Printing multiple images on one page

LJ
Posted By
Larry_J._Walker
May 9, 2005
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1861
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7
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Closed
I need to print multiple images on a single sheet of letter sized paper.
[8.5" X 11"] The image size is 5.5" X 1.55" and is in BMP format. Each image is a different picture. I would like to arrange the images so that 4 images fit on the same sheet, with the sheet in PORTRAIT orientation. I can’t seem to find a way to do this in either of the PSE 3.0 manuals I have. I tried to use the "contact sheet" method from pages 372-373 of "The Missing Manual", but that doesn’t seem to allow me a way to place 4 images on the sheet, in the manner I want to. I chose the value 1 for "number of vertical columns", as I consider this to be the only number of full size images that will fit the 8.5" dimension of the sheet. This choice displays a single image on the preview window. There doesn’t seem to be a way to add more images, from what I am seeing on my screen, or reading in the book. I really got lost in the "Classroom in a Book" manual, which covers the subject in LESSON 8. [at least, I thought it did] Project 2 is headlined as "Placing two or more images in one file" That seems like what I want to do, only described a bit differently. What am I missing or doing wrong ? Can this be done? Larry J. Walker

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O
o3v3tz
May 9, 2005
Larry,

Suggest that you also post pixel dimensions for your bmp files. Also suggest that you post the maximum printable area of your printer – meaning subtract the minimum required margins of your printer from the paper size.

Sorry, but it is still not clear to me about your photos. So to confirm – they are 5.5 high and 1.5 wide? If yes, I would select 4 columns for the contact sheet.

Did you specifically want a contact sheet?

Have you tried Individual Prints with a custom size for the print size? Perhaps you have and your result is that it does not give you the portrait orientation of the paper that you wanted. You might try specifying Landscape for the paper orientation with Individual Prints and see what the preview gives you. I know it seems backwards, but my observation is that Individual Prints is more based on fitting the multiple photos on the page as if the page were to be cut up; it often prints photos sideways. IF you are not printing any text on the page, you might get positioning of photos that you can use by saying Landscape for the paper. Seems worth a few clicks to try.

Barb O
LJ
Larry_J._Walker
May 9, 2005
To Barb Olson: Barb, sorry I didn’t give the dimensions as 5.5" wide X 1.55" high. [825 X 233 px] Resolution is 150 px.in. I don’t SPECIFY the contact sheet per se, it just looked like it might give me a means of printing several of these images, in sequential order by date, onto a single sheet, thereby reducing the number of sheets needed to print all the information. These are bit map images of graphs or charts. Each image is 5.5" wide and 1.55" high. The margins of my printer are L & R, 1/2". T & B, 3/4". As you can see, there should be ample room for the 5.5" to fit into the available 7" of printable space. Likewise for the 1.55" multiplied by 4 [6.2"] to fit into the available 9.5" of printable space in that plane. I should be able to fit 6 of the images in there, but since 4 images represents one month’s worth of data, 4 per sheet is the expected max. Maybe the occasional 5 week month could require an additional image, but 4 would be normal. I have not looked at "Individual Prints" with "Custom sizes", but I will do that next. It might be a day or two before I’m able to get back onto this project as I seem to be juggling a few more at the same time. I will explore, Thanks, Larry J. Walker
R
Roy
May 9, 2005
wrote in message
I need to print multiple images on a single sheet of letter sized paper.
[8.5" X 11"] The image size is 5.5" X 1.55" and is in BMP format. Each
image is a different picture. I would like to arrange the images so that 4 images fit on the same sheet, with the sheet in PORTRAIT orientation. I can’t seem to find a way to do this in either of the PSE 3.0 manuals I have. I tried to use the "contact sheet" method from pages 372-373 of "The Missing Manual", but that doesn’t seem to allow me a way to place 4 images on the sheet, in the manner I want to. I chose the value 1 for "number of vertical columns", as I consider this to be the only number of full size images that will fit the 8.5" dimension of the sheet. This choice displays a single image on the preview window. There doesn’t seem to be a way to add more images, from what I am seeing on my screen, or reading in the book. I really got lost in the "Classroom in a Book" manual, which covers the subject in LESSON 8. [at least, I thought it did] Project 2 is headlined as "Placing two or more images in one file" That seems like what I want to do, only described a bit differently. What am I missing or doing wrong ? Can this be done? Larry J. Walker

This is really simple, I do not understand why everyone tries to make it complicated.

Open all Images, adjust all of them to have the same DPI, and crop to the final required sizes.

Activate one, go to Image > Canvas size and make that 8.5 x 11. use the 9 square cube to get this image at the top of the sheet.

Activate another image and drag it onto the blank canvas area of the first image. Move it to where you want it.

Repeat with all the others, and space them out as you wish.

Remember that each will be on its own layer, and that layer will have to be activated before that image can be moved.

Once this is done Flatten and Save.

Simple isn’t it.

Roy G
BH
Beth_Haney
May 9, 2005
Larry, for this kind of project I think there’s an easier way to accomplish what you want. It’s "manual", but much more flexible in the long run.

All of your images are the same physical size and resolution, so that makes it easy. I’ll explain how to do it, and then I think you can make yourself a template to open each time you want to do this, which I’ll explain near the end of the post.

Open a new document, and set it to 8 1/2 X 11 or whatever size you want that’s big enough to hold your images. Set the resolution at 150ppi, and have the background set to either white or transparent.

Open each image you want to print. If you’re using PSE 3.0, make sure you have the Window set to either Tile or Cascade so the new document and all four (or five) images are on your desktop at one time. Also have the Layer Palette open.

Click on the first image to make it active, and then either copy/paste it to the new document or use the Move tool to drag/drop it. It’ll show up on its own layer on the master. Now do the second, then the third, then the fourth. (Note: If you place images in the Photo Bin, they CANNOT be copied or dragged from there – images have to be open on the desktop.) When all are moved, each will be on a separate layer and can be shifted around independently with the Move Tool. This method will also allow you to add text below each image, too, if you want to put a date or any other notation on it.

Print.

Now the other thoughts of mine:

It might be easier to get these lined up neatly if you have gridlines showing on your large blank document. Look under the Preferences for Elements (Edit>Preferences, I think, although I’m on a Mac.) You can choose the spacing for both vertical and horizontal lines, or you can use the default, which seems to be one quarter inch units. To use the Grid, go to View>Grid, and also make sure View>Snap to Grid has a checkmark next to it. You can use the gridlines to get the images spaced evenly, but they won’t show on your print.

If I was doing this, I’m make a template. Set up a new blank document of the size and resolution you want, and set up the gridlines. Save that document before moving any images onto it and call it Monthly Template or something fascinating like that. When you want to print your images, open your template, and go to File>Duplicate and make a copy of it. Close the original to use again the next month.

It will take a little bit of time to get this set up initially, but once it’s done, you’ll save a lot of both time and – judging from your post – frustration, too. And even doing this probably won’t take as much time as what you’ve already invested!

Elements provides lots of shortcut options with the Contact Sheet or Picture Packages, but sometimes, for special needs like yours, they wind up causing more grief than necessary.

Good luck, and post back with questions.
O
o3v3tz
May 9, 2005
Beth and Larry,

Now that I understand that the pictures are 5.5 inches wide (Larry I guess at first I was thinking portrait for the pictures also and not just the paper. Sorry my mistake.)

Beth, this seems like a Custom Picture Package would do it. I did some Custom Picture Packages in Elements 2, but have not done any yet in Elements 3. Since Larry said he will not get back to it immediately, I made a note to try a custom picture package in PSE 3 with his dimensions later this week then post back with any useful results.

Also, my conclusion is the Contact Sheet specifying 1 column is a bug. It does not do 1 column with multiple photos (I had 4 photos input to the Contact Sheet process); it did one large photo. Made a note to do a Bug Report. Don’t think this will really impact Larry’s process because I think we have concluded that the Contact Sheet is not the best fit for what he is doing.

Barb O
LJ
Larry_J._Walker
May 15, 2005
To Beth Haney and Barb Olson: Beth, the technique you outlined for me works like the proverbial charm. It isn’t even necessary to use a grid for alignment because the images have a definitive border top & bottom. I will not even need to keep a template because it is so easy to open a new blank document [I learned that from you] each time. This method produces the exact results I need. Barb, if you have any success with a Custom Picture Package, please post the procedure. It never hurts to have things covered from more than one position. Thank you both for your tutoring. Larry J. Walker
O
o3v3tz
May 15, 2005
larry,

Glad you were successful from Beth’s instructions.

I have not made any progress and am not sure that I can do the printing the way I had in PSE 2.

Barb O

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