Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Adobe Lightroom Q&A => Topic started by: zobelaudio on November 11, 2016, 03:08:31 pm

Title: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: zobelaudio on November 11, 2016, 03:08:31 pm
last chance for Epson and LR,

for years I have had the most ridiculous things coming out of my Epson 3800 when trying to print to ilford rollpaper.
I would put in a custom size like 431,87 or 432mm in width and the length that I would need, like 500mm for a print from my 645Z.
I check those measurements everytime before I print.
I would register that as a custom preset and it would work.
one day.
next day i would try printing with the exakt same preset and the result would besomething like this.
see attachment

or I would print to Hahnemuehle photo cards and work out a preset that would put the file smack in the middle . nice.
next day I print from the same preset and baaammmm
see attachment

everynow and then I reset all the presets and delete the printer and reinstall drivers and so on.

I am about to buy Mirage print, although its very expensive, but hopefully it will deliver and not F up like LR does so often,
or is it me ?
please say it's me or vodoo or the moon or the election...
cheers
Stephan
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Mark D Segal on November 11, 2016, 06:25:33 pm
It's you, voodoo or the election. That printer normally delivers highly consistent output from session to session. It is of course impossible to diagnose what's going on from the information in your post. Why are you using roll paper in a 3800? Not meant for it.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: zobelaudio on November 12, 2016, 05:21:03 am
Hi Marc,
 I often do quite large panoramas and the roll ( cut up before using ) is the only way to achieve these.
Also the idea was to not waste paper when doing 4x5 or 4x3 ratio prints.
and I got it to work often enough. well, not really enough as you are reading above.
with the ImagePrint software it worked everytime.
Also with the photocards, the behaviour is nonconsistent.
So which info would you need to judge if we can solve this ?
Maybe it's altogether a problem with the custom printsizes.
I do remember the print diver even after deleting and reinstalling going back to a once safed value.

just guessing
cheers and thx for your time
Stephan

btw. using all the latest versions, uddates except not sierra but 10.11.6
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Bart_van_der_Wolf on November 12, 2016, 09:17:26 am
Hi Marc,
 I often do quite large panoramas and the roll ( cut up before using ) is the only way to achieve these.
Also the idea was to not waste paper when doing 4x5 or 4x3 ratio prints.
and I got it to work often enough. well, not really enough as you are reading above.
with the ImagePrint software it worked everytime.
Also with the photocards, the behaviour is nonconsistent.
So which info would you need to judge if we can solve this ?

Hi Stephan,

Marc is more experienced in Lightroom's quirks, so I'll leave that to him (or others) to answer.

My observation though is that many people seem to have difficulties with letting LR do what they intuitively expect it to do. When even presets stop working between sessions, I'm out, not going to waste time, material, and thus money.

I am an extremely happy camper with printing from Qimage (already for some 15 years), nowadays I'm using the latest Ultimate version. Pricing is very very modest (if not plain cheap), upgrades and updates are very affordable (one can even skip a year and resume with the latest version for only a modest upgrade fee) and, more important, image quality is second to none (maybe ImagePrint matches it, I have no direct comparison between the two). Qimage Ultimate supports any printer that is supported by the operating system, no limits on size, brand or model.

The only drawback for some is that it's a Windows OS application, but it apparently runs fine under Parallels (or Virtual PC) on Mac OS.

The user interface tends to get some flak by purists, but it is made for brutal functionality, achieving regular tasks with as few mouse-clicks or keystrokes as possible. Image resizing happens on the fly, depending on output dimensions and it matches the printer-driver's native resolution automatically, and performs very good halo-free Smart output sharpening.

Of course it also offers good options for automatic nesting if one wants to use paper more efficiently when printing different sizes of images, or multiple sized versions of single images. Panos are no problem, as long as the printer driver allows custom paper sizes that are long enough, and even then there may be workarounds with printing multiple pages edge to edge. Also things like centering prints on arbitrary physical paper sizes is simple to do and it doesn't even require wasting a single printed test page (everything is set/aligned from the user interface, with direct feedback in fractions of millimeter or inch accuracy).

Just mentioning an alternative in case you can't get the issue resolved.

Cheers,
Bart
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: mbaginy on November 12, 2016, 09:33:18 am
Stephan, I've long encountered certain problems printing from various versions of LR.  Sometimes the print would be as I had set, other times only partially printed, margins didn't fit and frustrating combination of faults.

Though I can't explain why this works, my solution was quite simple: I no longer use the left hand print button in LR but the right hand printer button.  (Adobe has changed the button names over the years.)  Then all my page settings are actually printed.  Since I've used only that right hand button, I no longer encounter such print problems.

I know that sounds odd but it does works for me.  I'm convinced there is some sort of bug which causes this.  I use the most current software on my iMac, am running LR CC and print on an Epson 3880.

I've done some silly things and realized my errors but this doesn't fall into that category.  It may be worth a try.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: zobelaudio on November 12, 2016, 10:52:03 am
Hey guys,
so grateful for your answers, will try both option and report back

cheers
Stephan
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: philaitman on November 14, 2016, 04:17:52 am
I'll confirm what Mike says. I  (Now) only use the printer button and my output is consistent. If I use the print button then I sometimes get spurious results.

They should remove the bloody Print button and be done with it :)
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Mark D Segal on November 14, 2016, 04:27:48 am
I'll confirm what Mike says. I  (Now) only use the printer button and my output is consistent. If I use the print button then I sometimes get spurious results.

They should remove the bloody Print button and be done with it :)

This does not reflect my experience using these options in LR. My experience of how this works as follows:

The Printer button takes you to the printer driver where you make any changes to driver settings that you require for the media you are using. Once you make those settings, click Print and LR will trigger the printing process and retain those settings until you change them. Thereafter, as long as you keep the same printer choice and driver settings, using the Print button will systematically trigger the printing process using those same driver settings. Note that the selection of the printer profile happens outside of both those controls. If you change the profile and then need to change the Media Type that corresponds with this changed profile, then you would use the Printer Button to change the Media Type in the driver, click Print, and then those changed driver settings will be systematically replicated each time you click the Print button. To sum-up, the Print button is just a short hand route to making a print using the same settings you used for the immediately previous print.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: philaitman on November 14, 2016, 05:23:55 am
Maybe it's user error for me. But I've had  odd print errors when using the print button, a prime example is having half an image printed then the paper ejected. If I use printer -without changing anything- then I never have an issue. I'm happy to just press Printer>Print and be safe that nothing is being messed up somewhere.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: mbaginy on November 14, 2016, 05:37:42 am
... To sum-up, the Print button is just a short hand route to making a print using the same settings you used for the immediately previous print.
Mark, there must be something interfering with that bypassing the settings to print directly.  (Thant button was once named Print One, wasn't it?)  I've never been able to use it consistently without problems.  It would print properly for a few prints, then suddenly act up.

I recall printing about 15 images for an exhibition.  After a few proper prints, suddenly only a portion of the paper would print.  I wasted a number of pages until I finally figured out my solution.  Maybe there's some bug which has infected LR (all versions) usage in Germany?  Stephan, I believe you're also located in Germany, correct?

I still have issues printing various images onto one page: look right in preview, settings are okay but the print is completely wrong.  I've given up on that.  A number of forum members had offered good advice but that problem persists.  Again, I've given up on such prints, won't tackle it again.  I'm convinced that LR doesn't function the same all over the globe, and I'm not using any plugins or exotic hard or software, just standard Mac, Adobe and Epson stuff.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: mbaginy on November 14, 2016, 05:44:28 am
I'll confirm what Mike says. I  (Now) only use the printer button and my output is consistent. If I use the print button then I sometimes get spurious results.

They should remove the bloody Print button and be done with it :)
I'm glad that seems to work for you (too).  If using the RH button continues to work properly, don't try to understand why, just use it (as I do).  Odd, but so be it.  I hope you won't encounter those partial prints anymore.  I haven't.  (Keeping my fingers crossed.  ;D
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Wayne Fox on November 14, 2016, 11:58:10 am
I use the print button 90% of the time, and never have an issue.  But I'm also careful in that either my chosen Template is still highlighted, or I have indeed opened the print settings dialog box on the left and set everything up. If you are not working with templates, and just printing things as you go, then using the Printer ... button instead of the Print button is certainly the best practice.

I have quite a few customers come into my store with issues printing from Lr and have found that 2 things seem to lead to problems for most of them with  unexpected output, at least with the MacOS.

First, the creation of custom sizes that are incorrectly entered with the width and height being transposed because the user is putting the dimensions of a print that is in landscape orientation.  The driver needs to know how wide the sheet or roll of paper itself is, and how long of a print being made.  Then the correction orientation must be chosen to match that piece of paper.

Second, never use a MacOS custom preset in the Print Settings... dialog box when setting up the print and storing it in a template.  All settings made in the Page Setup... and Printer Settings... dialog boxes can be stored in a Lr printing preset/template ... except if you use something other than Default Settings when in the Print Settings... dialog box.  If you create a custom setting there which stores paper size and type, and are depending on that when printing, Lr seems to get confused sometimes and unexpected results occur.  If you leave that set to Default Setting and instead rely on the Lr Template storing all of  your settings it is much more reliable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I17sLsgAxr4
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: BradSmith on November 14, 2016, 04:17:21 pm
I'm glad that seems to work for you (too).  If using the RH button continues to work properly, don't try to understand why, just use it (as I do).  Odd, but so be it.  I hope you won't encounter those partial prints anymore.  I haven't.  (Keeping my fingers crossed.  ;D
About a year ago, after never having had print output problems with my Eps 3800, I started randomly getting partial width prints as described here.  In this forum, I saw a work-around and it has worked perfectly for me since then.  It is the one described here by Mike D.B. and philaltman, and in detail, is as follows. 
1.  In the Print Module......In Page Setup at lower left corner, choose printer and paper size.
2.  In the right hand LR panel, set Layout and Print Job parameters, including Profile, resolution, etc.
3.  In lower right hand corner, click Printer. The driver window opens.
4.  Select your printer again.  If you've created a Preset, select it.  If not, click on Printer Settings and make appropriate choices.  Same with Advanced Media Controls.  That's it.  You're done.
5.  In the same driver window, select Print at the bottom right.  Image prints as it should.

Hope this helps others as it did me.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Jeremy Roussak on November 14, 2016, 06:22:00 pm
Second, never use a MacOS custom preset in the Print Settings... dialog box when setting up the print and storing it in a template.

My biggest breakthrough when using LR for printing was when I realised this fact. MacOS driver presets and LR presets just do not happily coexist.

Jeremy
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: BradSmith on November 15, 2016, 04:08:26 pm
Regarding Mac OS Custom Preset template....I'm missing something. Where do you see these in the print dialog?  In Template Browser, I see only "Lightroom" templates and "User" templates that I've created.  Where/what is a Mac template?  LR 5, Mac OS 10.10.5
Brad
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Rand47 on November 15, 2016, 06:57:14 pm
I have to say that my experience has been the polar opposite.  I've printed from Lightroom since version 1 and it has only gotten better over time.  I'm a Windows user (not sure how significant that is).  I've printed to Epson printers only, 1280, 2200, 4880, R3000, P600 and P800 - all without any difficulty at all.  Presets stay "there" with no problem.  All of the issues I've had have resolved to "user error" or one kind or another. 

Good luck sorting the issue(s).

Rand
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Wayne Fox on November 16, 2016, 12:28:42 am
Regarding Mac OS Custom Preset template....I'm missing something. Where do you see these in the print dialog?  In Template Browser, I see only "Lightroom" templates and "User" templates that I've created.  Where/what is a Mac template?  LR 5, Mac OS 10.10.5
Brad
If you click the Print Settings ... button at the bottom of the left panel, you get this dialog box. This is a way to store many presets for macOS programs like paper size etc.  But Lr templates/presets and these presets do not get along.  If you are using a Lr printing Template, this setting should always remain at default Settings if you want to insure reliability of your Lr Template.

Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Mark D Segal on November 16, 2016, 01:06:52 pm
If you click the Print Settings ... button at the bottom of the left panel, you get this dialog box. This is a way to store many presets for macOS programs like paper size etc.  But Lr templates/presets and these presets do not get along.  If you are using a Lr printing Template, this setting should always remain at default Settings if you want to insure reliability of your Lr Template.


Not my experience from the year I started printing from LR (when soft-proofing became available). As far as I know, the Print Settings button sitting beside Page Setup on the bottom left takes one to the configuration of the printer driver and allows you to SAVE that configuration, while the Printer button on the bottom right side takes one to the same driver configuration menu except the option at the end of making all those setting is to PRINT (rather than SAVE). I have been printing from MAC OSX since 2010 and never had such conflicts ss you are describing; maybe Mother Luck, who knows. The only issue I've experienced is that periodically after making a new set of adjustments or done anything on the printer LCD, if I click PRINT (the button on the left of the right-hand Printer button) nothing happens, but clicking PRINTER and then PRINT for the first print works; thereafter clicking PRINT using the same settings works.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Wayne Fox on November 16, 2016, 06:22:05 pm
I didn't come up with this, in fact I think Andrew Rodney was the one that pointed it out in a thread a few years ago.

I've worked with several people both online and at my store that were used to using the OS presets in the printer driver's dialog box, and couldn't figure out why their Lr templates seemed to work fine, then suddenly became flakey, similar to Jeremy's experience. 

One solution is to never use the Print button as has been discussed in this thread, and indeed it allows you to make sure something didn't get set wrong.  But the Print button can be very reliable as well.

Additionally if you have issues printing and need to reset the printing system on the mac, all of  those presets are gone. None of the Lr templates are affect.

The Lr template can store 100% of the settings in that dialog box, just like the OS/printer driver preset.  They are redundant.  What it seem to have trouble storing is a OS/driver preset.

I use the Print button 100% of the time when I'm printing from a template.  Haven't seen an issue in years since I read that thread.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: JRSmit on November 17, 2016, 11:32:59 am
I am using LR printing for years and thousands of prints. None of these issues encountered. I use Windows.
I work with print templates per paper and per printer. I use the print collection to store the print job. Looks like MacOS    does funny things.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: CeeVee on November 21, 2016, 06:29:15 am
I think there was a change in the way the OS (Mac & Win) interact with Adobe's print modukes. I think it came into being with a security upgrade. If you look at the Printer Properties at the OS level and outside of LR or PS there is a basic default size/type and it should be whatever you use the most but may not be.
A Printer Driver, if it's behaving properly should overwrite these settings as "Software Commands Hardware" ... well maybe. If you just happen to switch printers or inherit a file that somebody else printed I have found that my results can go sideways NOW. Apparently a "feature"(?) added to the OS, as above, retains the last printer info and thus the results are literally waste.
With Photoshop I have found that to get a reliable print from an image dug out of our library, ie previously printed, I need to dupe the canvas size and drag the image layer(s) to new new canvas. Reset the printer characteristics for the new file and then print. A real PITA, but-it-is-what-it-is.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: orc73 on December 14, 2016, 09:45:36 am
I know this is not a helpful post: I just wonder how printer companies can survive. 20 years gone and still it;s such a mess with printer drivers on computers.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Jimmy D Uptain on December 20, 2016, 07:06:58 am
I had the same issues as you except on a 7900. Like Bart, I went with a third party printing app, Mirage Print. The issues disappeared.
There is another app called PrinTao that I have played with in the past. Its quite a bit cheaper than Mirage. It worked well and actually had features that Mirage didn't. At the time I was choosing, it didn't support canvas wraps.
So I went with Mirage.
A really cool feature in PrinTao is the ability to cut the paper wherever you like. So if you are printing several photos from a roll and it comes out to about six foot, you can break it up into smaller sections for easier handling.
There are trials for each so it won't cost much except time and paper to try.
One more thing, if you went with Mirage, they offer a LR plugin. It is useless, so don't buy it.


Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: JRSmit on December 20, 2016, 09:42:33 am
I know this is not a helpful post: I just wonder how printer companies can survive. 20 years gone and still it;s such a mess with printer drivers on computers.
Please elaborate. My experience with printer drivers is both windows and mac. Only on Mac it is a pain in the ....
I use LR for printing every day and use templates etc to the max. No issues as reported by the OP.
I use windows.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: CeeVee on December 20, 2016, 11:01:02 am
There's a number of discussions on this issue in the Adobe users forum. If you stop and think about it there's more to this than the obvious.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: BradSmith on December 20, 2016, 01:31:02 pm
Please elaborate. My experience with printer drivers is both windows and mac. Only on Mac it is a pain in the ....
I use LR for printing every day and use templates etc to the max. No issues as reported by the OP.
I use windows.

I think the point being made is that after years and years "in the business", printer companies haven't been able to solve the problems that show up for MANY people.....not ALL people.  Sometimes hardware, sometimes incompatible with software.   In general, my previous Eps 3800 was AOK, except once in a while, it would print only half an image.  Just out of the blue.  Random.  Replaced it with an Eps P800.  It occasionally randomly ripped paper in the sheet feeder, would not recognize that there was paper that had been loaded, sometimes would advance the paper and move the print head as normal, then "finish" and eject the print, only there was zero ink applied, and finally, sometimes I'd only get half an image printed.  Just received a warranty replacement.  Hopefully I'll now become one of the fortunate people with no problems. 

Oh, and by the way....I've registered my "professional" products with them telling them what my email is and what OS I use.  Why is it that when they produce a new driver version or firmware I don't get an email notice from them?  Poor business practice. 
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: BobShaw on December 20, 2016, 07:26:06 pm
I bought Mirage Print the day someone showed me it existed (which was 3 years ago) and have never looked back. Printing from applications and forever making presets are for the birds.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: zobelaudio on December 22, 2016, 02:42:50 pm
Anybody else has experience with PRINTAO ?
just checking demo of MIRAGE, works fabulously with the 7890, but can't spot a print size for the Hahnemuehle cards on the 3800, so one problem solved, another one created...
cheers
Stephan
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: ihv on December 23, 2016, 03:35:15 am
Hi guys,

Got a P800 few days ago and tried to create print templates in the Print module - how to make the print preset to remember the chosen print profile (a la P800_Premium_Glossy)?
As soon as I do right click update on the chosen preset the print profile just gets empty.

Any ideas? I'm on Win10, with the recent drivers etc.

Thanks!
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: stingray on December 23, 2016, 09:46:21 am
Make sure that the Printer Driver Settings / Main / Media has mode set to "Custom  / No Color Adjustment" 

I use the Page SetUp (on the left hand side of the screen) to make any print driver adjustments).


Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Jimmy D Uptain on December 23, 2016, 09:51:02 am
Anybody else has experience with PRINTAO ?
just checking demo of MIRAGE, works fabulously with the 7890, but can't spot a print size for the Hahnemuehle cards on the 3800, so one problem solved, another one created...
cheers
Stephan

I'm not sure if I read your question right, but you can create custom sizes in Mirage. This applies for the print as well as the media.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: BobShaw on December 26, 2016, 05:43:57 pm
I'm not sure if I read your question right, but you can create custom sizes in Mirage. This applies for the print as well as the media.
ditto. In Mirage you just click "Custom" and make any size that you want, even beyond the theoretical maximum of the driver. You can save any regular jobs as a droplet and all them up or drag the file to them.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Wayne Fox on December 27, 2016, 12:37:23 am
Hi guys,

Got a P800 few days ago and tried to create print templates in the Print module - how to make the print preset to remember the chosen print profile (a la P800_Premium_Glossy)?
As soon as I do right click update on the chosen preset the print profile just gets empty.

Any ideas? I'm on Win10, with the recent drivers etc.

Thanks!
When you right click the template, you get the contextual menu that offers to update with the current settings?
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: MarkJohnson on December 28, 2016, 03:57:54 am
When you right click the template, you get the contextual menu that offers to update with the current settings?
On my LR 6.7 (standalone) version, you can't update actual LR templates with current settings but if you right click it and choose 'New Folder' (named as you like) the template will then be in that folder and right clicking it there does give the option of updating it with current settings, after which you can right click and rename as you like.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: ihv on December 28, 2016, 08:05:02 am
Thanks a lot for the ideas! I'm not close to the printer during the holidays but when back I'll let you know what worked.

Sorry for jumping in with not so on topic question.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: ihv on January 10, 2017, 01:26:59 pm
Unfortunately still the same, I also tried to create a new preset folder with no luck.

Please see the animated gif of what happens - when trying to update the print preset with the chosen printer profile, after the update actions the print profile is simply gone:

(https://ihvweb.net/tmp/lr_print.gif)
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: MarkJohnson on January 10, 2017, 03:07:24 pm
OK, you're not trying to update one of the supplied Lightroom templates, just one of your own. It seems from the gif that you are firstly adjusting the print template settings to your liking and then right clicking on the template name and selecting 'Update with Current Settings', in which case I also don't understand why you can't then see the chosen template displayed under Color Management in the Print Job box, unless it's something to do with it being a (very nice) B&W image, which it shouldn't be if it's simply a B&W conversion in Develop module. I'm sorry not to have been more help.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Mac Mahon on January 11, 2017, 02:19:45 am
- when trying to update the print preset with the chosen printer profile, after the update actions the print profile is simply gone:
I'm on a P800 too, (although MacOS which shouldn't make a difference) and I just tried to amend a user template by changing the printer profile just as in your gif.  Worked perfectly as expected.
Is it something to do with Windows settings for Color Management overiding the app settings?  I find that a minefield on Windows although I concede unfamiliarity!

Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Jeremy Roussak on January 11, 2017, 03:38:58 am
Unfortunately still the same, I also tried to create a new preset folder with no luck.

Please see the animated gif of what happens - when trying to update the print preset with the chosen printer profile, after the update actions the print profile is simply gone:

If you were on a Mac, I'd suggest running Disk Utility to repair permissions: it could be that LR is unable to write to the presets file. Is there an equivalent on Windows?

Jeremy
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: john beardsworth on January 11, 2017, 04:38:26 am
....it could be that LR is unable to write to the presets file

That could be tested by seeing if Lr can save a new preset.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Mark D Segal on January 11, 2017, 08:00:21 am
I print from Lightroom on Mac OSX day in-day out with numerous different papers, three different printers using bespoke presets for every combination and do NOT have issues except for "pilot error". So here's what I do, in case it helps. I create the presets directly in the printer driver (which is accessed through LR's "PRINT SETTINGS" (left side) or "PRINTER" (right side) buttons using the "Save New Preset" option in the driver's Preset dropdown menu. This preset is normally sticky till you change it to something else. However, before printing I always verify with the first print that the correct preset is selected. The preset in the driver does not include the profile. In LR I make sure I have selected the correct profile in the bottom right of the LR Print dialog before printing.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: stingray on January 11, 2017, 08:13:01 am
Quote
In LR I make sure I have selected the correct profile in the bottom right of the LR Print dialog before printing.



So do I.  (Using Windows)
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: pflower on January 11, 2017, 03:54:56 pm
For what it is worth, I had this problem a while back - trying to change an existing print template with another printer profile just wouldn't stick.  There was no problem in creating a new template it was just that any attempt to update an existing one with a different paper profile wouldn't stick.  I have tried it out again - I am using CC 2015.6.1 on Mac OSX 10.11.3 and it works fine now.  A mysterious bug that seems to have righted itself but then again I can't remember if I changed anything after I was having that problem or if it just went away.

What I did experience at some point was that a number of functions in LR wouldn't work at all - particularly the slideshow (which I don't use very often).  The problem turned out to be disk permissions for certain folders having been set to read only.  Adobe online assistance was pretty good - you have to give over control of your computer to them remotely which is a bit unnerving - and they changed the permissions for a lot of folders and after that everything has worked fine.  But I have to confess that I can't remember whether the print template problem was contemporaneous with the slideshow problem.  But it worthwhile making sure that all disks on which you store templates, files etc. are set to read and write and not just read only.  And having just written that I now realise that if that was the problem then logically creating a new template would have run into the same problem.  But it might be worth checking.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Wayne Fox on January 11, 2017, 10:30:52 pm
I print from Lightroom on Mac OSX day in-day out with numerous different papers, three different printers using bespoke presets for every combination and do NOT have issues except for "pilot error". So here's what I do, in case it helps. I create the presets directly in the printer driver (which is accessed through LR's "PRINT SETTINGS" (left side) or "PRINTER" (right side) buttons using the "Save New Preset" option in the driver's Preset dropdown menu. This preset is normally sticky till you change it to something else. However, before printing I always verify with the first print that the correct preset is selected. The preset in the driver does not include the profile. In LR I make sure I have selected the correct profile in the bottom right of the LR Print dialog before printing.
I am just the opposite.  I use the Print button on nearly every job I print, I have about 100 lightroom templates and they all work perfectly.  The are all organized by paper size and printer so it's pretty easy to navigate to the ones I need.

Several version ago while struggling with oddities in the print module, I found they only occurred if I tried to include a MacOS preset in the print settings dialog box into my Lightroom template,  Everything seemed to work well then suddenly one day problems would develop. The suggestion offered by Andrew Rodney was to always leave OS X preset to Default Settings.

It seems a lightroom template can store every setting in both of the driver dialog boxes, including things like paper thickness, but is seems to have problems with the presets..  I assume it's because the presets are variable and any little change can somehow throw them off.  As long as the driver preset remains at default settings, everything works perfectly.  I've printed hundred's of prints using just the Print button and never had an issue.

So two approaches, one reliant on the driver presets, and not on the LR templates so much, my way relies only on the lightroom templates.  My way is perhaps less flexible because I can't use the same LR template for 36" paper and 44" paper as can with the driver preset.  But when needing a new size or paper type, I usually start with a known template, and if it's a size I"m going to use, I'll save the new template in the appropriate printer/paper size folder.

Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: JRSmit on January 12, 2017, 02:35:19 am
I use windows and lightroom print presets. For a few mac using customers (for small prints on their own printer) i helped in setting up presets . And i used the "default" approach as well . It simply works.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: ihv on January 12, 2017, 02:24:52 pm
Gave it another try today but to no avail.

Changed another setting than print profile and did the print preset update - everything works well. Which seem to indicate there are no permission issues (at least for updating the preset itself).
To be sure, I also tried to run LR as admin, still the same. LR is 6.8, standalone, on Win10.
Any other ideas to try out? Interesting that I can choose the print profile - this must mean it is properly installed. When selecting manually, it also works as intended when printing.
Just cannot save it with the print preset.

Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: JRSmit on January 14, 2017, 02:35:27 pm
Did you try to remove the prefs file of Lightroom? Perhaps it got corrupted on the print presets.
Where does LR store your presets (or should store your presets)?
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Phil Indeblanc on January 16, 2017, 03:00:19 pm
Me too!
Just get QImage and remove the print module!
Oh , wait you cant remove it!
Do your best to ignore it, or change from LR....
Use C1 as a Dev and a stand alone DAM like PhotoSupreme or Acdsee. Works darn good and your organization is not locked into LR method. After years of LR, and now that it doesnt work with large files, I am forced to change, and so far not bad at all! Everything is faster when you dedicate an app for Dev and an app for DAM.   I think I have come full circle. See my posts about 8 or so years ago when I was saying the same thing! So it worked for a few years and then stops, and a possible move to CC, which makes it even more sense to just drop it as my main GoTo at this point, at least for me.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: john beardsworth on January 16, 2017, 04:15:48 pm
Yeah, let's use a dozen apps where one does the job.....
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Mark D Segal on January 16, 2017, 05:27:11 pm
Yeah, let's use a dozen apps where one does the job.....

........and for the most part, very well indeed.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Phil Indeblanc on January 16, 2017, 05:36:54 pm
Printing is not a function of an application that is designed to develop. Nor is asset management. LR does a good job at 1 maybe 2 of the things it pitches.
So 1+1+1 does not equal 12.

Maybe LR can do DAM and Dev in a slow painful process for large files, but lets leave print for artists in another app, as you can gang them and do serious printing.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Schewe on January 17, 2017, 12:15:29 am
...but lets leave print for artists in another app, as you can gang them and do serious printing.

Hum...are you saying since I use LR for printing, I'm neither an artist nor do serious printing?

It sounds like you are bending over backwards to convince yourself that your collection of apps will serve you better than Lightroom. You go right ahead and use your collection of apps with a primitive workflow and try to convince yourself you are doing the right thing. Some of us will keep using the best overall toolset for them.

BTW, I often use LR to deal with 80MP captures with no real slowdown-even though I'm using a 2014 Macbook Pro (my main system is in the process of being updated). So, some people find LR fast enough for work...
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: JRSmit on January 17, 2017, 12:07:54 pm
Printing is not a function of an application that is designed to develop. Nor is asset management. LR does a good job at 1 maybe 2 of the things it pitches.
So 1+1+1 does not equal 12.

Maybe LR can do DAM and Dev in a slow painful process for large files, but lets leave print for artists in another app, as you can gang them and do serious printing.
Assuming it is only ment for develop. Which I disagree with.
 I use LR for printing and thusfar have not found a solution of some sort that is equal or better in quality and process speed. And this starting from the proper display of an image on my monitor. And yes I played with qimage and mirage.
Title: Re: i am so sick of the printing module...
Post by: Phil Indeblanc on January 17, 2017, 12:24:33 pm
Hum...are you saying since I use LR for printing, I'm neither an artist nor do serious printing?

It sounds like you are bending over backwards to convince yourself that your collection of apps will serve you better than Lightroom. You go right ahead and use your collection of apps with a primitive workflow and try to convince yourself you are doing the right thing. Some of us will keep using the best overall toolset for them.

BTW, I often use LR to deal with 80MP captures with no real slowdown-even though I'm using a 2014 Macbook Pro (my main system is in the process of being updated). So, some people find LR fast enough for work...


The OP mentioned he is "sick of the printing module.."
I am in agreement, and sharing my solution....

I'm saying that if it doesn't meet your artistic needs or work demand, there are other options that are relatively inexpensive and have great support.

For the past 3 or more updates and version, going into the Page Settings initiates the starting of a print job. Weird. It shouldn't do that. Luckily I useually use print preview, but it has botched up a number of large paper jobs.

Other than that, I like how you can do text overlays when needed, but not for multi image printing.

Qimage, you drop in the files and it works like a RIP and uses paper and image area very smartly. Also has a good set of basic adjustment tools that may need getting used to a bit, but work nice with very good results.

I'm a firm believer of dedicated applications, and there is nothing wrong with launching an app to do a task. I have learned that when an application does a lot of things, it is either porr at doing it, or something like speed or user friendly interface, or something suffers.

Some of us LR users are experiencing this exact issue. I still use folder structure organization. It keeps me from being locked into LR, and keeps things simple.
I like to KISS :-)