Print Like a Pro

Book excerpt: Are you struggling to get good prints from your images? Are your digital photos hogging your hard drive instead of hanging out in snappy albums and archives? Looking for ways to improve your prints beyond simple snapshots? The popularity and convenience of digital photography has led to more pictures being taken, but fewer being turned into beautiful prints, framed, put in photo albums, and shared with others. The majority of users do nothing with their images for two reasons: the results are disappointing and the process of improving and preparing images for print is daunting. Written by popular photographer, columnist, and digital imaging expert Jon Canfield, this book shows you how to easily enhance and prepare your digital images for printing. Step-by-step instructions and tutorials coupled with full-color images and screenshots explain how to use Photoshop CS2 or Elements for color management and correction; editing images for printing, including properly sizing, sharpening, and converting to monochrome; to fix lighting; and more. You'll also learn how to take your printing to the next level by: using different print technologies, papers, and inks; selecting Raster Image Processors; framing and mounting their prints; self-publishing; and effectively working with print services for the best output possible.