Printing Multiples (n-up on a sheet)

Today and this weekend I'll be printing the last of the new pieces for the one outdoor show in which I exhibit. The show is Saturday, 11 August, on the courthouse lawn in Polson, MT. None of my half-dozen readers is local, but if by chance you've stumbled across this posting and you'll be in the area, please stop and say 'Hello'.

The 7900 has been idle a couple of weeks. As I mentioned in an earlier posting here, I made a number of prints on mat (matte) paper for a client in mid-July. Since then I swapped MK for PK, printed a profile test image on Epson Luster ("Epson Premium Luster Photo Paper 260"), and then made a larger print on the same paper. While this paper isn't as heavy or thick as my previous favorite satin (Canon HW Satin 300 gsm), I think the Luster will make a fine replacement for the Canon-branded satin, which apparently has been discontinued in 24 inch rolls. The Luster is 260 gsm and clearly a bit thinner, but it comes off the roll quite flat, no de-curling necessary.

Today I had to print a small panorama for a client. At a bit over 28 inches (71 cm) long, the image is only 10 inches (25 cm) high. So as not to waste paper on the 24 inch roll, I printed a couple of new images along side the panorama. QImage is a highly-regarded and recommended application for, among other printing tasks, setting up a page for multiple images. QImage is a Windows-only program, making it irrelevant for me as a Mac user. Instead, when I want to print n-up images on a sheet or roll, I create a new Photoshop file sized appropriately, copy my individual files, and paste them as layers into that new document. Using rulers and guides I position the layers as desired, and then print.

The pictures I printed today are shown at left. I started by running a nozzle-check print as usual, and found no problems, a nice surprise after the printer's longer-than-usual idle period. Normally I'd print the two smaller images together on a single 13x19 inch sheet and then cut them apart. I make a lot of prints that size, as they are clearly larger than can be printed with the typical "kitchen table" color inkjet printer, but are still small enough to sell fairly cheaply.

To save a little time I've created a few template files for Photoshop, with guides positioned to make pasting in the images quick and easy. This is most useful for the couple of "standard" sizes I print frequently. I'll be doing more of this kind of print in the next couple of days, and then jump into a marathon framing session next week after the prints have dried for a couple of days.

Next up will be switching back to MK for a small client job that came in just minutes after I'd switched from MK to PK. I try to be smart about making the switch, queuing up a number of jobs for either MK or PK before making the switch. But client jobs come in on their own schedule, requiring the switch as needed. Fortunately, the 7900 seems pretty frugal with ink when making the switch.

  --Jay