Fixes for Photoshop printing due soon

[Update: Photoshop 10.0.1 for CS3 is now available.  Here’s more info.]

We know that many people have been unhappy with printing from Photoshop CS3 (overwhelmingly on Windows), and we’ve been working on changes that will make things work better.  Unfortunately the process isn’t as quick as we’d like, given the sheer number of hardware, printer driver, and operating system combinations.  We’ve made some changes & will be issuing an update to Photoshop CS3, but it’s not quite ready to be shared with the world at large.

If, however, you’re experiencing printing problems & would like to test the current code, please drop me a note [update: get the update].  I’ll then ask our pre-release coordinator to send you an invitation, after which you can download the latest build and send us your feedback. 

I’m sorry that things have been more painful than they should be, and I hope this process helps get fixes into the hands of those who need them.

Thanks,
J.

0 thoughts on “Fixes for Photoshop printing due soon

  1. you know, we have that “doesn’t remember the page size” bug with our RIP/Epson/PS CS3 and called adobe about it and the tech guy, as much a nice guy he was, had no idea what i was talking about. made me reinstall cs3 told me to call epson. called epson about it and they knew about it and said ‘t was adobe’s issues… don’t adobe and epson talk???

  2. Using an Epson SP2400 I have to print at 97% or 98% (Page Setup-Mac OSX) in order to print the entire previewed area of my image. Hope you can resolve this issue with the update.
    Thanks

  3. John, I am VERY pleased to see that Adobe is responding on this set of issues and I would like to assist to the extent I can.
    Regards,
    Mark

  4. Good news indeed! But I hope this PS update will fix some other snafus in the app, too — most importantly, the disastrous UI-color issues.
    [The UI color will not change. What else is bothering you? –J.]

  5. I’m glad to see that you’re not only taking appropriate action on this issue, but inviting users to help you test it properly. It’s better to wait a while longer for a good update than to put out a half-baked one that causes even more problems.
    To put this into perspective, last month Corel released their latest version of Paint Shop Pro with 35 “known issues.” Those are just the bugs to which they admit in their published release notes. Corel is presumably relying on their customers to pay for the privilege of volunteering as beta testers. The release notes also mention 70 “product improvements” that look suspiciously like bug fixes for the previous version.
    But Corel did get the new version out a year after the previous version, and (more importantly) several weeks ahead of Adobe’s release of Elements 6. Judging by the last three Paint Shop Pro releases, it looks like Corel’s strategy is to release a new beta version in September, just ahead of Adobe. A few months later they’ll get around to releasing the “final” version as a large downloadable patch (followed by other patches to fix new problems which might not be fixed until the next beta version). My own frustration as an unwitting “volunteer beta tester” for Paint Shop Pro X is what sold me Photoshop CS2 two years ago. The only difference is that they now seem to more fully disclose their “known issues.”
    Despite the Windows printing problems (of which only the “non-sticky settings” causes me annoyance), PsCS3 seems a remarkably mature release.

  6. As with Warren Kneis, I cannot print at 100% for full bleed work on my Epson SP R2400 using Mac OS X 10.4 (unless I set the Epson driver to use roll paper. Though then it doesn’t print if I don’t have roll paper installed).
    Anyway, more annoying to me is the inability to center prints on the page for nearly full-page work. I have to make a test print, measure it with a ruler, and then nudge the image around on the canvas in order to ‘center it.’ I find it a bit sad that I can get better results faster using the UI in Lightroom 1.x versus that in Photoshop CS3.
    Lastly, would you consider adding ‘pixels’ as a unit of measure in the ‘Position’ and ‘Scaled Print Size’ areas of the Print dialog box? It would make centering things on the page easier for me, thanks.
    I look forward to this update,
    -theo

  7. “Fixes for Photoshop printing due soon”
    Pardon?
    The fixes were due a long time ago and by now they are way overdue, aren’t they? 😉
    So far I’ve been printing from Photoshop 8, which is annoying.
    Good to know the fixes are even being considered.

  8. John:
    You have been the epitome of class during the firestorm of this particular issue. Thanks to you and the Adobe team for the update, listening and coming through.
    [You’re very kind to say so, Danny; thanks. –J.]

  9. I work in a large format service bureau, and I am a hack pro photographer. I print to a Epson 2200 at home native from CS3. Having been at this printing thing for to many years, and remember the good old days, things now are good. Ya, set the page size again, no big deal I guess. Remember having to open post script files in a word processor to fix things to make them print?
    Our rip at the service bureau is in the release version for 2 days now, we were a beta site, and I have found 2 issues with the latest and greatest version of a $6,500 package.
    Cs3 is ok, has an issue or 3, life is short, work around and get the work out the door.
    All the things CS3 does right impress me much more than the few things it does not do right.

  10. Hi John –
    Can you mention whether CS3 has any known problems (particularly memory problems on the Intel-Macs) printing large (500+MB) files to wide-format printers, such as the Epson 9800? I am seriously contemplating an upgrade to the Extended version from CS2, but with all of the problems I’ve heard about CS3, I am on the fence still.
    Thanks.
    Susanne
    Boise, Idaho

  11. I’m considering purchasing a new 64″ Epson large format printer. Part of the advertising blurb is its 16-bit printer driver.
    But all our images are – up until now – 8-bit.
    What benefit is there to this new 16-bit driver? Or would there be more benefit if I increased our images to 16-bits beforehand?
    Thank you.

  12. I’m considering purchasing a new 64″ Epson large format printer. Part of the advertising blurb is its 16-bit printer driver.
    But all our images are – up until now – 8-bit.
    What benefit is there to this new 16-bit driver? Or would there be more benefit if I increased our images to 16-bits beforehand?
    Thank you.

  13. Frank – the new driver, for OS X (and it will require the update to OS X as the current version won’t run it) will allow you to access colours that don’t appear in an 8bit gamut. The gamut isn’t larger, but the steps from one part to another are greatly increased, providing a smoother transition where the inkset/dot size/half toning support those additional colours in the steps.
    The main advantage will be for those who shoot in RAW and create 16bit files in PS or who scan to 16bit from film. They don’t need to convert them to 8bit or have the driver drop/convert data it can’t use. It makes for a slightly simpler workflow and should result in omre accurate and more pleasing colour reproduction.
    Theo and Warren – are you using borderless mode? Are you allowing for the 3mm non-printable border when not using borderless mode if you’re creating custom paper sizes?

  14. I’ve been pulling my hair out trying to get my HP DesignJet Z3100 44″ to match what I see on screen with Photoshop CS3. I just discovered that this is part of a much bigger issue…. I hope this is fixed soon… I will likely start using Qimage as a work-around until this is remedied.

  15. I filed a case for tech support not longer ago than the day before yesterday (at that time not aware yet of the big issue)… to get a standard answer that “support is not included in a trial version”. OK, I understand. But would it not be wiser to just admit : “yes sir, we have a problem – no sir, we do not have a solution yet – yes, sir, we are working at it – sorry”. It would save photographers like me a lot of time trying to figure out what is going wrong where (Epson?? Windows?? Photoshop??).

  16. Delighted to hear this update / patch is being tested and I look forward to when it is released. Perhaps then I can uninstall CS2 and not have to save my printing up!
    Otherwise CS3 & ACR 4.x rocks for me.

  17. No matter how many great features in CS3, it’s not worth much if it constantly locks up or crashes for no apparent reason. Looking at the Adobe PS and Bridge forums, many of these problems have existed for months. At the very least, Adobe should have a list at the beginning of each forum listing the recognized bugs and some indication as to about when each will be fixed. The way it is now, I feel like Adobe could care less.
    Joe

  18. I recently went from a Windows PC w/Photoshop CS2 to In iMAC and CS3. My printer is an Epson 2200. I cannot find any place to set paper, quality, ink, etc. My paper of choice is velvet fine art paper but when printing it prints like it is regular computer paper. I have a show in a local gallery in December and would like to know how much longer I will have to endure this?
    Robert

  19. Mr. Baker: the settings for paper type, quality, ink, etc. are in the printer driver dialogs, not in Photoshop. If you can’t find them in the printer driver dialogs, then you may have accidentally selected the GIMP PRINT driver for your printer instead of the Epson driver — if so, delete that printer and select the correct driver when you reinstall the printer.

  20. Robert,
    Visit the Photoshop Macintosh forum and do a search on my name and the keywords “infamous TechNote”. I’ve been getting fantastic prints out of my Epson 2200 as per post #5 in that thread: CLICK HERE
    I’m very, very fussy and the prints are simply spot on. It’s just the Adobe TechNote referenced in that very long thread that is absolutely wrong. It even contradicts Adobe’s own videos and PDFs, as well as the advice from pros like the late Bruce Fraser, Andrew Rodney, Jeff Schewe and many others.
    Incidentally, the print settings are in the Epson printer driver dialog box AFTER you click on the Print button in the Photoshop Print dialog box.

  21. I have an Epson Stylus Photo 800.
    When, in PS CS3 I make an A4 print with “text” and “plain paper” as my preference, all is OK. When I use “best photo” and “premium glossy paper” as preferences, only half of the photo prints.
    I still have CS2 on the computer and when I print from CS2 all is fine. I am a pro photographer and need to have this resolved.

  22. In rough terms, presuming things go well with testing, do you know when this might come out? Not specifically, but “this month,” “by the end of the year,” that kind of thing.
    Thanks,
    David

  23. I can print fine from PSE 6, but my CS 3 is hanging off the page (only printing 1/4 of the image, the rest of the paper is blank). I have to save my work, close it, open in PSE, then print from there. I’d love any solution you have!

  24. i tried ps3 soon after it was released and quickly decided against it because it did not print correctly.
    I always just make an 8.5 x 11 page in photoshop and then click on centered to print with my epson printer, but in cs3 it came out way off like 5″ off center.
    At the time few people knew about the problem, so i was pulling my hair out trying to fix it. I finally took the file to another computer which had never had ps3. I printed from there and it was off center as well! I panicked for a moment because i was already late. I finally realized whatever the bug was it was ps3 itself doing something to the actual file that made the file no good to print. I think i finally just started from scratch in PS2 and it printed fine.
    Anyway not being able to print is a pretty huge bug for a program like photoshop, don’t know how many people it really effects but for me printing on an epson inkjet with “centered” checked it definately is bugged, making cs2 my only real option.

  25. After installing CS3 suite I lost printer settings in PS, Illy, Acrobat.
    The printer is a DC12 driven by a XP12 server, everything works wonderfully when it is CS2, but now no PPD can be seen on printer driver setting dialog when the selected destination is the DC12, however when the destination is Postscript Document or PDF, the PPD for the XP12 shows up. Please is there a way out before I turn back to CS2?
    Thank you!

  26. Is the fact that my EPSON 1280 prints with a vivid bright green color cast in black & white images if I let Photoshop CS3 rather than the printer control the colors part of these issues? If, so, I’ll stop tearing my hair out and wait for the fix..
    [Carroll, the update is now available. Please download it. –Thanks, J.]