Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
If you're printing on photo paper or sending photos out for printing, make sure the images
are cropped to fit a standard photo paper size. (Cropping is covered starting on
Cropping Pic-
tures
.) And if you're printing at home, the paper and ink you use make a big difference in the
color and quality of the prints. It may seem like just a marketing scam, but you really
will
get
the best results by using the paper and ink your printer manufacturer recommends.
Ordering Prints
You don't need to own a printer to print photos—there's no shortage of companies hoping
you'll give
them
the privilege of doing it for you. You can order prints online or use a print
kiosk at a local store. Elements makes it really easy to prepare photos for printing either way.
Just save the photos in a compatible file format (see
File Formats Elements Understands
for
more about picking a format). JPEG is usually your best bet, but always check with the ser-
vice you plan to use to see if it has any special requirements.
If you're going to physically take your photos somewhere for printing (as opposed to order-
ing them online), you can copy the photos to a removable drive or burn them to a CD. To
start the process, use the Organizer to export the photos to your desktop. First, in the Organ-
izer, select the photos. Then choose File→Export As New File(s) to call up the window
shown in
Figure 16-1
. If necessary, in the window's File Type section, pick a format (say you
have TIFFs and the store needs JPEGs, for example). In the “Size and Quality” section, leave
the Photo Size menu set to Original and use the Quality slider to choose maximum quality
(11 or 12—this slider becomes active when you choose JPEG as the file type). In the Loca-
tion section, click the Browse button and choose your desktop. If you want to rename the
files, in the Filenames section, select Common Base Name, and then type something in the
text field; Elements will give each exported file that new name followed by -1, -2, -3, and so
on. When everything looks good, click Export, and Elements sends the files to your desktop.
Then use your computer's CD-creation program to burn the exported photos to a disc, or just
copy them to a memory card or a portable USB drive.
Adobe has partnered with the popular online photo-printing service Shutterfly to make it
simple to upload photos from Elements to its site. You can order prints, books, or any of the
other photo-bearing items that it would love to sell you. Of course, you're free to use any
other
online printing service, but ordering from them isn't integrated right into Elements the
way it is with Shutterfly. (Outside North America, you may see CeWe or PhotoWorld as your
option for ordering prints online.)
