Lightroom: straight print and print from print preview, same result?

[Marquinius]

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So one of the thingies in LR is you can preview your print. But is the printed result the same as when you print straight from LR itself (without previewing)? I mean, the preview starts the preview engine ...

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[adan]

The "preview engine" as you call it, has no effect on printing. In theory it shows you, on screen, how your printing profile will affect the image ("in theory" because no screen will ever match a print on paper - the color gamuts and brightness ranges are just two different).

 

But the preview engine is simply not a part of the chain leading from your picture file data, through LR, to your printing profile, printer driver and finally to the ink heads.

 

Instead, it is a part of the chain leading from your picture data, through LR, through the preview engine (if turned on, which then also borrows your printer profile for screen viewing), then through your monitor profile and graphics card, to your screen.

 

Interestingly, in PhotoShop CS4, Adobe has dropped the "Print with preview" option. Instead, the default Print/Command-P automatically brings up what used to be "Print with preview". A good thing, IMHO, since I never print without going through the preview in order to double-check the paper size and positioning, and printer profile selected.

 

There is a "Print one copy" option that bypasses the print preview window - but in either case your computer will use the currently selected printing profile/settings turned on in the preview window, whether your see them or not. But the "preview engine" is irrelevant to the printing process, either way.

[Marquinius]

Andy,

 

Thanks for your explanation! And yes, in CS I always printed with preview, but in LR I preview without actually printing from there, then go back and print without preview from LR.