Lightroom Printing Question

[johnwolf]

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Any thoughts on how to accomplish this in LR?

 

My finished print size will be 12x18" on 13x19" paper. To save paper I'd like to print what equates to test strips on 5x7" paper to test various noise reduction settings. So I want to print a small section of the file at 12x18" equivalent print size on 5x7" paper.

 

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but I don't see a way to do this. Appreciate your insights.

 

John

[archi4]

If I didn't understand correctly, I apologize

I don't believe you can do this in LR3 only.

You will have to upsize the image either in photoshop or one of the available programs such as Genuine Fractals to the final print size. Crop the section you want to 5x7" paper size and then import into LR and print. At least that is what I had to do. Downside is that you are eventually printing from a tiff file.

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[johnwolf]

Thanks. But I'm trying to avoid the extra PS step for this. I'll try posting the question on one of the LR forums. But I think you're right that there isn't a way to do it.

 

John

[hoppyman]

Sure there is! Just crop the section of the prepared final image you want to print and remove that crop later. That's the beauty of non-destructive edits in LR. You just need one extra page layout to suit the smaller test print paper. With an extra effort you could copy sections from your printable file and put them on one sheet of (say Letter/A4) paper to print simultaneously

Edited December 20, 2010 by hoppyman

[archi4]

Thanks Geoff, you have solved the problem for me as well.

[johnwolf]

Sure there is! Just crop the section of the prepared final image you want to print and remove that crop later. That's the beauty of non-destructive edits in LR. You just need one extra page layout to suit the smaller test print paper. With an extra effort you could copy sections from your printable file and put them on one sheet of (say Letter/A4) paper to print simultaneously

 

But when you crop, how do you know how much to select? How can you know what small crop area will be equivalent to a 100% section of the full print size? This is important because it affects how noise is rendered.

 

John

[hoppyman]

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Set the final crop you want (for the complete print) in the Develop module. 2x3 will give you the right proportions for a 12x18 inch. Cycle the grid view with the "O" key. You can easily estimate say a 3 inch wide strip since you know the final dimensions of your complete print. Set your crop to that.

In Print Module use page setup to choose your test strip media size, say 5x7. Your printer should have default paper sizes. Layout panel shows you Rulers, margins and cell sizes etc.

 

Take note that by default Lightroom does not limit itself to one PPI resolution for printing. Its normal behaviour is to make your file fit the print size you want and internally adjust its printing (inc. sharpening) algorithms for you. Remember that an inkjet dithers and overlays and the 'sacred 300 or 360 DPI' figures are not magic nor do they relate directly to the PPI that you use. However you can of course set the PPI to the same as the final print (assuming you note what LR recommends for the final or you set both manually ).

 

Just be careful not to stay overly focused on using the old Ps ways . Probably the hardest thing to let go is the Soft proofing capability but Lightroom is specifically designed to make this all easier. Really all of this is trying to replicate Ps methods in LR.

 

May I suggest that you just make a bunch of prints on your favourite media say in Letter/A4 and you get a much better feel for what LR can do for you.