Qimage

Robert Barnett

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Ok, people keep saying the Qimage is great and awesome and all of that. I have a new Epson R2400 on order and it should be here Friday. So, I am interested in Qimage based on what people keep saying.

However, I have tried Qimage and just don't see the draw. The interface is cluttered and confusing and it doesn't seem to work like one would expect. Does anyone know of any good tutorials on how to get around in the thing. It just seems so complicated compared to other programs. But, if the output is as good as everyone says it may be worth the hassle.

Robert
 
Robert,

Unless you plan on ganging up a bunch of different size prints for your paper of choice, there really is no advantage to Qimage. Personally, I do not like allowing any software to arbitrarily interpolate my finished editing and sharpening. I prefer to maintain control and do it manually. That way I know that what I get out of my printer is solely dependent on what I sent it and not some generalized file processing I have no control over.

But it depends on your needs and wants I suppose. For those desiring a magic bullet to do their work for them, I suppose Qimage is a good tool.

Please don't flame this response! Its just a personal opinion of someone who makes a living selling his printed work. Others rave about how good QI is. I have my doubts.....[;)
--
BigPixel / Hawaii
 
I agree with BigPixel...I even asked the owner of QImage why I should buy his product for the HP DJ 130....and there really was no compelling reason. Yeah, their upsizing technique may be good, but there are a ton of other techniques as well. And if you can layout using guides and rulers within Photoshop, then QImage shows no advantage there either.

RIPS at one point in time were essential for rasterizing vector images. However, nowadays, with Photoshop 7, CS, and CS2, the internal rastering for vector to raster conversions, including text, is excellent.

IMHO, RIPS were way, way, WAY overpriced...till Qimage came along....so in the end, it's a good deal relatively speaking. Check out the price of Postershop RIP for instance.
 
Some can do a job manually as good as Qimage can do automatically, but they will take many orders of magnitude time longer and waste many pages of paper and lots of ink.

For example, I print proof books with four images per side of the paper and print on both sides -- that's eight images per sheet. It is important that the front and back images are in perfect alignment because they may need to be cut out for individual inspection, etc. I just finished a 200 image job with that requirement. The layout took only about ten-minutes. Try that with anyother program and see how long it takes and how much materials you waste. Don't just say you can do it -- do it and them respond.

If you don't want to take the time to learn Qimage, then don't try to use it. But wasn't that the issue with Photoshop as well. Now Photoshop is a strange interface, and it is well worth learning.

Good luck with what ever you decide to use.

Wil
 
Ok, people keep saying the Qimage is great and awesome and all of
that. I have a new Epson R2400 on order and it should be here
Friday. So, I am interested in Qimage based on what people keep
saying.

However, I have tried Qimage and just don't see the draw. The
interface is cluttered and confusing and it doesn't seem to work
like one would expect.
Does anyone know of any good tutorials on
how to get around in the thing. It just seems so complicated
compared to other programs. But, if the output is as good as
everyone says it may be worth the hassle.
Robert, did you download the users guide which includes many specific details of how to use Qimage for various functions. It has many useful features with excellent results.

I use Qimage for ALL of my Photo printing and have absolutely no problems with it.
My Regards,
Vernon.....
--
Vernon...
 
Some can do a job manually as good as Qimage can do automatically,
but they will take many orders of magnitude time longer and waste
many pages of paper and lots of ink.

For example, I print proof books with four images per side of the
paper and print on both sides -- that's eight images per sheet. It
is important that the front and back images are in perfect
alignment because they may need to be cut out for individual
inspection, etc. I just finished a 200 image job with that
requirement. The layout took only about ten-minutes. Try that
with anyother program and see how long it takes and how much
materials you waste. Don't just say you can do it -- do it and
them respond.

If you don't want to take the time to learn Qimage, then don't try
to use it. But wasn't that the issue with Photoshop as well. Now
Photoshop is a strange interface, and it is well worth learning.
Pretty much my feelings on the subject. Yes you can probably do just about everything this program does using Photoshop or other programs. I just like the fact that I can spend almost zero time and get great prints using Qimage. The cost of the software is so small including all the updates that it is hard to say it isn't worth the money.

With QImage, Photoshop, and a couple other programs I use I have a smooth workflow that takes me right from pressing the shutter on my camera to trimming and framing the beautiful prints.

If you don't like it then of course you don't have to use it but it has been worth every penny to me.

-Darryl
 
Ok, people keep saying the Qimage is great and awesome and all of
that. I have a new Epson R2400 on order and it should be here
Friday. So, I am interested in Qimage based on what people keep
saying.
I was using Photoshop to do my printing, but to be honest I was really not happy with the outcome of my prints. I downloaded Qimage about a year ago or so and really did not like it because it seems so cluttered and unusable for me. I just could not get my self use to it. I downloaded the demo again a few months ago and I really got busy learning it and I can truly say that my printing has gotten much easier and much better. There are people that you can find in a forum that are there to answer your questions and also to give suggestions if you might wish to ask them. My biggest reason for switching was that I was not really happy with what I was getting by printing with Photoshop, even though I can say that what I was getting was very good. I calibrated my monitor, used my correct profiles and I even soft proofed my images in Photoshop, but my images did not come out like they did with Qimage. I made two prints of the very same image and the one using Photoshop came out good but it just did not look right when placed next to the image printed with Qimage. The colors were more rich and vibrant with Qimage and I really did not do any changes to the images, just set the image up to print in different software. I will say that I did have the software set up correctly on each program. You might jump on this site and ask a few of the people why they purchased Qimage and why a the people who purchased it a few years ago are staying with it.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/qimage/

The way that I made up my mind to purchase Qimage, was to make two prints of the very same image using Photoshop and Qimage. Once I did that, I set Photoshop up to Jump to Qimage to do all of my printing and I have never looked back since.

Bob
However, I have tried Qimage and just don't see the draw. The
interface is cluttered and confusing and it doesn't seem to work
like one would expect. Does anyone know of any good tutorials on
how to get around in the thing. It just seems so complicated
compared to other programs. But, if the output is as good as
everyone says it may be worth the hassle.

Robert
 
Robert,

Unless you plan on ganging up a bunch of different size prints for
your paper of choice, there really is no advantage to Qimage.
Personally, I do not like allowing any software to arbitrarily
interpolate my finished editing and sharpening. I prefer to
maintain control and do it manually. That way I know that what I
get out of my printer is solely dependent on what I sent it and not
some generalized file processing I have no control over.
What version of Qimage have you used? The one I have has 8 different typs of interpolation that can be selected, each with 4 levels to select and Pyramid has a sharpness slider. In addition final print sharpness is adjustable. I don't see what is arbitrary about it.
But it depends on your needs and wants I suppose. For those
desiring a magic bullet to do their work for them, I suppose Qimage
is a good tool.

Please don't flame this response! Its just a personal opinion of
someone who makes a living selling his printed work. Others rave
about how good QI is. I have my doubts.....[;)
--
BigPixel / Hawaii
If you get better results from Photoshop than from Qimage that's fine, but if you look at the recent questions posted here concerning color and density problems you'll see a common thread...Photoshop.
td
--
http://www.pbase.com/tucsondave
 
My complaint about the Qimage interface is that it doesn't work like it looks like it should. I didn't find the program intuitive and in fact that was such a problem I never go to the printing stage to see if I liked the output.

I have a real issue with software that has a poorly done interface. There is simply no excusse for it. Qimage seems clutted and confusing and even the simple tasks like putting several images on a page or printing full page just don't seem intuitive. Also, the interface looks like something from the Windows 3.1 days.

As for Photoshop I think it has a brilliant interface. For a program that is so complex and one that allows you to do many things several different ways its interface is just brilliant. I can't say that about Qimage. However, if Qimage really can make a marked difference then I will consider it again. This is why I asked about tutorials. The authors of it don't seem to offer much in this department.

Robert
 
TD,

That's exactly my point; various levels of INTERPOLATION with Qimage.

I never interpolate images for print. In fact I often accept 150ppi for a large print size (23"x35") as opposed to interpolation.

And I use PKS, Photokit Sharpener, for sharpening; not CS USM. I sharpen at the capture stage to overcome the anti-alliasing all digital cameras produce, selective creative sharpening after color correction and sizing, and a final output sharpening depending on intended use and file size.

Each sharpening level involves 'slider' adjustment for highlight, shadow and overall effect. It requires a lot more time and work but at least I'm editing files for print the way I want them to look and not Mike Chainey. (QI author)

I am definitely not a fan of programs that take critical pre-print editing out of my hands to produce some sort of general canned effect. Just not my style. I'd rather do it the old fashioned and tedious way, by eye-image by image.
--
BigPixel / Hawaii
 
My complaint about the Qimage interface is that it doesn't work
like it looks like it should. .......
I, like you, think Photoshop's interface is quite good, as is the latest version of AutoCAD. Qimage, though, is not only complex, but maddeningly clunky. And the help file is enough to make my blood boil. It's chock full of examples and apparently you're supposed to read through something similar to what you're trying to do, and then figure out how to modify the example to fit your situation. For a piece of software that doesn't come with a real manual, the help file should be better IMO.

Mike seems like a great guy and he certainly knows a lot more about this sort of thing than I, but his brain is wired MUCH differently than mine.

Having said that, I use Qimage with my HP 130 because (unlike my narrow format printers) I find myself printing ganged images on custom sized pages most of the time. After much cursing, I've figured out enough of Qimage to do what I want to do, but I simply can't bring myself to spend time learning the many other photo processing features that I already know how to do in Photoshop.

I also don't like the way sharpening is set up in Qimage, but I'll have to say it works OK for me since much of my work is not real critical on sharpening. Unlike some, I can't see an astounding improvement in the end results between PS and QI. The idea of printing an image at wildly different sizes and having QI take care of sharpening automatically makes me wonder, but I do it and it seems to work pretty darn well.

In summery, I use QI every day but I certainly don't love it the way I love my dog.

Bob
--

 
Robert, I use qimage for final printing and mnor adjustments and I crop with it vs in PS. The editing tools don't touch your original but leave a tag file along with the original I do all major edits in PS. I don't look to qimage as a serious editing tool, I need layers and attributes from PS that qimage doesn't offer. However for final printing and for queuing up images I find qimage to be very good.

In time you will learn the interface, it isn't really all that complicated, course I probably don't utilize all it's abuilities either. However, between qimage, Lumapix and PS I print most anything in a timely way. I think like any new software, it at first is overwelming ( 7 years ago when I started with PS I was overwelmed to say the least !!)..

David
My complaint about the Qimage interface is that it doesn't work
like it looks like it should. I didn't find the program intuitive
and in fact that was such a problem I never go to the printing
stage to see if I liked the output.

I have a real issue with software that has a poorly done interface.
There is simply no excusse for it. Qimage seems clutted and
confusing and even the simple tasks like putting several images on
a page or printing full page just don't seem intuitive. Also, the
interface looks like something from the Windows 3.1 days.

As for Photoshop I think it has a brilliant interface. For a
program that is so complex and one that allows you to do many
things several different ways its interface is just brilliant. I
can't say that about Qimage. However, if Qimage really can make a
marked difference then I will consider it again. This is why I
asked about tutorials. The authors of it don't seem to offer much
in this department.

Robert
 
Agree on UI not being the best, but I really like QImage

Features of QImage I like and why I print with it with my Epson R1800:
  • I can save/recall ICC,Paper,Printer-setup in one step (I use multiple papers: Enhanced/ArchivalMatte, PGPP, Ilford SFA,SP, Hahnemühle Albums)
  • To my knowledge the EPSON printer driver uses 720dpi natively, so there is some upsizing in the process and I'd rather have a good & controlled one (like QImage Pyramid). Don't like to upsize in Photoshop, as good upsizing (Genuine Fractals) is slow. I work in 360 dpi in Photoshop natively most of the time.
  • for monochrome I use QImage with QuadToneRIP as it IS ultimately all about rastering down to the tiny droplets. A good RIP does a better job than the normal printer-driver, and QuadToneRIP does it better for dark areas.
--
Andi

P.S. even if I have an R1800 and not a 2400 because a) I sometimes print glossy and b) I bought it 2 wks before the 2400 announcement - I'm quite quality-concerned
 
A good RIP does a
better job than the normal printer-driver, and QuadToneRIP does it
better for dark areas.
There's a lot of confusion here...as QImage cannot possibly replace all printer drivers....it would mean that a different version of QImage would be needed for each printer !

Also, I'd like to know why everyone claims that Photoshop is to blame for their poor print quality. Which version of PS for instance ? Which platform (MAC vs. PC) ? Photoshop only sends the pixels down to the printer driver....it's gotta be the latter where the problem lies.
 
I never interpolate images for print. In fact I often accept 150ppi
for a large print size (23"x35") as opposed to interpolation.
I don't plan to get into any interface or workflow debates but I do want to point out something with respect to the above comment. You may not overtly be doing any interpolation but it will be done by the driver if you don't! If you have an Epson printer, for example, your driver will most likely be running at 720 PPI and the dots will be placed on the page at 1440, 2880 or some multiple of 720. If you are using a Canon or HP, the numbers will be multiples of 600 instead of 720. Unless your image is already exactly 600 or 720 PPI right out of the camera/scanner, the driver will do its own interpolation to get it to match a multiple of the final print PPI. The question here is: do you want to leave this important step to a print driver that uses undisclosed (and sometimes quite poor) interpolation methods? Most of the time, depending on your image and what size you choose to print, you'll be starting with a completely arbitrary PPI like 227 and your final print will be a multiple of either 600 or 720 PPI, so by definition, interpolation is happening somewhere! You might as well take control of it to make sure you get the best performance.

The second point here is that Qimage gives you so much control over how you print that you can turn off all the interpolation, sharpening, and antialiasing if you like. I wouldn't suggest it but if you are so adamant about just letting the print driver do the interpolation, it can be done. At that point, Qimage is still useful in that it allows you to do gang printing very easily and be able to save/recall all your settings and even old print jobs. You are not forced to use interpolation if you really want to leave it to the driver.

My only comment on the interface is that most people arbitrarily assume that the interface is "clunky" because it has a lot of buttons and controls. Not so once you learn to use it because those controls are necessary in order to give you the power you need to do any print job. If you don't need that much power, you can always get Qimage Lite which has a much simpler interface for those who don't do complex jobs and it still offers the same print quality. And let's face it, PhotoShop is not very intuitive either when you first start to use it. It's very easy to get lost in its spider web of nested menus and popups. That's why people make careers out of teaching people how to use it! The only reason it is more accepted is because people have gotten used to its terminology and arrangement of functions over time.

--
Mike
Author: Qimage, Profile Prism
http://www.ddisoftware.com
 
I use it primarily for gang printing / proofing on my HP DJ 130nr

easiest way for me.

i split my other printing. mostly PS but use QI more as i learn it.

I like the results i'm getting on 24x30 prints using QI.

And, if i have images i've "finalized" in sizes smaller for my smaller printer QI does an excellent job for me.

at the price, just for the gang and proofing i am satisfied. I got it before the new PS proofiing utility came out, the old one sucked, new one is pretty decent though.

bill
 
Besides what has been said I would imagine that you can turn off interpolation and sharpening. And, as had been pointed the drivers for printers tend to do a lot of stuff behind the scenes that you may not know about or like if you did know.

Robert
 
I think the Photoshop thing is that Adobe doesn't do anything to make color management easy or even half understandable for a non-prepress person. They have a lot of controls but don't really deal with how to set them and when and why you would do this or that. Elements on the other had is much more "normal" user friendly in this reguard. I think Epson doesn't help much here. Not like HP or Canon.

The reason Photoshop gets blasted for this more than others is probably because others do a better job helping the user. I guess Adobe assumes that only pros with the knowledge use Photoshop. Stupid assumption if you ask me. But, they tend to do that with many things.

Robert
 
Thanks for all of the information everyone. When the printer gets here I will see abut Qimage again and see what happens.

Robert
 

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