[Techtalk] Mac or Linux for photo printing?

[Sabine Konhaeuser]

Am Saturday, 16. December 2006 11:25 schrieb Carla Schroder:
> Yo. Me again.
>
> I'm getting frustrated with making photo prints on Linux. Some
> of the things that are vexing:
>
> -no simple way to scale images for printing, like 4x6
> borderless, or 8x10 with 1/4" border. I have to scale images
> manually, which is less fun than it sounds
>
> -printing at different resolutions makes zero difference,
> whether it's 600dpi or 2400dpi
>
> -print preview is hideously slow, even on small file sizes
>
> -I want to create calendars, postcards, and other fun stuff
> without having to make it my life's work
>
> For multi-image layouts I use KWord. It's faster and easier to
> slap a bunch of images onto a KWord page in frames than to
> mess with Gimp layers. But it still has some limitations,
> mainly requiring way too much trial-and-error and manual
> tweaking.
>
> I have a Canon Pixma 4200 printer using the Turbo Print
> drivers. 64-bit Kubuntu. I've tried the Gimp, Digikam, Krita,
> Konqueror, some weird Gnome apps I forget now that had the
> usual annoying fatal flaws and unfinishednesses. I'm ready to
> take a look at Macs, but I want to hear from the smart kids
> before I work up an attack of New Computer Lust.
>
> What makes the Mac so beloved of graphics artists? Is it the
> skillions of dollars they have invested in Photoshop and other
> Adobe products? Are there lower-cost apps that do the job for
> normal people? Am I missing some magic Linux app that does
> what I want? Editing images for print is very different
>
> >from optimizing images for the Web. I want to be able to do
> > nice print
>
> layouts that actually come out the way I want, instead of in
> some weird unpredictable manner, or that require waaay too
> much hassle to set up. Help meeee....
>
> TIA

Hi Carla,

What makes a Mac or Windows even so much better for photo work is 
color management. This hardly exists in Linux. I sure hope it 
will change at some point. Without proper color management your 
output will be somewhat random. This will be very frustrating. I 
never had any problems with print quality under Linux other than 
color. I also use Turboprint (32bit). 

Photoshop is just it. I like Gimp a lot, even it's UI, but it 
doesn't even come close. I use PS7 via Crossover under Linux and 
CS under Windows. My copies are legal btw. There are cheaper 
options: Photoshop Elements (Mac and Win), Corel Paint Shop Pro 
or the Graphic Suite (Win only).

I do not have a Mac, but at work we do. Honestly, it does not 
matter if you use Win or Mac for graphic work. Both will produce 
equal quality output. The only advantage of using a Mac over 
Windows is that it is not Windows, but you pay $$ for it. Both 
system have their own set of annoying features though.

Cheers,
Sabine