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Qimage, "Professional Photographic Printing Software" - a second look

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CWuestefeld:
I'm a long-time user of Qimage. To me, the important features are image scaling and managing color profiles. I have to agree that beyond very basic operations, the UI really takes time to learn.

Image scaling in Qimage is definitely superior to that in Paint Shop Pro (even the bloated version 11  ;) ). However, with the latest crop of digicams (mine is 7.1 megapixel, 3000 x something images) there's not very much scaling required anymore.

Proper color management is a topic that few people are even aware of, and their print images definitely suffer as a result. The image that comes out of your printer differs from what you see on the screen, and if you want the best output you need to account for this difference. Unfortunately this is easier said than done, as the process is rather confusing. Qimage makes it as streamlined as I've ever seen it. And in fact, you should consider also buying DDI's product "Profile Prism" (http://www.ddisoftware.com/prism/) in order to generate accurate color profiles for your camera and printer (and, in fact, various combinations of paper and ink). The difference you see may be subtle, but once you've seen it done right, it's hard to go back (we were all satisfied with VHS before DVD came along, right?).

There a number of strange things in the UI, and unfortunately it takes a fair amount of wasted paper and ink before you really get a handle on them. Things like the two levels of margins, and the fact that each can be an interior or exterior measurement, took a while to get through my thick head. And I wish they'd never added the skinning support. It doesn't serve any purpose, and the development time could have been better spent on other things.

As other posters have noted, this software should be used for image output (and possible for scaling). I wouldn't even consider it for actual image editing (noise removal, sharpening, color balance, etc.). IMHO, these features are unnecessary bells & whistles here, which just clutter a UI that's already overflowing.

Still, I do think this is part of any serious photographer's tool chest. I personally own the Professional Edition, the mid-level version of the program.

tomos:
thanks All for the comments & direction  :up:
nice to hear what others using

Proper color management is a topic that few people are even aware of, and their print images definitely suffer as a result. The image that comes out of your printer differs from what you see on the screen, and if you want the best output you need to account for this difference. Unfortunately this is easier said than done, as the process is rather confusing. Qimage makes it as streamlined as I've ever seen it. And in fact, you should consider also buying DDI's product "Profile Prism" (http://www.ddisoftware.com/prism/) in order to generate accurate color profiles for your camera and printer (and, in fact, various combinations of paper and ink). The difference you see may be subtle, but once you've seen it done right, it's hard to go back (we were all satisfied with VHS before DVD came along, right?).-CWuestefeld (October 18, 2007, 01:02 PM)
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hmm, true -
especially about Qimage making that aspect of things very easy!
I wonder then how the monitor fits into the scheme of things..

I calibrate monitor, but by eye (& using my ancient photoshop) - not using any expensive software
Calibration stuff seems very expensive but I guess if you need it
My version of colour profiles has been to try get the monitor to match the printer - am I putting the cart before the horse?
I think it isn't a bad idea/approach but, especially if I'm just printing photos for myself -
could be trouble though if I wanted a photo published for example..

Again curious/interested in comments on that aspect of things

tomos:
from Qimage help "Device Profiles"
It is best to use a monitor colorimeter (small device that attaches to your monitor with suction cups) to actually measure the response of your monitor. Although there are visual calibration utilities available that walk you through a visual inspection/calibration process, these programs provide nothing better than an educated guess for calibration and can often result in images not being accurately displayed. Also note that if you do not use a hardware colorimeter to create a profile specific for your particular monitor and use a generic color profile like sRGB, you may see too much red in your images, shifts of some colors, other color casts, etcmoney, money, money...   :)

CWuestefeld:
Yes, lots of money  :(

I'm cheap, so here's what I use: Monitor Calibration Wizard 1.0 http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3912.html

Just matching the monitor to the printer isn't sufficient, depending on how much of a purist you are. For example, it may be that both are too dark, so your output doesn't match the original photograph (even if it matches what you see on the monitor).

IMHO, this is more important for the printer, since in my experience printers can be off far more significantly.

Using DDI's Profile Prism, you get a card with known, well-defined colors on it. You print out another card on your printer, using your desired ink and paper. Put both papers through your scanner, and put the result into PP. By comparing the two, PP can "factor out" the inaccuracies of your scanner, and arrive at an absolute color profile to allow your printer to precisely match what's defined in the image file (or at least as close as is possible). You can then put this profile into Qimage so that it automatically corrects for the "errors" that are expected from the printer.

You can also take a photograph of the provided card and analyze it to get a profile to correct your camera. I don't think this is worth the time, because I think that the profile will vary depending on the ambient light level, shutter speed, ISO speed, etc. There are too many variables to be able to generate an accurate profile, unless you're working in tightly-controlled studio conditions.

tomos:
Using DDI's Profile Prism, you get a card with known, well-defined colors on it. You print out another card on your printer, using your desired ink and paper. Put both papers through your scanner, and put the result into PP. By comparing the two, PP can "factor out" the inaccuracies of your scanner, and arrive at an absolute color profile to allow your printer to precisely match what's defined in the image file (or at least as close as is possible). You can then put this profile into Qimage so that it automatically corrects for the "errors" that are expected from the printer.-CWuestefeld (October 18, 2007, 05:04 PM)
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does sound very good  :-\

re cameras,
I noticed somewhere in the help file that Profile Prism was only suitable for doing a camera profile when using RAW images

BTW:
I'm cheap...-CWuestefeld (October 18, 2007, 05:04 PM)
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no you're not :) - Profile Prism costs 79$

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