Photoshop CS6 Print preview
I was most intrigued the other day by Yorgo’s post about the discrepancy of image sizes between the normal display in Photoshop CS6 and that in the Print preview. Having recently bought a new computer its important to get the basics right when working in Photoshop, hence the need to calibrate Photoshop and adjust my screen resolution to the correct ppi. It’s one thing correcting images for the web where you know the pixel size you need and a completely different set up when you need images ready for print in the correct colour profile, dpi and size.
Calibrating Photoshop
Following the guide lines outlined in the Photoshop Print Preview Correction by Yorgo I first went to check on my screen resolution under Edit >> Preferences >> Units & Rulers. My screen resolution was set to 72 pixels per inch, as set up by the Photoshop CS6 software.
Print Preview correction
1. I created a new document measuring 9x9inches, 300dpi and filled it with white.
2. Under File, opened Print and opened the Photoshop Print settings.
3. Very carefully measured the image on my screen with a ruler to find that it measured not the 9 inches but 6.9inches. That’s a 2.1 inch discrepancy!
4. I divided the 9inches by 6.9 to find the correction factor, 1.304 in this instance.
5. Going back to Edit >> Preferences >> Units & Rulers, I first multiplied the 72ppi by 1.3 and inserted the new measurement into the screen resolution field.
Now the images on my screen display the correct size. Under Image >> Image size the measurement correlates with that in Print preview. It takes just a few minutes to work out the correction factor with your calculator (I used the one on my computer) but well worth the effort if you work consistently in Photoshop and need images in correct sizes for print.
Print Preview correction
Correcting the Print preview resolution is not something most people think off, as we expect our software to be correctly set up. Photoshop is set to 72ppi but the reality is that resolutions already vary on some modern monitors and have higher resolutions. The trend is toward ‘retina’ display in screen technology, displays with highly populated pixels like Apple – boosting the quality, vibrance and colour of images displayed on our screens whether on desktops or mobile devices.
