So I'm still researching on google on this. Some say there is no 2 step sharpening in C1, and C1 would perfectly sharpen them on output size, once send to export.
Hi,
Although I do not know exactly what goes on under the hood, and I'm using a different print workflow (Qimage Ultimate) anyway, I'm pretty sure that there is
no additional sharpening done on output to file. I can't imagine that the sharpening settings are used on output, because we do not get an accurate preview for tuning the settings other than at 100% (display zoom is not reliable enough to base visual sharpening on). If true, then this is a shortcoming if one resizes the output, which BTW is made super easy in Capture One by offering several output recipes (at the same time) for export. So one can generate several file types and sizes to different locations at the same time if needed, but there is no additional option for sharpening (which would be required since resampling necessitates to resharpen or change the sharpening).
The only shortcut I can think of is by using the Print to file path, since the print dialog does offer an output sharpening control. But that's a crude way of solving a need, and it would require one to calculate the number of pixels that a certain output size would resample to for a specific printer resolution.
IMHO, the whole image resampling and sharpening aspect of Capture One is in need of a significant upgrade. Currently, resampling seems to be bicubic based, and as said sharpening is not all that advanced (USM based?). Software like Qimage shows what great gains can be made for output quality when advanced resampling and (DFS) Smart sharpening is applied.
So, if one insists on printing out of Capture One, one could export (with sharpening disabled in the output recipe) a full size image to another editor, use that to resample, convert to the output profile, and output sharpen, and re-import that result into Capture One for printing. That would allow to use superior resampling quality and superior sharpening for the intended output size, and still use Capture One for the final output. But frankly, I think there are more efficient output workflows possible, until C1 is improved on those specific workflow aspects.
Cheers,
Bart