photoshopHelp

Printer Problems-Epson 740

Jeff writes Help!

I'm trying to print a digital shot from my Olympus digital camera to my old (and trusty) Epson 740. For some reason, the photos look almost solarized, with greyish blacks and hot pink flesh tones. I know part of the answer is to change the color profile, re-save, and use the checkbox (or don't use the checkbox) for the Epson printer profile in the print dialogue box, but for the life of me I can't remember how I did it previously. I'd appreciate any help.For these prints I'm still running OS9.1 and Photoshop 5.5 (I know, I know...!). Thanks in advance for your help.

It sounds like it's time for a tune-up. I don't think this is a color profile problem. The color problem seems larger than that. You didn't mention anything about the ink. Is it Epson inks? Third-party inks? When was the last time you made a print? Is the ink old?Try replacing the ink cartridges and run any maintenence utilities provided. Simple steps such as cleaning the printer nozzles may be all that's necessary to get you back on track. To achieve, photo-quality, ink jets nozzles are very small and subject to clogs. By the way, I loved my Epson 740 and I have no problem with OS 9.1, however the latest version of Photoshop is a thing of beauty. Of course that would mean an OS upgrade.....

Let me know if this helped.

Print Selected Area

Color management has always been a big problem for digital photographers. More specifically, trying to get the screen to match the print. I am a strong believer in scheduled color testing. Perhaps that's from spending so much time balancing film emulsions. Regardless, it's a good way to maintain consistent colors and reduce waste. Digital is no different. Here's a good way to save expensive inket paper and ink.

Select the Rectangular Marquee tool.
Select an area of "color concern" such as a skin tone, or a known neutral grey, etc.
Choose File > Print with Preview
The Print with Preview dialog box appears.
Select the new option, Print Selected Area, found in the Scaled Print Size section.
Only the selected area is printed, saving you ink and paper.

File in a Flash

You probably already know that you can use ImageReady  to create Flash files. Did you know that you can export a single layer to Flash?

From ImageReady
Select the layer you want to convert.
Choose File > Export > Layers As Files
The Layers As Files dialog box opens.

Choose to save all the layers as individual SWF files or just the selected layers. It's your choice.

Ink Jet Trouble

Carey writes,

I've been making great ink jet prints with a color HP printer for two years now. I recently decided to upgrade to an Epson Stylus Photo R200 printer. I am having a terrible time trying to get the color right. I am using the high quality settings and a good paper? Any suggestions.

It just so happens that I own the same printer and have had a similar color problem.
Try this.
Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
By default, the Color Management is set to Color Controls.
Select ICM instead.
Now try making a high quality print. It worked for me.

Over-sized Image Tiling

Dianne asks,

I desperately need to print an oversized image.  I've been told  PhotoShop can divide the picture (portrait) into parts and do this.  I have no idea how, can you please, please help me?  Using PS 7.

To the best of my knowledge, Photoshop 7 has no feature that can divide an image like you describe. Rather than attempt to explain the technique, I  created an Action that will divide any image into four equal quarters. Download jbarthman_actions.atn  I've called it "Tile It x 4" Once the image has been cut up into 4 separate layers you'll need to select each layer, copy it, create a new document, and paste it in to the new document. If you need your image cut up into smaller pieces, use the Action as guide to create your own.

Photoshop Web Photo Gallery

Use Photoshop's Web Photo Gallery feature to create a web page with thumbnails and links to images. I use it like a digital contact sheet. Because it's html it can be viewed in any Browser.

Choose File > Automate > Web Photo Gallery
the Web Photo Gallery dialog box appears.
In the Site section, select a Style: and enter your e-mail address.
In the Source Images section,click the Browse button to locate and select a folder of images you'd like to convert to a web page. Click the Destination button to select a folder for the finished files.
In the Options section you have many choices. click the dropdown menu to change thumbnail size, large picture size and quality, banner information, security and copyright information etc.
When you're satisfied with your choices,
Click OK.

The html code and the appropriate image directories are created.

Photoshop CS2 users MUST check out the new Flash styles. Way cool.
With just a couple of clicks I can convert a folder full of images into a pint-sized Flash document with cool navigation and transitions. I look forward to future integration.

Image Position Preview

Gregory asks,

Whenever i make a 5 x 7 print on 8 1/2 x 11 paper it centers the image on the paper. Can I change that?

Good question Gregory. Yes, you can.

Open a file to be printed.
Choose File > Print Preview.
The Print Preview dialog box appears.
Deselect the Center option.
You can change the printed images position by clicking and dragging the image preview or by entering values in the Top and Left numerical entry boxes.

Photoshop Halftones

Howard asks,

How can I halftone screen a scanned photo so it is suitable for offset printing?

In the old days, halftones were produced by "sandwiching" a halftone screen with the film before it was exposed. In Photoshop, you add the halftone screen in the Print with Preview dialog box.

Choose File > Print with Preview.
The Print with Preview dialog box appears.
Select the Show More Options option.
Choose Output from the dropdown menu.
Click the Screen button.
The Halftone Screens dialog box appears.
Select the Use Printer's Default Screens option to use the default halftone screen built into the printer.
Deselect Use Printer's Default Screens to choose your own screen settings.

If you're sending the file off to a commercial printer, you can include your custom settings by clicking the Save button and creating a .AHS (Adobe Halftone Screen) file.
When your printer receives the files, their prepress department can easily load your custom settings before they print your job.

Print Captions

Ron asked a question the other day; he wanted to extract Caption metadata and include it with the photo. In order to physically add the text to the photo I suggested creating a script to do the job.
If , on the other hand, he just wants to add the caption to a print, here's a simpler solution.

Choose File > Print with Preview
The Print dialog box appears.
Select the Show More Options checkbox to expand the dialog box.
Choose Output from the dropdown menu.
Select the Description option.
Click OK.

The image prints as usual , however, any text entered in the Description section of the File Info metadata will be printed too.
Select the Label option and the title is printed as well.

Printing Vector Data

Zoe writes

I am trying to print a postcard I made in photoshop, that includes a placed logo (created in illustrator). I know about the "include vector data" button in the file-print with preview. This is disabled. How do I enable it? I have tried clicking on everything. I am printing to an Epson 740 which as far as I know is not postscript. But I also read that Photoshop has a postscript interpreter built into it. So shouldn't this work?

In order for the "Include Vector Data" option to become available, you need to select a Postscript printer first. Since the Epson 740 isn't, the option is greyed out.
To print your file, create a duplicate file and flatten it. You won't lose any quality and the file will print much faster too.