LRC print module - Mac vs PC

Question

So, I have struggled with the print module in LRC on my Mac for a while now and it seems like others have too based on various LR tutorials on YouTube.  Specifically, when trying to use LCC profiles I get inconsistent results and recently always better results just letting the printer manage colors.  I have a Canon Pixma Pro 100.  I don't want/need to get into a long troubleshooting discussion here, rather my main question is - why is the Print Module interface different on Windows vs Mac.  Specifically, Mac has an extra button on the left side called "print settings" which seems to duplicate (and conflict) with a similar button on the right panel called "Printer".  So, Macs have four buttons along the bottom - page setup; print setting, print, and printer, while Windows "only" has three.  I am testing printing from a windows machine side by side and so far it seems more intuitive without inducing the potential for double profiling.  My main question - why the two different interfaces?  My second question would be - why do you need so many print/printer buttons in hte module to begin with - seems like two could get the job done if not one.

johnrellis · Accepted Answer

"I have struggled with the print module in LRC on my Mac for a while now a... when trying to use LCC profiles I get inconsistent results and recently always better results just letting the printer manage colors."

Since Mac OS 14.6 (a year ago), Adobe has acknowledged a bug with LR retaining the ColorSync option properly (required to use printer profiles), and the bug is related to the use of the "Print Settings..." and "Print" buttons in the Print module:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-print-printer-options-colour-matching-is-not-sticky/idc-p/15104813

The bug results in inconsistent printing results. It's not clear whether the root cause is a bug in LR, Mac OS, or manufacturer print drivers. The bug was reported for Epson printers (for which I've oberved it), but it's very possible it occurs with other printers as well.

Here's the song and dance I do to make sure I consistent get ColorSync enabled:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-print-printer-options-colour-matching-is-not-sticky/idc-p/15104813#M59615

Conrad_C · Answer

I don’t know what the explanation for Windows, is, but on the Mac, the four buttons actually support two different print workflows:

If you expect to print many images exactly the same way in a session, you can click Print Settings and whatever settings you choose in there become the default print settings after you click Save. With those all set, each time you’re ready to print you can just click the Print button and Lightroom Classic sends the job straight to the OS print queue, without showing you the printer settings (because you would have set that up earlier in Print Settings). So the Print button is sort of an “express” or “bypass” print workflow, and it assumes you already set up everything properly using the Print Settings button.

If you click the Printer… button, this is a more conventional and familiar workflow where, every time, you first have to go through the Print dialog box, and when you’re ready you click the Print button in there. This is a better workflow when you expect to frequently change the paper type, paper size, etc. from job to job.

If you prefer to use the conventional “Printer…” button workflow all the time, then you might never have a reason to click the “Print Settings” and “Print” buttons because they’re really intended for the “express” Print workflow.

As to why the “express” Print workflow exists when it isn’t found in other applications, I don’t know if there’s an official explanation, but here is my personal (certainly not official) guess: Lightroom (Classic) 1 was released as a Mac-only application in 2007, when print was still a dominant medium for viewing. It’s possible that the team at the time thought it might be nice to have an “express” print workflow to save a lot of clicks during busy print days, like if you ran a print shop.

Things are different today, 18 years later — printing is now much less common than exporting for online media, but the “express” Print button workflow still exists in Lightroom Classic. But if Lightroom Classic 1 was being designed today, the “express” print workflow might not have made the cut. (The cloud-based parallel version of Lightroom is a sign of the times, in that it’s a powerful desktop photo editor that has never had a Print command.)

And again, this is only my guess and not an official explanation, but maybe the reason Windows doesn’t have the “express” print workflow is because of architectural differences in the OS-level print code in macOS and Windows. I don’t really know.

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