print.xml
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<chapter status="final" id="print_chapter">
<chapterinfo>
<keywordset>
<keyword>print</keyword>
<keyword>view</keyword>
</keywordset>
</chapterinfo>
<title>Print</title>
<indexterm>
<primary>print view</primary>
</indexterm>
<para>
The print view lets you output a selected image to your printer.
</para>
<para>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>The print view</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="images/print_view.png" scalefit="1" width="80%"></graphic>
</screenshot>
</para>
<sect1 status="final">
<title>Overview</title>
<para>
This view is about printing – or the joy of giving birth to a photograph which
can be put on the wall. Because printing is not easy, there are many technical aspects to
be taken into account.
</para>
<para>
After selecting an image in the lighttable view (see
<xref linkend="lighttable_overview"/>) one can enter the print module where there are
several options for the print layout and for selecting which printer to use.
</para>
<para>
The central area displays the image layout on the paper (the white area). Some gray
borders may be displayed around the image to represent the printable area (the page minus
the borders) not filled by the image.
</para>
<para>
On the left side you find the <emphasis>collect images</emphasis> panel which is described
in more detail in <xref linkend="collect_images"/>. This panel lets you define which
images are present in the filmstrip. Visibility of the filmstrip – located in
the bottom panel – is toggled by pressing <emphasis>ctrl-f</emphasis> (see
<xref linkend="filmstrip_overview"/>). On the left side you also have an <emphasis>image
information</emphasis> panel which displays useful Exif data of the image in the center
area, or the filmstrip image under the pointer, respectively (see
<xref linkend="image_information"/>).
</para>
<para>
On the right panel the print settings module has many options to layout the image on the
page, select the paper, options for exporting, etc. This module is described in depth in
the section below.
</para>
<para>
This module supports the printer's ICC profile which is somewhat mandatory if you want to
get a high quality print close to the image displayed on the screen.
</para>
<para>
It is important to note that ICC profiles provided by the paper and/or printer
manufacturers cannot be used on GNU/Linux as they depend on the printer drivers. The
darktable print module is using <ulink url="http://www.cups.org/">CUPS</ulink> and there
is no ready-to-use ICC profiles for this driver.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 status="final">
<title>Usage</title>
<para>
<informaltable frame="none">
<tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colwidth="6*"/>
<colspec colwidth="4*"/>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry>
The print module has many options. We describe the panel in this section.
</entry>
<entry>
<graphic fileref="print/images/panel_printing.png" scalefit="1" width="80%" align="center" />
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</para>
<sect2 id="printer_section">
<title>Printer section</title>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">printer</bridgehead>
<para>
This entry is to select one of the installed printers.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">profile</bridgehead>
<para>
The printer's ICC profile for the loaded paper. This is the profile specific to the
printer and printer's paper. This profile is the last color space transformation done to
the picture whose goal is to create a high quality print.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">intent</bridgehead>
<para>
The print rendering intent (<quote>perceptual</quote>, <quote>relative
colorimetric</quote>, <quote>saturation</quote> or <quote>absolute
colorimetric</quote>). See <xref linkend="rendering_intent"/> for more information.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">black point compensation</bridgehead>
<para>
Whether to adjust the black point of the output profile which is often lighter than the
input profile. This should be <quote>on</quote> when the above intent is set to
<quote>relative colorimetric</quote>.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="page_section">
<title>Page section</title>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">paper size</bridgehead>
<para>
The size of the paper on which to print.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">orientation</bridgehead>
<para>
Portrait or landscape (note that darktable chooses by default the best fit).
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">units</bridgehead>
<para>
The unit to use for setting the margins. <quote>mm</quote>, <quote>cm</quote>, and
<quote>inch</quote> are available options.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">margins</bridgehead>
<para>
It is possible to set each margin separately or all together by clicking on the middle
<quote>lock</quote> button.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">image width/height</bridgehead>
<para>
This information field displays the actual image width and height (given with the
selected units) on the paper.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">scale factor</bridgehead>
<para>
This information field displays the scaling of the image to fit on the paper. If this
value is less than 1 the image is down-scaled otherwise it is up-scaled. This is an
important factor to watch – a too large value (up-scale) may result in a low
quality print. The corresponding dpi (dots per inch) is also displayed.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">alignment</bridgehead>
<para>
This option allows you to select the alignment of the image on the paper.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="print_settings">
<title>Print settings</title>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">profile</bridgehead>
<para>
This allows you to select the export profile to use. This profile is the entry point
used for the next transformation using the printer's ICC profile above. Usually it is
better to prefer a large gamut like AdobeRGB rather than a smaller one as sRGB.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">intent</bridgehead>
<para>
This option sets the rendering intent to use when exporting the image. For more
information see <xref linkend="rendering_intent"/>.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">style</bridgehead>
<para>
Defines a style to apply when exporting the image and defaults to <quote>none</quote>.
See the <emphasis>export</emphasis> panel (<xref linkend="export_selected"/>) for a more
detailed discussion of applying a style during export.
</para>
<bridgehead renderas="sect4">mode</bridgehead>
<para>
This selects whether the style is appended to the existing history stack or replacing it
completely. See <xref linkend="export_selected"/> for more details.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="print_button">
<title>Print button</title>
<para>
At the bottom of the right panel you find the <quote>print</quote> button. When clicked
the image is exported using the selected options and sent to the printer.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>
