Expert: LizaL - 4/18/2005

Question
LISA

Hi, Im tired also, its been a real long day. Basically what I want to do
is to print 5 x 4 photos. Then I want to cut them and place them in a regular picture Album.

I want to bypass having someone print my camera photos and pay for them.
I want to print them and cut them myself and not waste photo paper doing so -

Thanks

Ken

Question -
LIZA

Hi, I have Adobe Photoshop Elements, and would
like to down load photo's into it.  I would
then like to take the pictures then print them.

The problem that I am having is to make the pictures 4 X 5  or 4 x 4, like regular snap shots.
I would like to then put as many 4 x 5 pictures
as I can then print them.

Is this possible to do this on this software,

Can you help me out

Thanks

Ken
Answer -
Hi Ken,

I'm a little confused, but it's been a long day :-)  Maybe you can help me out and clarify exactly what you want to do.

Do you want to size the pictures to measure 4x5? And when you say "Is this possible to do this on this software," do you mean sizing the photos or storing them in an album?

I'm kind of getting the idea you want to make the pictures 4x5 and then store them -- like group them somewhere. But I'm not sure if this is what you mean.

To size a photo in Elements, you go to the Image pulldown menu, and select Image Size. Then in the Document Size box you type in the value you want the image to be. Pay particular attention to the resolution; if you want to print them, you'll want them to be at least 150dpi.

Anyway, could you please post back and tell me a little more about what you want to do? I'm sure we can find a solution, but first I need to know the details.

Thanks!

Lisa

Answer
Hi again Ken,

Now I think I know what you're talking about! It sounds like you want to do what's called "ganging" -- that is, putting as many pictures as you can on one page, to save paper, before printing.

In Elements, go to the File pulldown menu and select Automate. Then from the submenu select Contact Sheet. Where it says Source Directory, click on the Choose button and navigate to where your pictures are stored. Oh, also indicate how many columns and rows you want your pictures in -- probably 2 columns, and 2 rows, if you're using 4 4x5 pictures.

Once you've selected the folder of images for Elements to use, click on Choose, and the program will automatically "gang" the images on as many 8x10 pages as it takes.

You can also try the Picture Package automation, which is found right there with Contact Sheet (under the Automate submenu), but I believe it only lets you print one image, many times, on the page.

One thing you might do beforehand, before using the Contact Sheet automation, is make sure all your photos are 4x5 and cropped the way you want -- and put them all in one folder. That will make it easier for Elements to just grab them and put them on the page.

I hope this is what you're looking for! But if it's not, please post back and let me know.

Get some rest, Ken! I plan to do the same.

Lisa