The first part of this chapter looks at the technical aspects of printing, how to choose a suitable file size for the print you intend to make, and what to do if you have to print it at a different size than originally intended. It includes a simple workflow from the camera to the final print setting and basic recommendations on what steps to take and in what order. This is aimed at the beginner using Painter and also covers sharpening and problems with printing textures.
You also need to carefully choose the paper on which to print; a high quality textured paper can make a huge difference to the final print. I use Permajet art papers in the UK which are excellent; there is a catalog of their products with information on color profiles and much else on the DVD.
Understanding Color Management is vital to ensuring that the picture you see on screen will look the same when it is printed. This is a complex subject and I offer some basic suggestions on how to handle it when you use Painter.
Presentation is an important part of showing your work and in the second part of the chapter I show how to make simple vignettes and artistic edges to make the appropriate picture more attractive.
A simple workflow
The workflow for Painter can be summarized in the following steps:
1. Photographic capture
2. Importing into Painter
3. Finishing the picture
4. Preparing to print
Photographic capture
Traditionally, photographic capture has used film which can be scanned using a slide or flatbed scanner and imported into Painter via Twain Acquire in the File menu.
Increasingly the capture is now made by digital methods and files can be imported using the Open command in the File menu provided they are in JPEG, TIFF, PNG or PSD format.
I will mention here the ability to photograph in RAW mode if your camera has this option. This is not the place to explain the many reasons why you should shoot in RAW mode; suffice it to say that in the majority of situations RAW mode will give you better quality and more flexibility over JPEG format.
You cannot however bring a RAW file directly into Painter so this must be done in another program. RAW files can be read in many programs. If you have Photoshop or Aperture or Lightroom these will work well, otherwise there are other RAW converters available including those from the main camera manufacturers Nikon and Canon.
In most cases it is better to turn off the sharpening in the camera and to do it prior to printing.
FIG 12.2 The RAW converter in Adobe Photoshop
File sizes
Early versions of Painter were notoriously slow in handling large files, but Painter 11 has significantly improved in speed so this is no longer an issue with anything but very large files.
The question I am often asked is what file size is the best to use in Painter; there is no simple answer to this as it depends on many different things and in particular the original capture size and the final print size. Generally file sizes between 10 mb and 25 mb are adequate.
The best way to calculate the ideal file size is to decide upon the planned print size and work back from there. So if the plan is to print on A4 (12×8 inches) paper and between 200 and 250 dpi then the ideal size would be between 11 mb and 17 mb. However this is by no means essential and a 17 mb file could easily be printed up to twice that size without significantly losing quality. As you will see later, we can increase the file size if necessary prior to printing.
For those new to digital capture it is worth mentioning that a photograph taken with a camera that has a 6 mb specification will open up as about 17 mb in Painter; this is because the file is compressed in the camera.
Sharpening
Before printing it is usually necessary to sharpen the picture. This can be done in Painter by going to Effects Focus Sharpen. Select the Gaussian option as this generally gives the best result, and adjust the sliders.
The Amount controls the overall level of sharpening while the other two sliders restrict the sharpening to either the highlights or the shadows. The tick boxes will also restrict the effect to one of the three color channels.
The amount of sharpening required will vary from picture to picture and often is not required at all. I prefer to keep the sharpening to a minimum as over-sharpening can easily ruin a fine picture.
FIG 12.3 The Sharpen dialog box
The best way to apply sharpening is at the very end when the picture is finished. Make a new copy of the file and give it a new name (add sharpened to the file name). Drop all of the layers if necessary and make a copy of the Canvas (Select All, Edit Copy, Edit Paste in Place) and sharpen that layer. Adjust the layer opacity to reduce the sharpening if required.
The amount of sharpening will also depend on the file size, the print size and the surface being printed on. The larger the file and print size the more sharpening will normally be required. If you are printing on a textured finish such as Canvas, the sharpening can be stronger than on a smooth paper. It is impossible to give specific amounts for these, so experience and test prints are the way to learn how much sharpening needs to be applied.
Preparing to print
When you are ready to print you need to check the printing dpi and set the dimensions. Go to Canvas Resize and the current sizes of the image are shown, as in Figure 12.4. In this example the picture will print at 8.33 8.33 inches at a resolution of 240 dots per inch (dpi).
To print this at a larger size without changing the file, tick the Constrain File Size box and change the dimensions to the size you want to print. Try changing to 12 inches and see that the resolution has dropped to 166.7 dpi, which is still quite acceptable for most painterly pictures. To print, go to File Print and the Printer dialog box will appear where you can set the paper size and printing options. This dialog box will vary depending upon the printer you are using.
FIG 12.5 Changing the file size
Increasing the file size
If the resolution drops too low you may need to resize the file. In this case remove the tick from the Constrain File Size box and enter the new print size. You will see that the file size has risen to 32 mb in Figure 12.5.
There are other ways in which to resize the picture. Photoshop has more sophisticated ways of doing this and there are many independent programs such as Size Fixer and Genuine Fractals which can be purchased and which give a much wider range of options.
Many photographers believe that rather than increasing the file size in one jump, a better result can be obtained by increasing the file in small steps; that is by making a 10% increase and repeating the process until the required size is achieved. This can be made easier by creating a script, which can be run many times by pressing one button for each increase.
To make a script go to Window>Show Scripts. Make a new empty file and type in the picture space “10%” in large letters; this will provide the icon in the palette (circled in Figure 12.6). Click the red button at the bottom of the palette to start recording and then go to Canvas>Resize and change the box to read percent and the dimensions to 110%, untick Constrain File Size and click OK. Press the Stop icon (bottom left in the Scripts palette) and this will bring up a dialog box in which you can name the script.
To run the script, first select the script required by clicking on the blue arrow and choosing the one you named, and then simply press the Play button as many times as necessary until you get to the file size you require.
FIG 12.7 Color Management Settings are in the Canvas menu
Color management
What is color management?
Color management is a process that lets you predict and control color reproduction, regardless of the source or destination of the image. For example, a monitor displays a different set of colors than a printer will reproduce, so you may see colors on screen that cannot be printed. If you want to reduce color discrepancies, you can use color management to ensure a more accurate color representation when an image is viewed, modified, or printed.
During the digital imaging process, different tools are used to capture, modify, and print images. In a typical workflow, you capture an image by using a digital camera, upload the image to a computer, modify the image in a photo-editing application, and print the image. Each of these tools has a different way of interpreting color. In addition, each has its own range of available colors, called a color space, which is a set of numbers that define how each color is represented. A color space is a subset of a color model (for example, CMYK or RGB). In other words, each tool speaks a unique language when it comes to color. One number in the color space of a digital camera may represent an entirely different color in the color space of a monitor. As a result, when an image moves through the workflow, the colors get lost in the translation and are not accurately reproduced. A color management system is designed to improve the communication of color in the workflow.
A color management system uses color profiles to translate the color values from the source, which ensures a more accurate color reproduction at the destination. A color profile contains the data that the color management system requires to translate colors. Many standard color profiles are available. In addition, color profiles exist for different brands of monitors, scanners, digital cameras, and printers.
Color profiles can be provided in various ways; the most accurate result will be by employing a specialist to calibrate your system. They will use expensive specialist equipment to analyze each device and will create a custom set of profiles for you to use.
The next best way is to purchase calibration equipment yourself; there are several devices available at various price levels. These will be specific to your own devices and will therefore be accurate, depending on the system used.
The cheapest option is to use generic profiles provided by the equipment manufacturers; these are usually available from the supplier’s websites at no cost. They will be based on the manufactured device, but not specific to your particular equipment. They may or may not be accurate, but are worth trying if you cannot get the profiles in any other way.
FIG 12.8 Color Management Settings dialog box
Why do I need color management?
If your document requires accurate color representation, you should consider using color management. The complexity of your workflow and the ultimate destination of the images are also important considerations. If your documents are destined only for online viewing, color management may not be as important. However, if you plan to open images in another application, such as Adobe Photoshop, or if you are creating images for print or multiple types of output, the use of color management is essential.
Color management lets you do the following:
• Reproduce colors consistently across your digital imaging workflow, especially when opening documents that were created in other applications.
• Reproduce colors consistently when sharing files with others.
• Preview, or ‘ soft-proof ’ , colors before they are printed.
• Reduce the need to adjust and correct images when sending images to different destinations.
The Color Management Dialog Box
Painter 11 has introduced a new and much improved system of color management which at last allows accurate handling of colors between Painter and Photoshop. There are several aspects to getting the right color and the first place to start is with the main Color Management dialog box.
Go to Canvas>Color Management Settings and the dialog box with the default settings will appear as seen in Figure 12.8.
Presets allows you to save your settings once they have been decided; click on the + symbol and a dialog box will prompt you to enter a name. To delete settings you no longer need, use this box to find the setting name and then click on the – symbol.
Default RGB profile is where you select the color space which you currently use for imaging applications; a list will appear and you should choose one from there. The one you choose will depend upon your requirements but if you are unsure, select Adobe RGB (1998) if you are mainly printing your own pictures or sRGB if your output is mainly for web use.
Default CMYK Conversion Profile is for when you send your pictures to a commercial printer, they will advise you which profile to use.
Color Profile Policies: these two boxes allow you to choose between keeping the color profiles that exist in the document when it is imported, or converting the document to your default profile. In most cases it is better to use the embedded profile as the colors in the image will irrevocably change should you not do this.
The Profile Mismatch boxes allow you the choice of getting a prompt to decide how you want to treat each file when it is opened. If the box is not ticked the decision will be made automatically based on the choices you have set.
The Rendering Intent allows you to decide how out-of-gamut colors are handled. Out of gamut means that the printer is unable to print the color that you see on your monitor so has to substitute another similar color. Each of the four options handles this problem in a different way; here is how the Painter Help describes the differences. For most purposes Perceptual or Relative Colorimetric are the ones to use for printing pictures.
• Perceptual — Choose this rendering intent for photographs and bitmaps that contain many out-of-gamut colors. The overall color appearance is preserved by changing all colors, including in-gamut colors, to fit within the destinations range of colors at the destination. This rendering intent maintains the relationships between colors to produce the best results.
• Saturated — Choose this rendering intent to produce more concentrated solid colors in business graphics, such as charts and graphs. Colors may be less accurate than those produced by other rendering intents.
• Relative Colorimetric — Choose this rendering intent for logos or other graphics to preserve original colors. If a match is not found for the source colors, then the closest possible match is found. This rendering intent causes the white point to shift. In other words, if you are printing on white paper, the white areas of an image use the white of the paper to reproduce the color. Therefore, this rendering intent is a good option for printing images
• Absolute Colorimetric — Choose this rendering intent for logos, or other graphics, that require very precise colors. If no match is found for the source colors, then the closest possible match is used. The Absolute Colorimetric and Relative Colorimetric rendering intents are similar, but the Absolute Colorimetric rendering intent preserves the white point through the conversion and does not adjust for the whiteness of the paper. This option is used mainly for proofing.
Applying and changing profiles
Under the Canvas menu are two options for handling profiles.
The Assign Profile option allows you to assign a profile to a document which has none; for Painter to handle colors correctly it is better that all documents have profiles. The dialog box gives you the option to use the default profile or to select a different one (Figure 12.9).
The Convert to Profile option allows you to change a document to a different profile or rendering intent. Remember that changing the assigned profile will change the colors permanently (Figure 12.10).
FIG 12.10 Convert to a different profile
Soft-proofing
Soft -proofing lets you generate an on-screen preview of what the image will look like when it’s reproduced. This technique simulates the ‘ hard-proofing ’ stage in a traditional printing workflow. However, unlike hard-proofing, soft-proofing lets you look at the final result without committing ink to paper. For example, you can preview what the printed image will look like when a specific brand of printer and paper is used.
To see what your picture will look like when printed, go to Canvas Color Proofing Settings and in the Simulate Device box select the color profile for your own printer and paper combination (Figure 12.11). As mentioned earlier, to use this facility you must have obtained profiles for your printer and installed them in your system. You will need a different profile for every type of paper you plan to use with each printer. If you have ticked the Turn on Color Proofing Mode box, as soon as you click OK your picture will be shown as a close approximation of how it will look when printed. You can turn this preview on and off by clicking Canvas Color Proofing Mode. If you use this regularly I suggest you assign a keyboard shortcut to toggle this on and off quickly. Alternately you can switch very quickly by clicking on and off the colored icon top right in any document.
FIG 12.11 Soft-proofing dialog box together with box showing Rendering Intent drop down menu
Problems with printing textures
A well-selected texture can considerably enhance the final appearance of a picture, however it can also ruin the picture if applied incorrectly. The main problem is trying to assess how the picture and texture will actually print; often the picture will look really good on screen, but when printed it will look quite different. There are a number of reasons for this and it is worth bearing the following issues in mind when deciding upon a paper texture.
Viewing on screen
One of the biggest barriers to deciding on a texture is the difficulty of assessing the result on the computer screen.
Take the example shown in Figure 12.12. This file has had paper textures applied at four different strengths, however when viewed at 25% enlargement on screen the texture on the left has changed to a pattern and is unrecognizable. Enlarge the view on screen one step to 33% and that texture will look OK, but the second panel will have a pattern imposed over the picture.
The reason for this problem is that the computer screen is made up of a fixed number of pixels so when we try to show the whole picture on screen it can only show as many pixels as the screen resolution. All the other pixels in your file will be hidden. This does not normally cause a problem but when a regular pattern such as a paper texture is applied, the screen pixels interact with the pixels in the picture and can create an interference pattern.
FIG 12.12 Viewing textures on screen
To avoid this problem completely you need to view the picture as Actual Pixels. This can be done in three ways: by activating the Hand in the Toolbox and clicking Actual Pixels on the Properties bar, by going to the Window menu and clicking Actual Size, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd Alt/Opt 0 (zero). This will show how the texture will look more accurately. The problem then is that we can see only a small part of the picture, particularly if you are using a large file.
Although it will not completely solve the problem, one way to avoid some of these problems is to stick to certain enlargement ratios: you will get less interference patterns when you use 75%, 50%, and 25% views.
One final word on the subject of screen viewing – these interference patterns are only a screen-based artefact. They will not actually print unless you can see them at Actual Pixels size, in which case they may.
How file sizes affect paper textures
The actual size of the picture on which you apply the texture will, to a large degree, determine the size of the paper texture which you choose in the Papers palette. In Figure 12.13 the Artists Canvas texture has been applied to a picture which is a 23 mb file. Figure 12.14 shows the same level of paper texture but applied to a file which is just 4 mb. As you can see, the texture is very overpowering on the 4 mb picture but barely visible on the other. Another variation here is that the illustrations have been printed in this book at another resolution so the effect may not show correctly, but the difference should be apparent.
FIG 12.13 Canvas texture applied to a 23 mb file
FIG 12.14 Canvas texture applied to a 4 mb file
How print sizes affect paper textures
The final variable to be taken into account is the size at which the final picture will be printed. If you are using a canvas texture then the texture should be somewhere close to the size of a real canvas texture. Looking at the two pictures above it should be obvious that to print the 4 mb file up to an A3 (16×12 inches) size would result in the print having a texture which is far too large and distracting, quite apart from the issues of quality of a small file.
Resampling files with paper textures
When you have a small file which you need to print larger than originally anticipated, it is often useful to resample the file upwards to improve the print quality. However a word of warning – should you plan to do this with a picture that has a paper texture applied, don’t! In nearly all cases it will result in unsightly lines in the print due to the pattern being repeated, rather like the screen examples shown on the previous page. If possible you should resample the file upwards and then apply the paper texture afterwards, which is why I recommend that you apply textures on a copy layer.
Edge effects
Edge effects are easy to make in Painter and can add a lot to the right picture. This step by step example uses two different brushes and two layers to make a flexible edge effect.
1. Open ‘ Collie ’ from Chapter 12 folder on the DVD.
2. Make a new layer.
3. Edit>Fill with current color. Select white in the Color palette – this will block out the picture.
4. Add a layer mask by clicking on the mask icon in the Layers palette.
5. Click on the mask to make it the active layer.
6. Select the Artists Oils>Bristle Brush, size 52, Opacity 100%. Tick the Dirty mode option on the Properties bar.
7. Change the color to black and paint into the picture mask – as you paint, the layer beneath will be revealed. Make single brush strokes from the top and ensure that the brush strokes have a good edge which shows the bristles. Continue down the picture leaving white all around the edges and when you get to the bottom take care to get good shaped brush strokes as at the top. Bear in mind that all of the Artists Oils brushes run out of paint so use short brush strokes. The result should look much like Figure 12.16.
8. Now we will do the same process again using a different brush on a new layer. The combination of two brushes will give the edge a better finish.
9. Make a new layer on the top of the layer stack.
FIG 12.16 The Artists Oil brush mask
FIG 12.17 Final Layers palette
10. Edit>Fill with current color. Select white in the Color palette – this will block out the picture.
11. Add a layer mask by clicking on the mask icon in the Layers palette.
12. Click on the mask to make it the active layer.
13. Select the Acrylics Dry Brush, size 78, Opacity 100%, Feature 6.6, and paint into the mask with black. This brush will leave rough streaks on the picture so allow them to stay revealed on the edges but paint out the center so that the dog is clear.
14. The edge of the first mask defines the outer edge while the second mask adds texture to the picture. The final layers stack is shown in Figure 12.17.
FIG 12.18 These Edge effects and color schemes were created in the Underpainting palette where the many options can be combined
Last word
Congratulations!
You have now reached the end of the book and whether you have worked through the examples or just skimmed it and taken out bits, I hope that you have found it valuable and stimulating. So now it’s over to you to use your own photographs and to create some top quality artwork.
This is not the end of course; it is just the beginning of what hopefully will be a fascinating and rewarding journey into using Painter. The Painter program is after all just a tool for your own creativity, great tool that it is.
Practice lots and have fun!
Further resources
There are many resources on the web which you can access and which often link to other sites. Here are a few to start with.
www.painterforphotographers.co.uk
Painterforphotographers is the website which accompanies this book. There are additional step by step techniques, galleries, information and links to other Painter sites, plus amendments to this book.
The home site of Corel is where you can find information on the latest versions of Painter, updates and training. Look out in particular for the Painter Canvas, a regular newsletter which has tutorials and news about Painter.
The painterfactory is a community-based website by Corel with a user base of over 1500 Painter users. It is a great resource for learning Painter techniques and sharing artwork and ideas.
Marilyn Sholin runs this Digital Painting Forum which allows members to participate and share ideas and pictures with other Painter users.
Not strictly about Painter, but a selection of work by my wife Doreen and myself.
Painter for Photographers DVD
The accompanying DVD for this book contains valuable resources to help you master Painter 11 and produce beautiful pictures. The files and tutorials on the DVD can be accessed from the relevant section of the DVD interface. The DVD can also be opened to access the files directly, all the tutorial files are in the Assets folder.
Video tutorials
The DVD contains over two hours of video tutorials for many of the techniques described in the book. This is an invaluable guide to see Painter in action, with an audio commentary giving hints and tips as each picture progresses from a photograph to the final image. By default, the video tutorials will open from the interface into a web browser, however they can also be viewed in several other programs including Quicktime and Windows Media Player. Open the DVD and go to the Assets>Video folder to play them in a different program. Recent versions of Quicktime and Windows Media Player can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple or Microsoft web sites.
Step by step original photographs
All the original photographs are included for you to work through the step by step exercises in Painter 11 for Photographers. Also included are many other photographs that are used throughout the book to illustrate techniques so that you can follow the examples at home. The images are mostly full size files so the brush sizes will be similar when you create pictures from your own photographs. The images can be selected from the DVD interface, or by opening the DVD and going to the Assets>Images folder.
Pdf tutorials
Extended and more detailed versions of the tutorials in Chapter 3 are included as pdf files. These are fully illustrated and explain the process with much more detail than is possible in the limited space in the printed book. They can be viewed on screen or printed. I recommend that these are used in preference to the instructions in the book. There are more than 130 pages.
The following are also included as pdf files on the DVD:
• Samples pictures of every paper library shipped with Painter 11.
• Illustrative pdf files which show details which are not easily apparent in the printed book due to the printed size.
• Permajet catalog: I print all my pictures on Permajet paper and find the range of papers and canvasses excellent. The catalog includes information on the use of color profiles and continuous ink systems.