Operation Manual

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Last updated 12/5/2011

Chapter 15: Printing

For detailed instructions, click the links below. To ask questions, request features, or report problems, visit

feedback.photoshop.com.

Printing from Photoshop

For detailed instructions, click the links below. To ask questions, request features, or report problems, visit

feedback.photoshop.com.

Printing basics

Whether you are printing an image to your desktop printer or sending it to a prepress facility, knowing a few basics

about printing makes the print job go more smoothly and helps ensure that the finished image appears as

intended.

Types of printing For many Photoshop users, printing a file means sending the image to an inkjet printer. Photoshop

can send your image to a variety of devices to be printed directly onto paper or converted to a positive or negative

image on film. In the latter case, you can use the film to create a master plate for printing by a mechanical press.

Types of images The simplest images, such as line art, use only one color in one level of gray. A more complex image,

such as a photograph, has varying color tones. This type of image is known as a continuous-tone image.

Color separation Artwork intended for commercial reproduction and containing more than one color must be

printed on separate master plates, one for each color. This process, called color separation, generally calls for the use

of cyan, yellow, magenta, and black (CMYK) inks. In Photoshop, you can adjust how the various plates are generated.

Quality of detail The detail in a printed image depends on image resolution (pixels per inch) and printer resolution

(dots per inch). Most PostScript laser printers have a resolution of 600 dpi, while PostScript imagesetters have a

resolution of 1200 dpi or higher. Inkjet printers produce a microscopic spray of ink, not actual dots, resulting in an

approximate resolution of 300 to 720 dpi.