Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers - Martin Evening [299]
Managing print expectations
When you use soft proofing to simulate a print output your initial response can be ‘eek, what happened to the contrast?’ This can be especially true when you also include ‘Simulate Paper Color’ in a soft proof setup. If we assume that you are using a decent display and that it has been properly calibrated, the soft proof view should still represent an accurate prediction of the contrast range of an actual print, compared with the high contrast range you have become accustomed to seeing on an LCD display. One solution is to look away as you apply the soft proof preview so that you don't notice the sudden shift so much in the on-display appearance.
Proof Setup in the Print dialog
Earlier, in the ‘Soft proof before printing’ section (page 684), I described using the soft proof setup to predict how an RGB photograph might actually print via an inkjet or when printed in CMYK or other print output space. If the soft proofing is active for a document window and you check the Proof button in the Photoshop Print dialog (circled in Figure 13.7), this can become the new source space to print from (providing you also have ‘Current Custom Setup’ selected in the Proof Setup section below). You can therefore use a custom CMYK setting in the Customize Proof Condition dialog and then use this as the source space when printing to any profiled printer output. Alternatively, you can check the Proof button in the Photoshop Print dialog and select ‘Working CMYK’ in the Proof Setup menu. ‘Simulate Black Ink’ is always checked by default, but you can also include ‘Simulate Paper Color’ when creating a proof print.
Overcoming dull whites
When ‘Simulate Paper Color’ is selected, the whites may appear duller than expected. This does not mean the proof is wrong, rather it is the presence of a brighter white border that leads to the viewer regarding the result as looking inferior. To get around this try adding a white border to the outside image you are about to print. When the print is done, trim away the outer ‘paper white’ border so that the eye does not get a chance to compare the dull whites of the print with the brighter white of the printing paper used.
Proof print or aim print?
Basically, if you are in a situation where someone asks you to produce RGB inkjet prints that simulate the CMYK print process, you can use the ‘Proof’ option to create what are sometimes referred to as ‘cross-rendered aim prints’. This is not quite the same thing as a certified contract proof print, but a commercial printer will be a lot happier to receive prints made in this way, rather than prints made direct from an RGB image using the full color gamut of your inkjet printer. As I say, these will not be official ‘contract proof’ prints, but even so, they are accepted by many repro houses as a welcome guide to how you anticipate the final print image should look.
Print quality settings
In the Print Settings, a higher print resolution will produce marginally betterlooking prints, but take longer to print. The ‘High Speed’ option enables the print head to print in both directions. Some people prefer to disable this option when making fine quality prints, but with the latest inkjet printers the ‘High Speed’ option shouldn't give you inferior results.
Configuring the Print Settings (Mac and PC)
The following dialogs show the Mac and PC Print Settings dialogs for the Epson 4800 inkjet printer (Figures 13.9 and 13.10). In both the examples shown here, I wished to produce a landscape-oriented print on a Super A3 sized sheet of Epson glossy photo paper using the best quality print settings and with Photoshop handling the color management.
Figure 13.9 This shows the Mac Print Settings for the Epson 4800