Preparing photos for printing

[tims45409183]

Hi, I'm preparing photos to send to my print lab. Because of the difference between screen and print, I don't know exactly what they will look like on paper until I see my prints. I would like to experiment with a few slight variations of my edits to determine which version I like the best for the final print. For the purpose of saving money on test printing, I would like to put multiple versions of the same photo on one print. For example, 10x (18"x6") on one page.

Is there a way to do this in either Lightroom or photoshop?

Thanks in advance.

Tim

[Tony_See]

Both LR Classic and Photoshop have Contact sheet templates.

I would use one of those.

The attached screenshot is from Lightroom.

Have you calibrated your monitor though?

[tims45409183]

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately there is no option to use tiff files with the contact sheets. I wonder if there is much difference between pdf and tiff from a print perspective. If i test printed pdf contact sheets, made a decision based on pdf then send tiff to the printer after iv locked in mmy edits..

iv not calibrated a monitor before. Iv used the icc file from my print lab and it had a pretty odd looking result on my laptop screen. Iv decided to purchase a monitor which i will calibrate and hopefully reduce some of my guess work. Appreciate your response, cheers.

[ManiacJoe]

The first thing I would do is to check the website for your print lab to see if they have ICC files for their printers that you can download. This way you can do a "soft proof" and see what the image is supposed to look like from their printers.

You still may need to do some test prints, especially if your monitor is not well calibrated, but the ICC files should get you a close starting point.

[Tony_See]

In support of ManicJoes post I have also known printers who modify printer profiles to suit, so I believe ICC profiles can get you closer but in the end the relationship with your printer technician and using small printed strips to hold and compare will give you better proof control.

[Tony_See]

I've employed both pdf's and tiff's at the excellent local printer I use.