Print Software Recommendation

[doug]

I've been a PWP user and fan for 6 1/2 years (starting with version 3.5) and am about to upgrade from 4.0 to 5.0. The upgrade has been delayed until this week's acquisition of a "modern" computer. (Even version 4.0 ran only marginally well with just 256 MB of Ram -- or maybe it was 512 MB. Pretty skimpy in either event.)

During the time period described above, I purchased PhotoShop Elements 3 because it was used in a digital photography course I took at a local art museum and I wanted to follow along at home with the software being used in class. Although I never used Elements for editing purposes subsequent to that class, I did find that Elements, used as a printer interface, seemed to give me better results than PWP. (I acknowledge that the different result might be attributed to not knowing how to set up PWP properly.)

Anyway, I just discovered that the Elements software will not load onto my new Windows 7 computer -- pop-up window says it's incompatible. So I need to either use PWP 5.0 or switch to a new software for printing. I recall from earlier forum postings that some PWP users were very high on using a program called Qimage as a printer interface in tandem with PWP as an editor. But that was several years ago and there might be something even better today. Therefore, I am soliciting advice from fellow forum members on what to look at (of course, free or very cheap would be appreciated). I am not opposed to just using PWP 5.0. But if that is the recommendation, I also need some guidance and hand-holding on how to set it up properly.

(Note: In thinking about a recommendation, be aware that I do not need features for batch printing or printing albums or multiple images on a single page, etc. As a retiree hobbyist with the luxury of TIME, my approach to editing as well as printing is to treat every image on an individual basis -- treating each one as unique. Prints are typically 11 x 14 or larger for framing or display.)

Thanks, Doug

[alain]

Hi

I'm quite happy with Qimage. I'm using the pro version.

I'm really fond on the automatic correct sharpening and resizing features. It's very easu to print with, after you get beyond some UI quirks. I use it for single or seldom dual image printing, very seldom for more images at the same time.

[afx]

Qimage is still the way to go. Yucky UI, but impeccable results.

cheers
afx

[Staylor2]

I've always used PWP for all my printing. Actually, not quite true, I use QTR for my B&W prinitng. Anyway, I always thought the main attractions of Qimage were it's color management and layout capabilities. Mostly it seemed it was PhotoShop users who really needed Qimage. PWP already has layout and color management, so I never felt Qimage was necessary. So, my questions are; For those using Qimage instead of PWP, what advantages does Qimage provide over printing from PWP? and for Jonathan or Kiril, does Qimage really have better interpolation, resizing, or smoothing algorithms that could give better print results? I understand that a dedicated program could conceivably do a better job than the functionality built into PWP, but is it "better" in the sense that you can see some improvement in the final print. I have seen some images where RAW conversion in Bibble or RawTherapy were superior to the results obtained in PWP as those programs use different algorithms for Raw conversion, so I certainly see the possibility of a separate program giving superior results in printing. I would like to hear from anybody with first hand knowledge of Qimage's results vs. those of PWP.

[doug]

I am pleased that someone has posted to keep this thread going and has also added the question of why not just use PWP -- as long as one doesn't have some "special" or unique printing needs. I would like nothing better than to use a single program (PWP) for both editing and printing.

It's just that when I acquired an old version of Elements (Elements 3) almost 4 years ago for use in a digital photography class and then set its print controls exactly as specified by the instructor (whose real life specialty was advising commercial companies about printing issues), my printed results were superior (on the same image) to those printed from PWP (version 3.5 at that time). That printing mission was merely to print a completely edited image without any further software adjustments (e.g. no resizing, etc.).

It is, of course, possible that the difference I experienced was due entirely to not selecting all the correct settings in PWP (Example: whether rendering intent is set to "perceptual" or "relative colorimetric" or whether the correct icc paper profile is selected). So before jumping immediately to some other software, I'll read very very carefully what the PWP manual says about these print settings and give it another chance. Unfortunately, it would take quite a bit of effort to hook up my old computer and make a comparison print via Elements. (You may recall from my original posting that the only reason for my even thinking about seeking new printing software was that the "old" Elements software which provided satisfactory prints would not load onto my new Windows 7 computer.)

Meanwhile, I look forward to any discussion about differences among the print functions of various softwares that is triggered by Straylor2's posting above. I don't object to using PWP for all my workflow needs (from Raw conversion, to editing, to printing). But if there is something clearly superior for one of these functions, well ........

Doug