Qimage vs Imageprint

[Guigui]

Hello,

Several months ago, I purchased Qimage (pro edition) for about $50. I use this software only for 2 reasons :

- I used to get aliased prints when printing from Photoshop CS3. When printing from Qimage, my prints always come out properly sharp, without any visible aliasing.
- I find Qimage to be a convenient little software to optimize image placement on the paper. Has all those nice automatic placement features that make it so easy to print several images at a time.

I don't use any of the other features of Qimage. I do all image editing in Photoshop before sending the file to Qimage for printing.

In the LL video tutorials, Jeff and Michael seem to recommend using Imageprint, which costs about $1500 for a 24'' printer.

I'd like to understand what would be the benefit for me to use Imageprint ? It seems to me that Qimage does pretty much the same job as Imageprint, but correct me if I'm wrong. Any input would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[Schewe]

In the LL video tutorials, Jeff and Michael seem to recommend using Imageprint, which costs about $1500 for a 24'' printer.

No, we don't recommend Image Print, we mention it...big difference. We also don't "recommend" (nor even mention) Qimage for several reasons chief among them we don't do Windows and we prefer to print out of Lightroom.

[Guigui]

No, we don't recommend Image Print, we mention it...big difference. We also don't "recommend" (nor even mention) Qimage for several reasons chief among them we don't do Windows and we prefer to print out of Lightroom.

Right, you don't recommend it. Let's just say that you point out the benefits of using it.

I'd like to know if I'm totally missing something here, because besides the unlimited profiles library, I still don't see why Image Print is 30 times more expensive than Qimage. Any explanation for this would be appreciated.

[Paul Sumi]

Imageprint is a RIP (Raster Image Processor) which means it has its own proprietary printer driver technology.  The claim is that the driver is optimized for photography, and that it has 16 bit printing, larger printable gamut, better B&W, has its own custom paper profiles, etc.

OTOH, QImage is a printing utility using the printer's own driver to make prints.  It is NOT a RIP.  I am not sure if QImage supports 16 bit printing yet or just 8 bit. You use the paper maker's profiles or have custom profiles made.   I use QImage because I like the print interpolation which I think is superior to that of Photoshop.

Paul

[Guigui]

Imageprint is a RIP (Raster Image Processor) which means it has its own proprietary printer driver technology.  The claim is that the driver is optimized for photography, and that it has 16 bit printing, larger printable gamut, better B&W, has its own custom paper profiles, etc.

OTOH, QImage is a printing utility using the printer's own driver to make prints.  It is NOT a RIP.  I am not sure if QImage supports 16 bit printing yet or just 8 bit. You use the paper maker's profiles or have custom profiles made.   I use QImage because I like the print interpolation which I think is superior to that of Photoshop.

Paul

Thanks for that clarification. Qimage is a very useful tool indeed, and I use it every time I print something. I am in the process of getting some custom profiles made, because I hear it can make a great difference with paper manufacturer's profiles.

Unfortunately, the ImagePrint demo for Windows doesn't allow printing, so you can't see if there is indeed a visible improvement on print quality. That's a bit frustrating for such a costly investment.