martinimages
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My printing workflow
Maybe others could also include there own
First I always use Abobe RGB colour space from camera, through PS to printer.
All my bw images are shot in raw, from the raw image I create a colour master file, apply capture sharpen and if needed a little noise reduction and save as a 16bit tiff.
I then convert to mono, save as a tiff file at 16bit.
Now this is where adjustments to the screen image and your own set up come in to play
I find that If i print out without adjustment the images are a tad to dark, so I apply a curves adjustment, one that I have made, saved and loaded. this adjustment gives me the right level of dark and light I need to match the screen,
Next I make a slight adjustment in levels, where output is set at 0, type in 12 this is good for opening shadows, to boost contrast I load the highlights and set the layer from normal to screen and fine adjust with the opacity slider, I then use a programme called photokit, this has some great sharpening effects, the one I use a lot is called haze cutter, it works very similar to using high usm sharpening but avoids haloing at edges, it increases contrast and you can use it under a layer mask for selective sharpening where required, I often use Glenn Mitchels diffuse glows to increase luminosity selectively under a layer mask.
Next I then check for any unwanted marks , sensor dust etc and remove them if needed.
Now to print out
Once I am satisfied with the overall look I will make sure the image resolution is at 360 for my printer [ native resolution] save this as a 16bit file, then i will crop the image to 7x5, go to print with preview, set the profile for the paper am using, i don't use the canned profiles that came with my epson printer, I use ones that are specifically made for what ever paper i am using, the ones I use are made by a guy that has done extensive work with the Epson 3800 wide format printer and are free to download ther much better than Epsons own for fine art papers, I set the rendering intent to Perceptual, I move the image in the preview box to the top so i can get two test prints from one A4 sheet, next I open the printer dialogue box, now this is where things can vary from printer to printer but on mine the epson 3800 i use the advanced BW settings, dpi to 1440, dark setting for all matt papers , high speed printing off and the the paper set to whats appropriate to the paper in usage,
So PS controls the profile but the printer controls the output, from what I have read this is the best way to work as the Advanced black and white is more linear and gives better results than using the colour auto setting.
Once the test print is done I leave it to dry for a while then carefully check it for shadow, highlight and tonal range, any unwanted marks missed in edit etc, if any adjustments are needed like curves to lighten this is done and printed out again on the same A4 sheet, usually this second test gives the correct settings, sometimes on difficult images further test images are needed to get the desired printout, some people use prof printing but i find i cant get consistent results from this way and its difficult to judge contrast in mono on the proof image.
Now I have the correct print out from the test print I then re size the image to say A3 ~A2 or whatever size needed, apply output sharpening, when output sharpening is used your print will look awful in terms of grainy looking but don't be put off as this will not show from your inkjet output, once re sized save it, I always save it with file name, profile used and printer settings so it then is easy to reproduce again, go to print with preview , set paper size, load full sheet and press print, you know from your test prints what your going to get as output on your large print so you will not waste a large expensive sheet of fine art paper.
Hope This helps and not to confusing, this is my work flow and it works for me, my images reproduce as good and in most cases better than on screen images because they now are not pixels on a screen there the finished thing, the paper has texture [velvet fine art] so has a luxury feel and look and as they say a good big un will always beat a little one  , the only area where you cant get it the same on matt papers [or I cant :-(] is the brightness that a back light LCD screen gives , anyway happy printing
Just a final note, never rush printing, take your time, get it right and its great to see the end result from camera~ computer~printer to print, don't use cheaper inks and buy the best paper you can afford, fine art papers are not cheap but do look amazing when you get it right, and even better matted and framed
Martin
Last edited by martinimages, 22/Nov/07, 11:28 pm
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22/Nov/07, 9:55 pm
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Rivington
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Re: My printing workflow
Hi Martin,
Thanks for the great insight into how you produce your wonderful images. Now it seems I've got to get my head around more techniques. 
Seriously, thanks to you and everyone else on the forum for all the advice I've had over the last few months.
"The more I learn the less I find out that you know" how true !!
Badger 
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Riv ;0))
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24/Nov/07, 4:36 pm
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Eukendei
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Re: My printing workflow
Hi Martin, I haven't come around to printing anything yet, great insight you present here though! Just leaves me with a question; I'm currently working with Photoshop version 6.0. This programm can convert to 16bit, but doesn't allow any alterations to the opened file in this mode (adjustments can only be applied in 8bit mode !). Is there any use in me creating and saving tiff-files in 16 bit ? (apparently much larger than 8 bit), or better wait till I get a newer version of photoshop? Thanks, Leon
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24/Nov/07, 5:07 pm
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martinimages
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Re: My printing workflow
To be honest Leon 8 bit tiffs are fine, there lossless files and thats what you need, when you upgrade to higher versions of PS you could always then convert the files to 16 bit, I dont think you will see much differance in output betwen a 16 or 8 bit tiffs in real terms
Martin
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24/Nov/07, 8:26 pm
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martinimages
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Re: My printing workflow
quote:
Rivington wrote:
Hi Martin,
Thanks for the great insight into how you produce your wonderful images. Now it seems I've got to get my head around more techniques.
Seriously, thanks to you and everyone else on the forum for all the advice I've had over the last few months.
"The more I learn the less I find out that you know" how true !!
Badger
Leon my way of printing works for me, but as always in the digital world things can change very quickly and so can technique, I suppose I am one of the old school on this, i tend to edit and print like the wet days, producing test prints at various settings until I get the result i am after, I think the key to good images is the correct contrast and exposure to match the paper, again all done in the the computer but not really any difference to the enlarger exposure and paper contrast to give the same effect on printout, that's my own way of think and application to the subject, anyways any knowledge is helpful and hope this thread does the trick
Martin
--- One to one workshop in monochrome, from capture to fine art print, printing service available
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24/Nov/07, 8:38 pm
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I Simonius
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Re: My printing workflow
quote:
Now to print out
Once I am satisfied with the overall look I will make sure the image resolution is at 360 for my printer [ native resolution] save this as a 16bit file, then i will crop the image to 7x5
Do you actually crop the image i.e. just print part of it or do you reduce it completely in size and print the whole image at 7x5?
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31/May/09, 12:31 pm
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martinimages
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Re: My printing workflow
To be honest Simon I don't do that now as I have got my setup just right, and can print straight from screen, but to answer your question I would crop to 7x5 to have a good look at all the image, then if satisfied revert back to the original and print
Martin
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31/May/09, 12:53 pm
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