What's new and how to print in Photoshop CS5

In Photoshop CS5, it is now possible to create actions that record all of the Print and Printer Driver data. Adobe enclosed the OS and Driver controls in the Photoshop Print window (click Print Settings).

There are two ways to use this new functionality. You can use an action to record the entire print process (including the final step of actually printing). Or, you can use an action to automatically specify some or all of the print settings.

To record the entire print process, do the following:

If you open another file and play the action, Photoshop prints the file using the settings recorded in the action. It does not bring up the Print window or allow you to change the print settings.

Note: Photoshop prints every image at the same resolution (PPI) as the original. Therefore, make sure that all files you print using this action are the same dimensions and resolution so they print at the same size. Therefore, this kind of action is useful only for reproducing the same print settings every time you use it.

To record some or all of the print settings, do the following:

If you open another image and run the action you created, the Print window opens with the settings you specified in the action. You can create an action for each printer you have, for each paper size, for each paper type or for any combination of settings. You can still change these settings before printing. If your action contains some settings you don’t want, you can still use the action to set up the Print window. Then, change the settings manually.

There are two main methods for printing from Photoshop. One relies on Photoshop to manage color, the other relies on the printer. Read about each method in depth below. Each section focuses on best practices and preferred settings when printing from both Mac OS and Windows to the most common printers.

For an overview of what to do before you print, read Preparing to print from Photoshop (cpsid_88756). This document discussed calibrating your monitor and using the appropriate working color space.

Because it gives you the most control over the printing process, the Photoshop color managed workflow is the preferred method for printing from Photoshop.

First, adjust your Color Management Settings.

These controls are provided by your printer’s driver. When using Photoshop Managed Color, adjust three settings:

• Paper Type—Select the paper type that is closest to the paper on which you are printing.
• Color Management—Set Color Management to Off (many drivers do turn it off automatically). It's necessary that Color Management is turned off in the driver. Photoshop is doing the color transform from the document color space to the printer’s color space. Allowing the printer to do another color transform causes odd color shifts.
• Paper Size—Select a preset paper size or create a custom size.

The layout and behavior of the Print Settings window is different on Mac OS versus Windows.

On Mac OS, the Print Window is essentially a framework that contains both the operating system print settings as well as the actual printer driver settings. This document discusses the printer driver settings.

There are four pop-up menus in the Print Window. The first menu indicates which printer is selected and the second allows you to select and save presets. Finally, the third lets you change paper size and the fourth lets you access tabs containing settings for various features.

Now it's necessary to do a little hunting. Find the settings that allow you to choose your paper type, change print quality, and turn OFF Printer Color Management (since Photoshop managing color).

Unfortunately every printer driver seems to use different terminology and layout for their settings.

• Canon—Canon has “Quality & Media” and “Color Options”.
• Epson—With newer Epson drivers,  look for “Print Settings” and “Printer Color Management”.
• HP—HP drivers show “Color Options” and “Image Quality”.

Once you find the settings for your particular printer, make the following changes:

That’s it, you’re done. Click Print.

On Windows, you should see the driver settings for the printer you have selected. Locate the settings that allow you to choose your Paper Type, set your desired Print Quality and turn off Printer Color Management.

Every printer driver uses different terminology and layout. Paper and Print Quality are usually on the same tab, while Color Settings can be hidden.

• Epson­—The initial tab has Automatic and Custom radio buttons in the Mode section. Select Custom. You now have a Custom Settings pop-up menu and an Advanced button. Click Advanced. The resulting window lets you select your Paper Type, Print Quality. and set Color Management to Off. (On the r1800, select ICM and then the Off checkbox appears.)
• Canon—The initial tab, Main, contains Paper Type and Print Quality settings. Choose those settings Now click Color Settings in the Color Mode section of this tab. You now see the Color Settings window, which contains the Adjustment and Matching tabs. Select the Matching tab and set the Matching Mode to Off.
• HP—The Features tab allows you to set the Paper Type and Print Quality. In the Color tab, select Application Managed Colors.

This workflow allows the print driver to do the color conversion of the image from its original color space to the printer’s color space. Results vary from driver to driver.

In the Print window

First adjust your Color Management Settings.

• Print Settings displays the controls provided by your printer’s driver. For Printer Managed Color, adjust three settings: 
  • Paper Type—Select the Paper Type closest to the paper on which you are printing.
  • Color Management—Make sure that Color Management is turned on (many drivers turn it on automatically). The  printer’s driver does the color transform from the document color space to the printer’s color space.
  • Paper Size—Select a preset paper size or create a custom size.

On Mac OS, the OS Print Window is a framework that contains both the OS print settings and the actual printer driver settings. This section discusses the driver setup.

There are four pop-up menus in the Print Window. The first menu indicates which printer is selected and the second allows you to select and save presets. The third lets you change Paper Size, and finally, the fourth lets you access tabs containing settings for various features.

Find the settings that allow you to choose your Paper Type, change Print Quality and turn Printer Color Management On.

Different drivers have these settings in different locations.

• Canon—Canon has Quality & Media and Color Options.
• Epson—With newer Epson drivers, look for Print Settings and Printer Color Management.
• HP—HP drivers show Color Options and Image Quality.

Once you find the settings for your particular printer, set the following options:

Now click Print.

The OS Print Window on Windows allows you to perform standard tasks like changing printers, printing multiple copies, and so on.

The interesting settings are in Print Settings. Click the Print Settings button to bring up the printer driver settings for your selected printer. Locate the settings that allow you to choose your paper type, set your desired print quality, and turn ON Printer Color Management.

As with the Mac OS, every printer driver uses different terminology and layout. Paper Size and Print Quality are located on the same tab while Color Settings can be hidden.

• Canon—The initial tab contains the paper type and print quality settings. Choose those settings. Now click the Color Settings button in the Color Mode section of this tab. You now see the Color Settings window, which contains the Matching tab. Click this tab and set Matching Mode to ICC Matching. Click OK to close the Print Preferences.
• Epson—The initial tab has Automatic and Custom buttons in the Mode section. Select Custom. You have a Custom Settings pop-up menu and an Advanced button. Click Advanced. The resulting window lets you select paper type, specify print quality, and set Color Management to Color Controls. Click OK to exit Print Preferences.
• HP—The Features tab allows you to set the paper type and quality settings. In the Color tab, select ColorMatch/sRGB (if your image space is anything besides sRGB, HP recommends using Photoshop Managed Color). Click OK to exit Print Preferences.

When you’re finished adjusting your settings, click Print.

When you select Printer Managed Color, almost all printer drivers allow you to make some sort of image adjustment. Hue, saturation and individual color levels are the most common.

Adobe suggests that you do NOT use these options. If you’ve spent hours adjusting your image in Photoshop and your first printout is unsatisfactory, go back to Photoshop and adjust it further there. You have better controls and more information on which to base your corrections.

Adobe also suggests that you try both Photoshop Color Managed and Printer Color Managed to see which one works better with your particular printer.