Adobe Photoshop is an extremely versatile graphics program that can help you prepare your color images for print. Making sure that your images are in the correct format and size is an imperative step in producing professional documents. In this article, we will discuss the options available and best optimize your images before you send them to the printer. Items such as color format, resizing and file format will be addressed, as well as typically errors and avoid them.
Instructions
1. Start by opening Photoshop. Click on the 'File' option located on the toolbar to access the drop-down menu. From this menu, click on the 'Open' option. This will bring up a file window, from which you can choose the image you want to work with. You can also access this option by pressing 'Alt + F' and then 'Ctrl + O'.
2. Once you have the image open, you will need to begin by converting it to the correct color format. Since most images on your computer will be in RGB format, you will need to convert it to CMYK. Red/green/blue is the format used by computers to display images with three colors. The print process uses a four-color process that utilizes cyan/magenta/yellow/black to create colors. Click on 'Image', located on the tool bar to access the drop-down menu, and position your mouse over the 'Mode' option to bring up the sub-menu. Click on the 'CMYK' option to convert your image from RGB to CMYK. You can also access this by pressing 'Alt + I', 'M' and then using the down arrow to highlight 'CMYK' and press 'Enter'.
3. Click on the 'Image' option from the tool bar and choose the 'Image Size' option. This will bring up the 'Image Size' detail box, from which you can verify that the resolution is set to at least 300dpi. If not, you can adjust it to the correct resolution for your project. Click on 'OK' to save the change. This can also be accomplished by pressing 'Alt + I' and then 'I' to bring up the Image Size detail box.
4. Make adjustments to your image. You can use the 'Crop' tool to cut out unnecessary parts of your image and focus on the subject to attain the desired perspective. You can also use the available tools to adjust the print size of your document, touch up image areas or clean up scratches.
5. Save your image. Do this by clicking on 'File' from the tool bar, then clicking on the 'Save As' option to bring up the detail box. Use your keyboard by pressing 'Alt + F', then 'A' to access the 'Save As' detail box. Typically, print projects are saved as .eps, .tif or .pdf documents, but you should check with your printer for the exact format they prefer. With the correct format highlighted, click on 'Save' to save your image.
6. At this point, your image is ready for print and can be placed into any project.
