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A
Adiveseyes
Participant
July 18, 2026
Answered

Print quality exports: JPG "Quality 100%" or JPG preset "Export Original"

  • July 18, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 47 views

Hi,

 

I am using Lightroom (not classic), and exporting images for print. Which option will give me the highest quality/least compressed JPG: setting the JPG quality to 100% or selecting the preset Export Original?

 

After exporting, I intend to import them in Photoshop, choose JPG quality 7, and change the color model from sRGB to CMYK because best-practice advice suggests it for highest print quality.

 

I cannot find an option to change the image from sRGB to CMYK, only a deselection option for sRGB.

 

Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Correct answer Rob_Cullen

“JPG 100%” is best of these two options but NOT THE BEST!. Export ‘Original’ will give you the unedited file.

But instead of- “ After exporting, I intend to import them in Photoshop”- Why not use the default Menu item-

Menu: File > Edit in Photoshop  [Ctrl+Shift+E].  Your image will open as  TIF in Photoshop- This WILL BE the best possible quality, no compression, 16bit, RGB. 

From Photoshop you can then save as required.

Why do you really want CMYK? Do you have a commercial printer (and a specific printer profile) that understands CMYK? Most labs can work with JPGs or TIFs.

 

3 replies

Rob_Cullen
Community Expert
Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 19, 2026

My first question is- Why do you ever need to go to Photoshop? Was it only for the CMYK?

Lightroom, once you have edited your image, has excellent Export options (Without the hassle of choices and options in Photoshop!)

If in Lr  you [Share]  select [Custom Settings]:   [SHIFT+E]

You have a wide choice of formats and options to export a derivative image for the print shop directly from Lr.

You can choose high quality JPG (and you won’t visually notice any loss of detail in a print), or you can select TIF.  All depends on the format your print shop suggests is best. 

In Ps: TIF compression is a way to conserve disk storage space- not essential for files you are sending out, and you can always repeat an export from Lr in the future.-One thing less to worry about.

Default JPG should be- 

The other options may not be supported elsewhere (I have never used other than JPEG, JPG,) Again no worry if you export FROM Lightroom.

 

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.4.1, Photoshop 27.8, ACR 18.4, Lightroom 9.4, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.3 .
    A
    AdiveseyesAuthor
    Participant
    July 19, 2026

    Yes, PS was only for CMYK conversion.

    Yes, after my last post, I did indeed exclusively export from Lightroom.

    I’ll find out what my local print shops require, but am glad the formats are basically identical in quality.

    Thank you for the explanations and all your help, Rob.

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 18, 2026

    What “best practice advise” would that be? As Rob already said, hardly any printer asks you to send your files in CMYK. If fact, most consumer print services would probably produce a very poor result if you did.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
      Rob_Cullen
      Community Expert
      Rob_CullenCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      July 18, 2026

      “JPG 100%” is best of these two options but NOT THE BEST!. Export ‘Original’ will give you the unedited file.

      But instead of- “ After exporting, I intend to import them in Photoshop”- Why not use the default Menu item-

      Menu: File > Edit in Photoshop  [Ctrl+Shift+E].  Your image will open as  TIF in Photoshop- This WILL BE the best possible quality, no compression, 16bit, RGB. 

      From Photoshop you can then save as required.

      Why do you really want CMYK? Do you have a commercial printer (and a specific printer profile) that understands CMYK? Most labs can work with JPGs or TIFs.

       

      Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.4.1, Photoshop 27.8, ACR 18.4, Lightroom 9.4, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.3 .
        A
        AdiveseyesAuthor
        Participant
        July 18, 2026

        Hi Rob,

        Thank you for the answers and explanations. I’m definitely going to use that menu option from now on. From Photoshop, I saved the file as a copy in both formats: JPG and TIFF. Opening them in Lightroom, I was pleased that they appeared to be identical.

        Can you explain save options for JPG and TIFF in terms of print quality for photographs? 

        Outside of changing the TIFF compression from ZIP to None, I didn’t touch the save options, but am curious as to what they mean (and if I should have touched them). 

         

         

        Could you explain JPG save options as they relate to print quality? Not the Image Options, but Format Options and Scans. Should I have touched those? 

         

         

        Additionally, what do the different JPG formats mean for my work? I’ve always defaulted to the first option.

         

         

        Lastly, the CMYK suggestion is something I’ve come across a few times when reading about print quality. Often repeated advice isn’t always correct, and I’m new to prints. I took it as best-in-practice advice. I don’t have a commercial printer, no. I’m glad to hear they can work with JPGs and TIFFs.

        Thanks, again.

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