Ignoramus31174 <ignoramus31174.DeleteThis@NOSPAM.31174.invalid> wrote:
>So, I am getting a decent Epson photo printer that I mentioned
>Earlier.
I hope you ordered lots of paper and ink...
>My question is, what programs to use to print photos under linux. I
>normally just use xv and soe custom scripts for photo editing.
I convert NEF files to other formats with /ufraw/. Once
in awhile I use /dcraw/.
I edit with GIMP. (I've just gotten /cinepaint/ running,
and will probably use it once in awhile, but only for special
things where it appears that 16 bit manipulation might be
significant.)
I tend to use /xv/ for viewing, though on occasion I set
up a slide show with /gqview/ instead.
I use the tools from ImageMagick (particularly /convert/)
for scripts.
I use /gv/ to preview a PostScript file before printing.
I use CUPS as the print spooler, and the Gutenprint
driver for an Epson R1800 printer. I have a different
logical printer defined for each and every different
paper/size/profile combination. Hence for one paper and
size I might have two or three logical printers! I name
them using a pattern so that I can at least come close
to keeping track of what I'm doing. For example, I use
one particular letter sized matte paper, and have
defined ml_fast, ml_best and ml_bw printers, each with a
different configuration.
>What I would like now is to be able to print albums, etc.
I'm not sure what that means.
But let me walk you through one method of generating a
print, and then suggest at least one way to improve it.
Select a good image to work with. Use /ufraw/ to set
exposure such that the whitest points that you want to
retain detail in are just below maximum. Adjust color
balance, black point, and maybe the gamma curve too, to
get what you like. By default I want gamma set to 0.45
and linearity set to 0.12, but that is just a starting
point on most images. Save the image as a full sized PPM
format.
Edit the image with GIMP. So whatever you like to it.
Save it as an XCF format with any layers and so on that
you've used, because that is something you can re-edit.
Then flatten the layers and save it as a PPM format (or
just try to save it, and say yes to "export"). I tend
to save these intermediate images with letters added
to the original file name. Hence d2x_0000.nef gets saved
as d2x_0000.ppm, but then there will be a d2x_0000a.xcf
and a d2x_0000a.ppm. I might have several intermediate
files: a, b , c and so on. (Buy a couple of *big* disk
drives and lots of DVD's, as those things are 37 Mb per
image for 8 bit PPM, and twice that for 16 bit formats!)
When done, you can start with using /xv/ to generate a
printable PostScript image. It has the advantage of
being very easy. Display a PPM or JPEG format image,
and click on the "save" button and then select
PostScript as the output format. When you click on "OK"
to save, it comes up with the reason for doing it this
way: a simple way to size and center an image, and to
select portrait or landscape mode. It's easy and it
works well.
Use /gv/ to preview the PostScript file. I have defined
several functions in my ~/.bashrc file to provide
pre-configured /gv/ previews for different sizes. For
example, to preview a letter sized image in landscape
mode,
function gvll {
gv -geometry 1082x810+10+10 -seascape \
-media letter -scale 1 "$@"
}
While to view a 11x17 in portrait mode,
function gvtp {
gv -geometry 704x954+10+10 -portrait \
-media 11x17 -scale -2 "$@"
}
(I don't remember if "11x17" size is one I added to
/gv/, or not. It may be necessary to use "tabloid" and
"ledger".)
Then you have the problem of calibrating your monitor and
your printer. You actually can calibrate the monitor
and develop a profile for it, using /argyll/ software
and XRITE Optix XR hardware.
The printer is much more difficult because the hardware
to calibrate it is too expensive to consider. Find a
good greyscale or color chart to start with, and it
won't be too bad. The tools that come with
gutenprint-5.x.x will help you initially calibrate the
printer heads, and there is an Epson tool to check ink
status that is handy.
But once you've done that, print a color chart that has
a monochrome greyscale on it, and adjust the gamma,
brightness, and density controls in the print driver to
get the right results. Then, if you are brave you can
try to adjust various colors more or less to suit your
needs. The idea of course is to make it so that
whatever it is you see on the screen, that is what you
get on the print (good, bad or indifferent).
There is one change that I've made to that. I use
scripts that run /convert/ from ImageMagick to do a few
things, including set size and borders and write a
PostScript file, rather than use /xv/. I have one
script that generates a border, and puts a copyright
notice and date on the image. It is adjustable with
command line options and can print it inside the image
or in the border area, in any corner, in any size or
color, and with half a dozen different font choices.
That script does not adjust the size of the image
though. Another script, which has command line options
for several paper sizes, adjusts borders to center the
image and write it out in PostScript for printing.
Not that there are no hitches to all of that. It
requires using the /espgs/ version (from the folks who
make CUPS) of /ghostscript/ to generate an image for the
Epson. I had fits getting 13x19 images to print, and
eventually determined that no ghostcript later than a
7.0 revision would do it. The newer 8.0 revisions crash
every time.
I then decided to do some work with 11x14 size paper...
and that crashes in the same way, regardless of which
ghostscript I'm using. I haven't had time to get back
to that and figure out a work around. (One possibility
is to tell the printer it is 13x19, and position the
image in the right place and feed it 11x14 paper.)
If you never get excited about large prints, it won't
be a problem... But that's the reason I have an R1800,
so it is annoying.
>I do not have Windows computers at the time (one is not operational
>for months due to Windows Genuine Advantage), so I will not be able to
>act on suggestions such as "buy Photoshop".
Your gain, their loss.
--
Floyd L. Davidson <http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson>
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd.DeleteThis@apaflo.com
>> Stay informed about: Printing photos on Linux 
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