How do you print on roll paper

Question

How do you print on roll paper

I like to know if I was stupid in using Aperture for printing posters on my Epson 9800 Pro printer on roll paper. Till now I use Photoshop, but my Photoshop is old - CS2 - which runs not natively on my Mac Pro with Intel processor and it often crashes. I thought, printing from within Aperture would be nicer, but there some limitations: I get a photo which shall be printed in exactly 20 by 30 inch on roll paper on my large format printer. The roll width is 24 inch, so the print come out of the printer in potrait orientation equal the orientation of the photo is.

But here is what I miss - if I can't see it, please give me a note:

I can not set the exact print dimension of the output, only borders are possible. But borders around a photo makes no sense on roll paper!

When I print from within Photoshop, I made before some larger papersizes which corresponds to the roll width like 24 inch wide by 30 inch length. In Photoshops print dialog I select the centered printing on that paper and all fine.

How do I do that in Aperture? I tried few workflows but didn't find a solution.

How do you do that?

Mac Pro 2.66 GHz 8 GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.5.6), iMac G3 400 MHz 786 MB RAM, G4 1,2 GHz 2 GB RAM

Posted on Feb 26, 2009 9:22 AM

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Answer 1

vividi

Level 1

0 points

Feb 27, 2009 2:14 PM in response to Adrian Wackernah

I feel the print area would need to be improved offering greater custom resizing inside aperture as I find this is not as easy to use as I would like why are the print orientation and print output settings not showing (Wysiwyg) What you see is what you get print size output on the selected media being used without reverting to any workarounds within a custom print or book output area.

I am currently printing to 24 inch canvas media so any prints are printed to Apertures largest custom size for the media used but I would like to see a nesting option within the print output to make it easier to work within 24" or larger rolls of media without the waste problem associated when printing on large format media within aperture.

Do you think the printing area could be made better in aperture having read your reply to my last post you said you used RIP software with nesting some years ago, but now print with RIP software without nesting could this be the answer to give aperture better placement options and correct orientation for all photographic work in a professional application.

thank you for looking

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Answer 2

Feb 28, 2009 12:58 AM in response to vividi

I agree with you that the print should be improved in Aperture. Printng with a RIP could solve that, but I do not any longer print with a RIP because of other lacks in them. I print on Canvas too and some found some more missbehaviors.

Let me show how I do it now within Photoshop:

1. set the right photosize. If I like to print a 40x60 cm photo on canvas were the photo should moved aroound the borders of the canvas frame. I set the size to 45x65 cm (5 cm will be on the border - top, left, bottom and right side each 2.5 cm). I set the best resolution for my Epson printers too, which should be a part of 360 dpi. I do not enlarge the photo ever, only scaling down. If the photo has at 45x65 cm a resolution of 145 dpi, I scale it down to 120 dpi which is a third of 360 dpi. This gives better results as 145 dpi with Epson printers.

2. I enlarge the canvas of the photo with white background to 48x68 cm. This extra area is for tacking the canvas media on the backside of the wooden frame.

3. I make a 1 px black border around the photo. This is for cutting the print later on my roll cutting machine, because the print itself is made on roll media - as you do it.

4. Now I am able to print that photo from within Photoshop on a custom made paper size.

Aperture in case can most of this not do til now: I can not select anywere a black border on print (well I can use the Plugin for borders, but that give me only a output file which need to be printed with another App). The size of custom paper sizes are very limited. I thought, I could not select a whole 44 inch wide paper size within Apertures print dialog.

I can not even setup anywere in the print dialog a printsize for my photo: 45x65 cm plus 3 cm white area plus 1 px border on a media size of 24 inch wide or 36 inch wide is not possible.

Printing on standard media sizes as us-letter or DIN A4 for example is no pain, but professionals need often more as we do and Aperture is a software for professionals.

So, please Apple, give us a better solution for printing from within Aperture shortly!

---

If you like to print with a RIP software: It will be the same as if you print it with Photoshop - you export your files, open them inthe RIP and print in case of open in Photoshop and print.

Message was edited by: Adrian Wackernah

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Answer 3

DaveEP

Level 1

25 points

Mar 3, 2009 5:23 AM in response to Adrian Wackernah

I agree. I hate having to drop out to photoshop to do my custom roll printing.

Aperture could easily provide a simple dialog option to create a custom paper size (roll) to match the photo, and all would be done.

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Answer 4

Mar 3, 2009 6:14 AM in response to Adrian Wackernah

Printng with a RIP could solve that, but I do not any longer print with a RIP because of other lacks in them.

From the printing point of view, the nesting needs to be part of the printing system since the printing system has the information (media geometry, media configuration, how much media is left).

The problem with it is that in a single user situation this information can be shifted into an application, but in a workgroup user situation it is safer/better done on the print server.

Perhaps you would want to lobby your printer manufacturer of choice to provide software nesting support as part of the manufacturer's Mac OS X support.

It's a chicken and egg situation: Should the printer manufacturer add free nesting, should the Aperture application add free nesting, or should this be left to colour managed print servers that tend to be sold into the professional segment. (And if Aperture were professional software, it would not want to have a runtime gamma rendering atop its ICC rendering ... -:)).

/hh

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Answer 5

Mar 12, 2009 3:40 AM in response to Henrik Holmegaard

Hello Henrik,

I think such a featute should be inside of Aperture beause thats the App were I manage all my photos. Take a look to Lightroom and it has the ability for that or Photoshop since version CS by scripting.

Requesting such a feature from the printer manufacturer would be the wrong way, because I may use such a simple feature on a letter sized printer too.

The gamma rendering atop of ICC is in case the same I get if I print with the Epson driver, were in the settings menu is the same function - only with a different name labeled. And this kind of gamma setting you can find in RIP softwares too.

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Answer 6

Mar 12, 2009 4:04 AM in response to Adrian Wackernah

I think such a featute should be inside of Aperture beause thats the App were I manage all my photos. Take a look to Lightroom and it has the ability for that or Photoshop since version CS by scripting.

I disagree.

Apple had the idea of simplifying applications by supporting imaging services in the operating system and not in the application.

This applies as well to the idea of intelligent drawing transform (ColorSync and TrueType) s as to the idea of an intelligent display model and an intelligent print model.

It is better for the everyday enduser that the operating system should supply a single interface than that software publishers should supply as many interfaces (and as many implementations) as there are software products.

Adobe tried unsuccessfully in the transition from its past separate software tracks to its present single Color Studio software track to achieve some of the aims Apple sought to achieve in the past. Better that Apple progress its aims than that Apple adopt Adobe's chaotified approach.

The gamma rendering atop of ICC is in case the same I get if I print with the Epson driver, were in the settings menu is the same function - only with a different name labeled. And this kind of gamma setting you can find in RIP softwares too.

As posted, in characterising a colour display the gamma calibration is part of the characterisation. The calibration and the characterisation are inseparable. For what it's worth, I published the VCGT Video Card Gamma Tag when it first appeared and pressed as well LOGO as Heidelberg to support it.

Similarly, transfer curves are permitted in PostScript (they can be programmed in Photoshop) but they are prohibited in PDF/X because they change the state of the RIP independently of the state of the system documented in the ICC PRTR Printer profile for the printing condition.

It is irrelevant what RIPs do, if what RIPs do is not technically correct.

Sorry,

Henrik

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Answer 7

vividi

Level 1

0 points

Mar 12, 2009 5:14 AM in response to Adrian Wackernah

To Adrian,

Is apple working with large format print companies as users working with Aperture should have the features they need to manage their workflow and be able to produce large format prints.
If Adobe see a market for these features they will incorporate them into Lightroom or Photoshop this could include nesting options or improved print settings in Adobe software.

As for Apple this should not take any longer to implement newer features as they were one of the first to subscribe to the International Color Consortium along with Adobe and others.

Having bought into Apple and Aperture for its ease of use I think newer features have been made available in Aperture since V 1.0 but it also needs to look at some areas including the vault and picture management sections. The quicker Apple listen to customers and expand or update these sections to keep Aperture up there with Abobe Lightroom or Photoshop.

Not everyone uses the same printer or software if printer companies were working towards the same goal we would get the best tools for the job required with newer features added to future releases as we require them.

ICC gamma should have nothing to do with giving us the features we require as we have this available via our monitor system and custom ICC profiles aperture is a great program but it could be a lot better.

Any thoughts on this

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Answer 8

Mar 12, 2009 8:31 AM in response to Henrik Holmegaard

I disagree.

I should qualify that statement. The choice of page description model is first and foremost a choice made by the printer manufacturer. Failing to find support for a feature at that level, there is choice between supporting the feature at the application level or supporting the feature at the operating system level. In so far as at all possible, support should be at the operating system level to simplify the otherwise steep learning curve.

/hh

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