Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

I have two questions...

(1) I want to create a 'Print Filter' using the QImage photo editor, with custom brightness, color, and sharpening adjustments that I will save to that 'Print Filter', which will subsequently  applied to each print job for which that filter is selected in the 'Printers and Settings' item 'Print Filter'. I would like to build a custom Print Filter for each of my papers, and save that filter within the settings of a print job which I can recall in subsequent sessions knowing that my filter choices for that paper will automatically be applied. (1a) Is this a workable path to getting custom per-paper printing treatment? (1b) Is there a better approach for what I am trying to accomplish?

(2) Some of the settings accessible from Edit/Preferences/Printing Options (such as sharpening, for example) are also accessible using a Print Filter. It is not clear to me how these two duplicate setting paths will affect the final outcome. Does one take precedence over the other, or are both applied in some fashion, perhaps?

Thank you!

You can do that... just keep in mind that what you are doing is a Bandaid.  If you employ proper color management and have good printer profiles, none of that is necessary.  A print filter is kind of like knowing you have to aim a little down and to the right when it'd be better to just rescope the rifle so you can aim properly.  With that said, sometimes you can't create/find the best profiles so the print filter is there for that reason.  Just use it as a last resort (when you can't get accurate profiles).

On your last question, there are two forms of sharpening.  Image sharpening is when you add (or even subtract) sharpening for an image because that image is inconsistent with others.  The image editor is to recover sharpening for the image.  Print sharpening is to get your printer to produce prints as sharp as what you see on your monitor.  So if that odd image comes out too soft, you use the image editor to correct that.  If ALL prints come out softer on the printer than on the monitor, that's where print sharpening comes in.

Mike

>>>> Just use it as a last resort (when you can't get accurate profiles).

Thanks, Mike! Yeah, I've not succeeded in getting the appearance on my monitor to match that on the printer, despite calibrating my monitor & using manufacturer-provided paper profiles for printing & soft proofing. I'm doubtless screwing up somewhere, though I've tried to find and do 'all the things'. Failing that, however, I've resorted to editing each of my images to export a print-ready version per paper type, which I verify through a sequence of test prints on small paper stock before printing large. I'm just toying with the idea of essentially encapsulating those edits in a Print Filter per paper type, which I would save with the job I use to print on that paper type. Then, I could just export my images as they appear on my monitor instead of having to edit them per each paper type. What I don't like about the idea is that my editing process would effectively be distributed across multiple software platforms. But if I could dial things in once & then be done, it could be worth it to me. Just FYI, I guess; I don't expect you to figure out where I'm screwing up my calibration/ICC process.

>>>>> there are two forms of sharpening.

I think what you're telling me is that if I have sharpening specified in the Edit/Preferences/Printing Options dialog, and also have sharpening specified in the Print Filter, that both those sharpening steps will be applied upon printing the image. Is that correct?

Yes.  So what you should do is set the print sharpening by just changing the "Sharpen" value under Printers and Settings on the main window.  Leave sharpening out of your print filter(s) because it's best to do that in the "Sharpen" feature.

Adding sharpening in a print filter will not work as well because that will sharpen every image the same amount regardless of how big you intend to print it, what it's resolution is, etc.  If you use the "Sharpen" dropdown on the main window, that knows how to keep consistent sharpening across any print size/resolution.

Mike

Excellent! Thank you!