Cropping and Printing multiple times for a single image.
Ronald Vick
an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
Given: An image of a lighthouse, size 1500 x 2000 pixels, with only
the center showing actual information that should be in the image.
Desired: To Crop and set the print resolution so as to print four 4 x
5 inch pictures of the same image on a single sheet of photo paper.
1. load the image.
2. perform all image processing, such as Clarify, Auto Contrast,
sharpen, etc. Get the image to the point you want by graphic control.
3. Double click the Crop tool. This is where we'll crop the image to
the correct size and ratio.
4. Enter Left 0, Right 400, top 0, Bottom 500. (Where did these
values come from? I simply multiplied the 4 x 5 photo size I want by
100 to obtain an initial selection that is smaller than the overall
image. I'll then manipulate the selection to obtain the actual
selection.)
5. Make certain the Custom Size and position button is selected, then
click OK to obtain a marquee in the upper left corner of the screen.
6. Left click inside the selection, then drag the selection to a
position inside the image. I like to position the top horizontal line
of the marquee to approximately where it's final position should be
when all is done. (This is somewhat optional, I may see that the area
of interest is on the left, right or even the bottom. The idea is to
place the selection where one of the sides is very close to the final
desired position.)
7. Position the cursor on the opposite side as set above. Press and
hold the Shift key while left clicking and dragging the side to
proportionally size the selection. Some things to be aware of: If the
selection hits a side, it will not keep expanding. Release and center
click-drag to reposition the selection. You can then Shift drag the
size to continue the selection.
Caution: once you have the selection made, if you want it exact,
double click the Crop tool again. The Ratio may have changed by a
slight amount due to the way PSP expands the selection. By stepping
the selected side one pixel, then an adjacent side, then the selected
side, then the other side, several starts and stops may have caused a
slightly uneven ratio. In my case, the ratio went from .8 to .799, and
the actual selection was left 6, right 1368, top 63, bottom 1767. By
setting the left value to 5, I obtained the .8 ratio. If you're not
as nit-picking as I am, you can ignore this step, since it's unlikely
you'll notice a print difference of about .008 inch. in width.
<Smile>
8. Double click inside the selection to crop the image. We now have
the image at the correct ratio and cropped to the area of interest.
9. Now let's set up to print the pictures. First, we need to set the
output size, so click Image>Resize. Note that the default 'Actual /
Print' button is selected, but there is useful information in the
other windows! Percentage of Original is set to 100, so the Pixel
size information is correct. In my case, it shows width: 1365 x Height
1704. By the original definition, we wanted a picture 4 x 5 inches,
so I'll divide the width of 1365 by 4 to get 341.25 and enter that
into the Resolution.
Note: You should pay attention to the printer Resolution value. By
current convention, if it's below 72, you're likely to obtain an image
that is not acceptable due to pixelation. Resizing the image is not
usually an acceptable method of correcting this.
You can force the ratio to an absolute correct value at this point,
but be warned that a resample of the image will take place, and this
is usually undesired in very large size images. Take your pick.
10. Let's print! Select File>Page Setup. If checked, un-check 'Fit
to page', 'Center on Page', Negative, and make certain to check
'Color', and 'Portrait' (in this case, since we're doing a 4 wide 5
high on 8x10.) Make certain the scale is set to 100% A word of
caution at this point! If you need to change the settings in this
step, be sure to verify that the Print Resolution from step 9 has not
changed. The auto scaling functions in Page Setup can change the
print resolution!
11. Click and drag the thumbnail to the paper, four times. (or just
double click the image four times.) Don't worry about the position.
Click Preference>Auto Arrange. Take a final look to make certain it's
correct, and click the Print Icon.
Hopefully, that'll get you going. If you have any problem with any of
these steps, just let me know.
Ron Vick
Nancy (Jasc Software)
(It seems like you're there in step #11, but I don't see the step to get us
there.) The only settings from Page Setup that apply themselves to MIP are
the ones that print multiple images affects...pretty much just the paper and
printer information. None of the scaling of this dialog should be reflected
in MIP. You can get at page and printer settings in MIP under File>Page
Setup.
Also, you may want to make sure of what your margins are and whether you use
them when auto arranging. They're in Preferences>Options of MIP.
I could be wrong because I'm working off of memory here.
Nancy
"Ronald Vick" <Ron...@cfl.rr.com> wrote in message
news:6c2a30c.02011...@posting.google.com...
Ronald Vick
>This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
>an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
Arrgh! I don't know exactly what happened, but this is the text I
should have sent!
1. load the image.
10. Let's print! Select File> Print Multiple Images.
11. Click and drag the thumbnail to the paper, four times. (or just
double click the image four times.) Don't worry about the position.
Click Preference>Auto Arrange. Take a final look to make certain it's
correct, and click the Print Icon.
If you get a message about "Will not fit on this page, do you wish to
scale it?" then it's likely you have the print set to 'Fit to Page' in
the File>Page Setup.
Ronald Vick
<npet...@jasc.com> wrote:
>Can't you skip step #10 and go straight to Multiple Image Printing (MIP).
>(It seems like you're there in step #11, but I don't see the step to get us
>there.) The only settings from Page Setup that apply themselves to MIP are
>the ones that print multiple images affects...pretty much just the paper and
>printer information. None of the scaling of this dialog should be reflected
>in MIP. You can get at page and printer settings in MIP under File>Page
>Setup.
>
>Also, you may want to make sure of what your margins are and whether you use
>them when auto arranging. They're in Preferences>Options of MIP.
>
>I could be wrong because I'm working off of memory here.
>
>Nancy
>
I wish I had your memory, Nancy. Good job of spotting the area where
I had trouble. I originally had step ten just doing a MIP, but then
about the third time I ran through it, I wondered what would happen if
the 'Fit to page' were set. So help me, it created the 'Won't fit,
change size?' error message, so I rewrote that section, trying to
explain what I'd seen.
I posted that, then tried it ten more times and it never once
responded the same way again.
I used the File>Page Setup rather than the MIP File>Page Setup, since
in my copy of PSP 7.04, the 'Fit to Page' isn't in the MIP box. Is it
in yours?
I note that the margins are default off in MIP. I'm still mentally
debating if I should include mention of them.
Thanks for the help.
Ron Vick
Bob Dietz
to be directed at newbies?
In any case, you might want to reconsider your note to step 9.
I read it as implying that any PPI 72 or above would be regarded as
adequate for printing a photograph. I've seen too many of your posts
to think that is what you intended.
Bob Dietz
Ronald Vick wrote:
> On 17 Jan 2002 09:31:36 -0800, Ron...@cfl.rr.com (Ronald Vick) wrote:
<snip>
Ronald Vick
wrote:
>Am I correct in gathering that you are planning to use this as boiler plate
>to be directed at newbies?
Yes, once I get it pounded into shape. If there's as much interest in
printing photos as I've been told, it should come in handy.
Incidently, this is part 1. In part 2, I want to describe printing
different photos on the page. The operation is similar, but with
significant differences. (Things like this do tend to wind up in
VFAQs.)
>
>In any case, you might want to reconsider your note to step 9.
>I read it as implying that any PPI 72 or above would be regarded as
>adequate for printing a photograph. I've seen too many of your posts
>to think that is what you intended.
Now this is really a slippery subject! There's always a trade-off
between image size, printer resolution and the intended distance of
viewing. I'm looking at a printed image on the wall from my computer,
and if I hadn't printed it, I wouldn't know it was printed at 72 PPI.
Of course, if I were to get within arms reach, I'd see the pixels.
Heck, if someone ever wants me to print out a road-side billboard, I'd
likely print it at 15-20 PPI (or lower) and save myself a lot of disk
space and time creating the image. (Incidently, the largest print-out
I've ever done was 3 Mustangs for the local high school, at 12 ft.
high and 6 ft. wide each. I wish I could remember the exact PPI I
used, but that was too long ago and I didn't keep notes.)
Then, there's always the fact that different hardware creates
different images for the same PPI settings. It's almost impossible to
get the real resolutions of printers from the manufactors. Those Dots
Per Inch values that they boast about mean nothing in the real world.
Many people are trying to obtain a more realistic means of determining
the real resolution of printers, using LPI, Lines Per Inch/Centimeter.
It's my belief that people should do a lot of experimenting with their
own system and determine what's right for them. As a rule of thumb, I
want to use about 150-200 pixels for an image that's hand-held, and
lower for more distance, but others may find this overkill or
underkill. All I can say is do what looks right for you. (and scratch
what itches, of course.)
Thanks for bringing up the subject, I was just considering it this
very evening before you asked.
Ron Vick
marjory
>On 17 Jan 2002 09:31:36 -0800, Ron...@cfl.rr.com (Ronald Vick) wrote:
>
>>This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
>>an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
<snipped>
>10. Let's print! Select File> Print Multiple Images.
>
>11. Click and drag the thumbnail to the paper, four times. (or just
>double click the image four times.) Don't worry about the position.
>Click Preference>Auto Arrange. Take a final look to make certain it's
>correct, and click the Print Icon.
>
>If you get a message about "Will not fit on this page, do you wish to
>scale it?" then it's likely you have the print set to 'Fit to Page' in
>the File>Page Setup.
I don't see where the settings in File>Page Setup have any effect on
the way Print Multiple Images works (in 7.04). I just tried a couple
of variations of steps 9-11 and with Fit to Page on and off. I don't
normally use Auto-arrange, and so just learned that if the four images
are too big for the page it automatically resizes them down to fit.
But, I never got the message about scaling when I started with images
in the 4x5" to 4.6xwhatever" range I was testing it with.
Now, I often get the scaling message because I have my default
resolution in Preferences set for 120 (don't ask me why, I just picked
that a long time ago and hadn't thought about it until other recent
discussions about it came up). So, I go to print a 1280x960 or
1024x768 photo in MIP and when I add it to the layout I get that
message, say yes, and it gets shrunk to fit as necessary. Then I
often use the handles to make it even smaller to make space for other
photos on the page.
Resizing photos manually right in MIP has usually been satisfactory
for me, but I did do a couple of comparisons of doing a proper resize
in PSP to do it and found that the print was a bit sharper if I took
the time to use PSP first. (It's probably relevant that I'm printing
on plain paper or coated paper and keeping the pages in sheet
protectors in a ring binder - not making glossy prints. Also that my
Lexmark Z51 does a very nice job on plain paper.)
Marjory
Ronald Vick
(marjory) wrote:
>Ronald Vick <Ron...@nospam.cfl.rr.com> wrote:
>>On 17 Jan 2002 09:31:36 -0800, Ron...@cfl.rr.com (Ronald Vick) wrote:
>>
>>>This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
>>>an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
>
><snipped>
>
>>10. Let's print! Select File> Print Multiple Images.
>>
>>11. Click and drag the thumbnail to the paper, four times. (or just
>>double click the image four times.) Don't worry about the position.
>>Click Preference>Auto Arrange. Take a final look to make certain it's
>>correct, and click the Print Icon.
>>
>>If you get a message about "Will not fit on this page, do you wish to
>>scale it?" then it's likely you have the print set to 'Fit to Page' in
>>the File>Page Setup.
>
>I don't see where the settings in File>Page Setup have any effect on
>the way Print Multiple Images works (in 7.04). I just tried a couple
>of variations of steps 9-11 and with Fit to Page on and off. I don't
>normally use Auto-arrange, and so just learned that if the four images
>are too big for the page it automatically resizes them down to fit.
>But, I never got the message about scaling when I started with images
>in the 4x5" to 4.6xwhatever" range I was testing it with.
I have seen that message, and wanted to warn the user in case it does
appear. If the Page Setup 'Fit to Page' isn't set, and you follow the
instructions, you won't see that message, since the image is already
scaled to a size of 4 x 5 inches obtained from a variable PPI setting.
BTW, did the instructions work for you? Do you feel it's enough or
needs further explanation for someone to use? I'm trying to get
something to teach new users how to achieve a given task.
>
>Now, I often get the scaling message because I have my default
>resolution in Preferences set for 120 (don't ask me why, I just picked
>that a long time ago and hadn't thought about it until other recent
>discussions about it came up). So, I go to print a 1280x960 or
>1024x768 photo in MIP and when I add it to the layout I get that
>message, say yes, and it gets shrunk to fit as necessary. Then I
>often use the handles to make it even smaller to make space for other
>photos on the page.
>
>Resizing photos manually right in MIP has usually been satisfactory
>for me, but I did do a couple of comparisons of doing a proper resize
>in PSP to do it and found that the print was a bit sharper if I took
>the time to use PSP first. (It's probably relevant that I'm printing
>on plain paper or coated paper and keeping the pages in sheet
>protectors in a ring binder - not making glossy prints. Also that my
>Lexmark Z51 does a very nice job on plain paper.)
>
>Marjory
Thanks for the comments, Marjory. I always enjoy feedback on a set of
instructions like this.
Ron
Nancy (Jasc Software)
PSP's File>Page setup. It will take the Portrait/Landscape and printer/paper
settings though. If you find that MIP does anything different based on a
setting in PSP's file>setup menu, please let me know as it would be a
defect.
It may be less confusing to send people directly to MIP and then get the
page and print all set up in that one spot...but that's just my opinion.
I think the steps will be a great help to many people. Thanks for capturing
them so clearly.
Nancy
"Ronald Vick" <Ron...@nospam.cfl.rr.com> wrote in message
news:0ole4ukh8hhbk5api...@4ax.com...
Bob Dietz
sections of your tutorial that I've taken the liberty of
re-writing.
Please don't regard these re-writes as in anyway disparaging your
original effort. Just consider them as comments to be considered
when and if you decide on a revised draft. Feel free to use any
re-writes verbatim.
Items enclosed in <> should be regarded as parenthetic remarks not
intended for inclusion in a final draft.
*************************************************
* Re-written sections are indented by 3 spaces. *
*************************************************
If I get a positive response from you, I'll continue the re-write
from where I left off.
--
Bob Dietz
"It needs fanatical faith to rationalize our cowardice." - Eric Hoffer
Ronald Vick wrote:
> On 17 Jan 2002 09:31:36 -0800, Ron...@cfl.rr.com (Ronald Vick) wrote:
>
> >This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
> >an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
>
> Arrgh! I don't know exactly what happened, but this is the text I
> should have sent!
>
> This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
> an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
>
> Given: An image of a lighthouse, size 1500 x 2000 pixels, with only
> the center showing actual information that should be in the image.
>
> Desired: To Crop and set the print resolution so as to print four 4 x
> 5 inch pictures of the same image on a single sheet of photo paper.
In my re-write, I've assumed that for purposes of exposition it is desirable to
take a landscape 5 x 4" crop from the given (portrait) 1500 x 2000 pixel image.
Using a landscape crop allows to mention picture rotation in theMIP module.
I don't know if the image you have in mind is suitable, but the numbers given
in my re-writes reflect that assumption.
This tutorial will show you four simple steps to set up a multiple print
of a single image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
Given: A seascape, size 1500 x 2000 pixels. <VFAQ: shows thumbnail>
You'll see how four 5 x 4 inch pictures of the lighthouse can be printed in one
pass, on a single sheet of 8.5 x 11 inch photo paper. <VFAQ: shows thumbnail>
Here are the steps in outline.
1. Load the image. (Enhance if necessary.)
2. Crop area of interest at desired ratio.
3. Adjust print size of the cropped image.
4. Print four copies of the cropped image on one sheet.
>
>
> 1. load the image.
>
> 2. perform all image processing, such as Clarify, Auto Contrast,
> sharpen, etc. Get the image to the point you want by graphic control.
Loading the image is so basic. I've present your items one and two as a
single step.
1. Load the image and perform any desired image processing, such as
Automatic Color Balance, Automatic Contrast Enhancement,
Automatic Saturation, and etc. (Optimal image processing steps:)
<VFAQ: "Optimal ... steps" links to >
<http://campratty.com/2photos/ppages/p01autotips.html>
Make the image look as good as possible on your properly adjusted
monitor. <VFAQ: links to http://www.jasc.com/monitor1.asp>
(Before you crop you may want to save a copy of the image at this point.)
I've presented steps 3-8 as sub steps under a single heading.
I've avoided the use of the word selection in my re-write for fear
that newbies will confuse the crop and selection tools.
Instead of the term "cursor:, I've used the politically correct "mouse pointer."
Where possible, I've tried to shorten the description of the step.
2. Crop the image to the correct aspect ratio.
a) Double click the Crop tool. <VFAQ: image of Crop tool>
b) Enter Left 0, Right 500, Top 0, Bottom 400.
<VFAQ: show dialog>
Where did these values come from? I simply multiplied the
5 x 4 photo size I wanted by 100 "to obtain an initial
selection that is smaller that the overall image and
which has the correct aspect ratio."
<VFAQ: bold instead of double quotes>
c) Make certain the Custom Size and position button is selected.
Click OK to obtain a marquee in the upper left corner.
d) Position the mouse pointer inside the marquee.
Hold the left mouse button down and drag the marquee to a
desired position inside the image.
The idea is to FIX one side of the marquee very close to
to where you expect it's final position to be.
(I'll be using the top edge in this example.)
e) Position the cursor on the side opposite the FIXED side as
described above. Press and hold either SHIFT key as you
drag the edge using the left mouse button.
Two minor points to be aware of:
* The marquee stops expanding when it touches a side.
If this happens, you will have to reposition it before
you can expand it more.
* The marquee expands somewhat faster to the right and down
than it does going up and left.
Keep this in mind when positioning the marquee in step (d).
Ron, since you didn't include this last point in your original write up,
here are some numbers you might want to try on your 1500 x 2000 pixel picture.
Double click crop tool. Left 720, Right 780, Top 0, Bottom 80
***The mid-points of top edge the marquee and image coincide.***
SHIFT drag the bottom edge to max. Although the right and left
edges of the marquee are originally equidistant from their respective
image edges, the right edge of the expanding marquee hits the right
edge of the image long before the left edge of the marquee is even close
to the left edge of the image.
If the mid-point of the top edge of the marquee and the 2/5 point on the
top edge of the image are made to coincide (Left 570, Right 630, Top 0, Bottom 80),
then the right and left edges of the marquee will approach the right and left edges
of the image at approximately the same rate when you SHIFT drag the bottom edge
of the crop marquee. The 2/5 point is only a rough approximation. So far as I
know the most equitable point of coincidence is a matter of trial and error.
f) Double click inside the marquee to crop the image.
(Nit pickers - note the CAUTION below before you double click.)
<VFAQ: CAUTION is a link>
*CAUTION: If you want an exact size/aspect ratio, double
click the Crop tool as the final step after resizing and
positioning the crop marquee. The ratio may have changed
by a slight amount. To get an exact ratio you may have
to add or subtract a pixel or two. Unless you are worried
about +-0.01 inches or less in your final print out,
you probably don't need to worry about this.
We now have the image at the correct ratio and cropped to
the area of interest.
> 9. Now let's set up to print the pictures. First, we need to set the
> output size, so click Image>Resize. Note that the default 'Actual /
> Print' button is selected, but there is useful information in the
> other windows! Percentage of Original is set to 100, so the Pixel
> size information is correct. In my case, it shows width: 1365 x Height
> 1704. By the original definition, we wanted a picture 4 x 5 inches,
> so I'll divide the width of 1365 by 4 to get 341.25 and enter that
> into the Resolution.
>
> Note: You should pay attention to the printer Resolution value. By
> current convention, if it's below 72, you're likely to obtain an image
> that is not acceptable due to pixelation. Resizing the image is not
> usually an acceptable method of correcting this.
>
> You can force the ratio to an absolute correct value at this point,
> but be warned that a resample of the image will take place, and this
> is usually undesired in very large size images. Take your pick.
3) Now let's set a default print size for the cropped image.
Select Resize from the Image menu (or simply press Shift S).
Note: Although the "Actual / print size" section is selected
by default, useful information is displayed in other portions
of the dialog as well. Though grayed out, Pixel size will show
you the exact size of your newly cropped image in pixels.
In my case it shows *** bob dietz paused here ***
Barry Sachais
<Ron...@nospam.cfl.rr.com> wrote:
>On 17 Jan 2002 09:31:36 -0800, Ron...@cfl.rr.com (Ronald Vick) wrote:
>
>>This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
>>an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
>
>This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
>an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
>
>Given: An image of a lighthouse, size 1500 x 2000 pixels, with only
>the center showing actual information that should be in the image.
>
>Desired: To Crop and set the print resolution so as to print four 4 x
>5 inch pictures of the same image on a single sheet of photo paper.
Thanks Ron for the great tutorial. Sheesh that was fun to do and
*really* painless. What a great newsgroup this is. What fantastic
help can be found here! Thanks Ron.
Gail M. Hall
multiple times for a single image" to Re: Cropping and Printing multiple
copies of an image on a single page" but this thread is being followed up
well here, so I'm leaving the subject as you wrote it.
On Fri, 18 Jan 2002 03:11:17 GMT, Ronald Vick <Ron...@nospam.cfl.rr.com>
posted to comp.graphics.apps.paint-shop-pro about "Re: Cropping and
Printing multiple times for a single image.":
>On Fri, 18 Jan 2002 00:53:58 GMT, Bob Dietz <rbdiet...@yahoo.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Am I correct in gathering that you are planning to use this as boiler plate
>>to be directed at newbies?
>
>Yes, once I get it pounded into shape. If there's as much interest in
>printing photos as I've been told, it should come in handy.
>Incidently, this is part 1. In part 2, I want to describe printing
>different photos on the page. The operation is similar, but with
>significant differences. (Things like this do tend to wind up in
>VFAQs.)
You corrected the part about choosing Print Multiple in your second
version. I may have missed it but didn't see any mention that you can go
to Print Setup from the Print Multiple menu and set your margins from
there.
>
>>
>>In any case, you might want to reconsider your note to step 9.
>>I read it as implying that any PPI 72 or above would be regarded as
>>adequate for printing a photograph. I've seen too many of your posts
>>to think that is what you intended.
>
>Now this is really a slippery subject! There's always a trade-off
>between image size, printer resolution and the intended distance of
>viewing. I'm looking at a printed image on the wall from my computer,
>and if I hadn't printed it, I wouldn't know it was printed at 72 PPI.
>Of course, if I were to get within arms reach, I'd see the pixels.
>Heck, if someone ever wants me to print out a road-side billboard, I'd
>likely print it at 15-20 PPI (or lower) and save myself a lot of disk
>space and time creating the image. (Incidently, the largest print-out
>I've ever done was 3 Mustangs for the local high school, at 12 ft.
>high and 6 ft. wide each. I wish I could remember the exact PPI I
>used, but that was too long ago and I didn't keep notes.)
It's good that you told us how to resize the picture in PSP before going to
Print Multiple. But less experienced people can do some resizing in the
Print Multiple "page" if they want to. It's easier to set up and resize if
you turn on the grid for that screen. Of course, the very easiest is to
use autoarrange and let the software do the resizing, but people who want
to put the photo into an album with those photo-sized pockets instead of
the stick-on pages, you'll really want to control the actual printed size
for the picture.
>
>Then, there's always the fact that different hardware creates
>different images for the same PPI settings. It's almost impossible to
>get the real resolutions of printers from the manufactors. Those Dots
>Per Inch values that they boast about mean nothing in the real world.
With some print drivers it doesn't really matter that much. In the printer
driver setup you can set to use fine printing and maybe even just selecting
photo paper lets your printer driver define how much ink and the way it
spreads the dots.
The trouble with the PSP Print Multiple, though, is that it doesn't show my
printer's driver dialog when it prints. I have to do the settings via the
Print Setup first. Most of my other applications bring up the printer's
dialog box before asking for the final OK. I don't know if PSP's behavior
is different with different printers, but I thought it was kind of peculiar
that Print Multiple acted different from other apps for calling up my
printer's dialog for which printer, paper type, etc., the way I'm used to.
>
>Many people are trying to obtain a more realistic means of determining
>the real resolution of printers, using LPI, Lines Per Inch/Centimeter.
>
Some of us wish for a little application similar to some of the "lite"
programs that just let us fill in size for output and whether we want
multiples of the same picture or different photos on the page.
Instead of Jasc trying to incorporate such a program into PSP, maybe it
could arrange with one of those companies to ship a simple print program
with PSP similar to the way they ship AS and some plugins now.
>It's my belief that people should do a lot of experimenting with their
>own system and determine what's right for them.
Yes, but experimenting is kind of expensive. Even though we can experiment
using plain paper, we still use up ink.
If the price for ink came down, then we could afford to do more
experimenting.
There are some "publisher" type programs out there, and some of them are
not very expensive. A small program that would let people come with a few
page setup templates or let people set up template pages would be a handy
addition to the PSP package.
>As a rule of thumb, I
>want to use about 150-200 pixels for an image that's hand-held, and
>lower for more distance, but others may find this overkill or
>underkill. All I can say is do what looks right for you. (and scratch
>what itches, of course.)
I'm not sure I understand this. Do you mean 150-200 pixels per inch? Off
hand, when I look at a picture on my monitor that is that small, it looks
more like a thumbnail! For the web or viewing on my screen, I want no less
than 640x480 or similar. My kodak-processed pictures from my film camera
came out to around 600x400 and look OK. So I have to think you mean
150-200 pixels per something like maybe inches. I'd have to do some math
to translate that to what it would be per centimeter.
>
>Thanks for bringing up the subject, I was just considering it this
>very evening before you asked.
>
I still don't understand why I can't just fill in inches first in the
resize box and adjust the pixels in the resolution box to what I want if
they translate to too few per inch and might come out blocky. The computer
is better and faster at arithmetic than I am, so why not have software that
takes advantage of that? Give my old brain a rest! ;-)
As for printing multiple times, you can "save" a setup from the Print
Multiple window. This is not a template because it records a little 1k
file that says what files are included in the saved setup as well as their
placement and size on the page.
A template would define the spaces and placement for photos (such as your
four 4x5" photos) and let us fill in what files we want in there. To use
PSP for that, we would need to just use a PSP file with a clear background
and layers where we could then pick different files as desired for each
time.
--
Gail from Ohio USA
marjory
I still don't think it matters in MIP whether Fit to Page is checked
in the regular Page Setup dialog. See Nancy's comments on 1/17 and
1/18. I tried it both ways after following your steps to create a
4x5" image and it didn't give me the scaling message either time. If
I try to add a 1024x768 photo with a resolution of 120 ppi to a
portrait page, I do get the message.
I think that what you are wanting to warn them about is that if they
get the scaling message they must have missed a step earlier.
>BTW, did the instructions work for you? Do you feel it's enough or
>needs further explanation for someone to use? I'm trying to get
>something to teach new users how to achieve a given task.
I'll go back and add a couple of comments to your second set of
instructions. It does work fine, but it's hard to judge how a new
user would handle it.
>Thanks for the comments, Marjory. I always enjoy feedback on a set of
>instructions like this.
You're welcome! And I always learn something new when I do this :)
Marjory
marjory
Just a few comments, as discussed later in this thread; also see the
helpful ideas posted by others.
>On 17 Jan 2002 09:31:36 -0800, Ron...@cfl.rr.com (Ronald Vick) wrote:
>
>>This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
>>an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
>
>Arrgh! I don't know exactly what happened, but this is the text I
>should have sent!
>
>This posting is a brief tutorial on how to set up a multiple print of
>an image. No guessing or fat fingering is needed.
>
>Given: An image of a lighthouse, size 1500 x 2000 pixels, with only
>the center showing actual information that should be in the image.
>
>Desired: To Crop and set the print resolution so as to print four 4 x
>5 inch pictures of the same image on a single sheet of photo paper.
Be specific here that the resulting photo is to be printed in portrait
orientation; otherwise your cropping setting is backwards. Most
photos are taken in landscape, so that might be a better example to
use. The sample screen shots that you are probably planning to
include will help anyway.
Change the next to last sentence to read "Release, then click and drag
the selection to reposition it away from the edge." Saying center
click-drag sounds like using a center mouse button.
Last sentence - "...Shift drag the side..." ??
>Caution: once you have the selection made, if you want it exact,
>double click the Crop tool again. The Ratio may have changed by a
>slight amount due to the way PSP expands the selection. By stepping
>the selected side one pixel, then an adjacent side, then the selected
>side, then the other side, several starts and stops may have caused a
>slightly uneven ratio. In my case, the ratio went from .8 to .799, and
>the actual selection was left 6, right 1368, top 63, bottom 1767. By
>setting the left value to 5, I obtained the .8 ratio. If you're not
>as nit-picking as I am, you can ignore this step, since it's unlikely
>you'll notice a print difference of about .008 inch. in width.
><Smile>
>
>8. Double click inside the selection to crop the image. We now have
>the image at the correct ratio and cropped to the area of interest.
Not essential here, but I've always been able to double-click outside
the crop box and have it work. PSP's help does say to click inside.
>9. Now let's set up to print the pictures. First, we need to set the
>output size, so click Image>Resize. Note that the default 'Actual /
>Print' button is selected, but there is useful information in the
>other windows! Percentage of Original is set to 100, so the Pixel
>size information is correct. In my case, it shows width: 1365 x Height
>1704. By the original definition, we wanted a picture 4 x 5 inches,
>so I'll divide the width of 1365 by 4 to get 341.25 and enter that
>into the Resolution.
The part about the % of Original is confusing. How about just telling
them to get the image size from the bottom right of the screen and
divide the smaller number by 4 (or the larger number by 5)?
Is there some simple way to explain why we have to do this division,
and why just entering the dimensions here won't work very well?
>Note: You should pay attention to the printer Resolution value. By
>current convention, if it's below 72, you're likely to obtain an image
>that is not acceptable due to pixelation. Resizing the image is not
>usually an acceptable method of correcting this.
>
>You can force the ratio to an absolute correct value at this point,
>but be warned that a resample of the image will take place, and this
>is usually undesired in very large size images. Take your pick.
>
>10. Let's print! Select File> Print Multiple Images.
>
>11. Click and drag the thumbnail to the paper, four times. (or just
>double click the image four times.) Don't worry about the position.
>Click Preference>Auto Arrange. Take a final look to make certain it's
>correct, and click the Print Icon.
I always need to use Page Setup here, to get to my printer settings
and be sure I have the right paper selected, etc. As others have
said, in MIP it goes right ahead and prints when you click on the
Print Icon, unlike the main part of PSP and 99.9% of other Windows
programs which give you a printer dialog first.
>If you get a message about "Will not fit on this page, do you wish to
>scale it?" then it's likely you have the print set to 'Fit to Page' in
>the File>Page Setup.
Shouldn't get this message if instructions have been followed - see
separate post.
>Hopefully, that'll get you going. If you have any problem with any of
>these steps, just let me know.
>
>Ron Vick
Great job of setting this up! I hope the final result will make it to
a tutorial web page.
Marjory