I use the full version of Photoshop. I believe all of these commands should work the same in Elements, but if they don't, you can find the PSE docs here)
1. Open a new file. Size it in inches to 24" x 10" at 300 dpi.
2. Open three of the photographs you wish to print. (PSE's browser window should be able to do this pretty easily, if they're all in the same folder.)
3. Resize the images to 8" x 10", 300 dpi by going to Edit -> Image Size. (You'll have to do this individually for each photo.) If the image is landscape format (10" wide by 8" tall) rotate it by going to Image -> Rotate.
4. Once the photo is resized, hit ctrl+A to select all, and then ctrl+C to copy to the clipboard.
5. Go back to the 24" x 10" file that you've created and hit ctrl+V to paste the photo.
6. Move the photo where you'd like it to be using the Move tool (it looks like a solid black cursor. the keyboard shortcut to choose this tool is V.)
7. Repeat for all 3 photos.
8. Flatten the image by going to the Layer menu and selecting "Flatten image."
9. Save as a TIFF to prevent any loss due to compression.
10. Repeat for the rest of the photos!
posted by girih knot at 3:31 PM on January 13, 2011
To set up the files in Photoshop Elements, here's what you do:
(note: I use the full version of Photoshop. I believe all of these commands should work the same in Elements, but if they don't, you can find the PSE docs here)
1. Open a new file. Size it in inches to 24" x 10" at 300 dpi.
2. Open three of the photographs you wish to print. (PSE's browser window should be able to do this pretty easily, if they're all in the same folder.)
3. Resize the images to 8" x 10", 300 dpi by going to Edit -> Image Size. (You'll have to do this individually for each photo.) If the image is landscape format (10" wide by 8" tall) rotate it by going to Image -> Rotate.
4. Once the photo is resized, hit ctrl+A to select all, and then ctrl+C to copy to the clipboard.
5. Go back to the 24" x 10" file that you've created and hit ctrl+V to paste the photo.
6. Move the photo where you'd like it to be using the Move tool (it looks like a solid black cursor. the keyboard shortcut to choose this tool is V.)
7. Repeat for all 3 photos.
8. Flatten the image by going to the Layer menu and selecting "Flatten image."
9. Save as a TIFF to prevent any loss due to compression.
10. Repeat for the rest of the photos!
posted by girih knot at 3:31 PM on January 13, 2011
You actually want to go to Image -> Resize -> Image Size.
posted by girih knot at 3:34 PM on January 13, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I managed to get some help from someone with more PhotoShop skills since I was desperate, but what she did was pretty much what folks described above. Next time, when I am on my own, girih knot, I'll rely on your step-by-step instructions, which are so great. rockindata, I'll also look into Inkscape.
posted by schweik at 8:32 PM on January 13, 2011
posted by schweik at 8:32 PM on January 13, 2011
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As a decidedly unskilled user of design software, I tend to use PowerPoint for a lot of stuff, and my design husband ridicules me incessantly. In this case, I'd set up Powerpoint for a slide the size of the 24" printer paper, then open up each image, size to 8x10, and copy-paste into the Powerpoint document.
posted by aimedwander at 11:03 AM on January 13, 2011