Help printing from Lightroom

[RobertKlein]

Hi,

I've been reading this forum for a while and have found some wonderful advice here. Thanks.

Now I have a question that I just haven't been able to find the answer to. From the print module in Lightroom (2.2 running on recent iMac with 10.5.6), when I select  the different print options from the print menu, about half of the options are crossed out (see attached screen shot). I don't think this is a printer or driver problem since all these options are available in other applications. My (crappy) workaround is to save the image to my desktop and then print it from within Preview or some other application where these options are available (basically, anything except lightroom).

The only other bit of information is that this seems to be a recent problem. I was able to successfully print from Lightroom (also 2.2.) about 2 weeks ago without a problem (i.e. these "crossed out" options were available). Haven't updated Lightroom since then but there have been some normal firmware and OS type updates since then (no idea which, for the most part I trust Apple on these things).

On a slightly related topic, any suggestions for a new printer? I'm looking for something in the 13-17" wide, pigment inks, low maintenance and good B & W outputs. I'm pretty low volume printer so something that isn't going to clog if it sits for a bit (I've had very good luck with Canon printers and have thought about the 9500 or ipf5100 but I'm interested in others thoughts).

Thanks!
Robert

[genemcc]

Hi Robert!

The crossed-out entries are usually an indication that a driver update is required. If you select one of the crossed-out options the screen should tell you what the problem is (or at least start you in the right direction).

[Scott Martin]

It could also be that your driver doesn't yet support 64 bit mode. Try running Lightroom in 32 bit mode (if you haven't already) and see if your driver then works fine.

[Jeremy Roussak]

On a slightly related topic, any suggestions for a new printer? I'm looking for something in the 13-17" wide, pigment inks, low maintenance and good B & W outputs. I'm pretty low volume printer so something that isn't going to clog if it sits for a bit (I've had very good luck with Canon printers and have thought about the 9500 or ipf5100 but I'm interested in others thoughts).

Thanks!
Robert

The Epson 3800 would seem to fit the bill. Like you, I'm a fairly infrequent printer and I've not yet had any trouble with clogs. It makes fantastic quality prints. It's quite a bit smaller than the 5100 as well, which may or may not be important to you.

Jeremy

[RobertKlein]

It could also be that your driver doesn't yet support 64 bit mode. Try running Lightroom in 32 bit mode (if you haven't already) and see if your driver then works fine.

That's the trick! Thanks! Switched back to 32 bit mode and it works great. Now the obvious question is what is the advantage of 64 bit mode? Speed I presume???

Thanks again!

[RobertKlein]

The Epson 3800 would seem to fit the bill. Like you, I'm a fairly infrequent printer and I've not yet had any trouble with clogs. It makes fantastic quality prints. It's quite a bit smaller than the 5100 as well, which may or may not be important to you.

Jeremy

Thanks. I'll look into the 3800 a bit more. One question - how does it do with B&W? I really like the idea of the HP Z3100 with 4 'blacks' on matte paper but it is way too big (and expensive) for my space. I would love a 13 or 17" version of this but until it comes along, I'll look elsewhere.

One hesitation I have with Epson in general is that I've heard stories about how horrible it is switching from glossy to matte and back (time, ink, money, etc.). Does the 3800 have this problem?

Thanks again,
Robert