Paul, I don’t know what your problem with the drag and drop is, but a much easier way to make a contact sheet is to put the photos in a folder and then go to File>Print Layouts>contact sheet.
Oh, maybe I didn’t understand your post–are you dragging contact sheet thumbnails to print individually? You can’t print a decent large image that way.
Paul,
What kind of file are the contact sheets? I can’t get psd files to print from my desktop printer either but I can other PSE files: jpgs, pdf’s, tiff’s, etc. I think OS X actually has certain file types that it can print from desktop printers. So far, psd’s are the only ones that I can’t get to print directly from my desktop. Can you save your contact sheets in another format? Or are they already? In that case, disregard what I just said. Something else is going on.
Joe
Barbara,
See post under Joe’s message
Joe, Barbara,
I guess I didn’t make myself clear. I started with 150+ jpegs in a folder. In PS Elements I made contact sheets, these are just PS Element files. I could not find a "print all" open documents command in PS Elements. So to try to save time I quickly saved them all in PS Elements native format and then tried to drag the whole bunch on to the desktop printer icon. When you do this, I am of the impression OSX looks at the creator code for the file (or the default applicatoin for that file type) opens the file in that application, then issues that application a print command.
So Joe, if you can print jpgs, pdf, etc, is OSX using other applications than PS Elements? I bet Preview or it seems the OS can interpret certain files like jpegs and to some extent PDFs, that are "universal", where as to print PSDs it must open PS Elements.
And finally to Barbara, I AM dragging contact sheet "thumbnails" to print individually, I don’t care to much about the quality, they are just "proofs" anyway. But if you have already set the print attributes you want as default shouldn’t they print at that quality?
Paul,
So Joe, if you can print jpgs, pdf, etc, is OSX using other applications than PS Elements?
I’m not sure of exactly how it works but I do know that when you "Get Info" on a desktop printer it shows up as an actual application. When you create a desktop printer OS X is actually creating a single function application based on the parameters and specifications of the particular printer. When I print one of the file types I listed the only thing that opens is "Stylus 890" (the printer application). Also I’m not positive but I seem to remember reading somewhere that desktop printing can also be application specific: it’ll work with files created by some but not all applications. So far in addition to the file types already listed (I did some experimenting last night) Word and TextEdit documents will also print without opening their respective applications. I also found that Excel, Appleworks and Print Explosion will launch when trying to print their associated files from a desktop printer.
I bet Preview or it seems the OS can interpret certain files like jpegs and to some extent PDFs, that are "universal", where as to print PSDs it must open PS Elements.
I think you hit the nail right on the head.
Joe
Yeah, Joe, I think you’re right. I have noticed that preview’s ability to parse psd files is limited. For instance, even for screen display if a file has layers with transparency or if certain filters are used, it doesn’t know how to cope very well.
For example, I have a file with a radial blur applied to the background. In Preview, I can see the central subject where the blur is not applied, but the blur area shows up as transparency.
Also, PE was tatted up before desktop printing came back to X, I think (I don’t remember DP as an option in 10.1.x, but I could be wrong), in which case it’s not surprising if it doesn’t have full support for it.
(I don’t remember DP as an option in 10.1.x, but I could be wrong),
You’re right Barb, and Jag didn’t have it either. I think ultimately it’s some sort of OS/application combination that makes desktop printing possible. I also think that for some document types, those that require user input in the print dialog box (Excel for example), drag-and-drop printing won’t ever be possible.
Joe
DP printing seems to work for Excel 2004, you get the print dialog box, then hit OK. So I guess it just doesn’t work with PSE, as was pointed out, it came before DP printing. Also openning Apple Script Editor, it doesn’t seem to have much of a dictionary, so I think it isn’t Apple Scriptable, I guess a feature you have to pay the big bucks for.
Hi, Paul. No, Elements is not scriptable. You need full PS for that. However, if you search this forum for "actions" you will find discussions of ways to automate some things.
