Photoshop vs Lightroom

I've noticed a number of people mentioning they prefer to print from Lightroom. Being new to digital printing, I must ask if there is an advantage to Lightroom printing or any other reason(s) for the preference.

This is, unfortunately, a question very much like

 

which is better, Canon or Nikon?

 

In my experience as a long-time user (back to version 2) of Photoshop, I have found it perilous to even suggest here on Photo.net that Photoshop is better than Lightroom.

 

There are really some very intense Lightroom fanboys here on this site.

Wow! Now I'm worried. Hope I don't see any black helicopters circling my home.

 

Joking aside, I really would like to hear a few reasons.

Printing from Lightroom is convenient, and mostly adequate. You can crop to a specific size in Lightroom, but completely non-destructively. I haven't found a way to impose a border, which is needed for precise composition if you farm out the printing.

 

Photoshop has many more tools for print preparation and printing itself. You have easy access to color management, and especially cropping to size, with or without a border. Photoshop is not my usual resort, but sometimes it is my only choice.

The advantages are workflow alone. The same image printed in Photoshop using the same settings would be identical. You can gang up lots of images on a page or over many pages and quickly based on print templates. You can build output specific edits in Proof Copies which record the profile and rendering intent for the print module. You can save all the print settings in a template, click on one or more images and print them all exactly as you define.

This is, unfortunately, a question very much like

In my experience as a long-time user (back to version 2) of Photoshop, I have found it perilous to even suggest here on Photo.net that Photoshop is better than Lightroom.

 

There are really some very intense Lightroom fanboys here on this site.

 

I don't know..I've been looking at these posts for a long time and don't recall any rancorous Photoshop v LR arguments. Most here will tell you each program has strengths and they especially work well together. Now if you were change that to Mac vs. PC, then you'll see fisticuffs.:)

You might not have noticed it at the time, but my back still bears the scars from suggesting PS over LR.

I suppose not JDM, But I heard Aloe Vera is good for that!

You might not have noticed it at the time, but my back still bears the scars from suggesting PS over LR.

Well I better take my shirt off and take my lashings too because I agree with you.

If you use a Canon printer, then their plugin is for LR.

Now if you were change that to Mac vs. PC, then you'll see fisticuffs.:)

 

Boy, don't I know it! (grin)

For me, between those two, Lightroom is usually more convenient, Photoshop provides more options. I've not noticed any difference in quality.

 

That said, I moved from Photoshop to Affinity Photo and am quite happy with that change. I've also considered changing from LR to Capture One. Each has pluses and minuses for me and for now I think they kind of equal out so I'm sticking with LR. I don't particularly like changing apps so tend to only do it when the benefits are enough to endure the learning curve and I'm confident it will be a long-term change I'll be happy with.

I have really tried to like LR over the years--it is indeed a versatile and full featured tool for initial work flow adjustments and batching. The thing that I detest is the fact that RAW/NEF images dealt with there generate an XMP sidecar file. To me that is just a sheer nuisance that must be considered when future sorting of files might occur. It is conceivable that one will have three files to deal with--the original image, the XMP, and a PSD if doing more in-depth editing or creation. Oh, and maybe a JPG or PNG for other sorts of distribution... :confused:

 

Over the last couple years I have used Nikon ViewNX 2 for sorting, file management, and batch processing operations. There are other similar programs out there and some are even more sophisticated. The final 'print' image is usually done with PS.

 

Each to their own though, and it is worthwhile for the photographer to explore all of the options available and see what the "best" workflow is for them.

If you use a Canon printer, then their plugin is for LR.

 

The same plugin works in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, so it need not be a deciding factor between PS and LR (in fact, I use neither and have PSE installed only because of the Canon plugin, which is very convenient and easy to use). If you happen to use a Canon printer supported by Print Studio Pro, I'd certainly recommend giving this a try.

I have really tried to like LR over the years--it is indeed a versatile and full featured tool for initial work flow adjustments and batching. The thing that I detest is the fact that RAW/NEF images dealt with there generate an XMP sidecar file.

 

That can be turned on or off.

The thing that I detest is the fact that RAW/NEF images dealt with there generate an XMP sidecar file. To me that is just a sheer nuisance that must be considered when future sorting of files might occur.

 

Another good reason to convert your RAW images to DNG.

I prefer PS as I colorcorrect photos in CMYK most of the time for printing.

Any program seems fine to me. I shoot B/W film and the editing process is minimal. However I have Elements and LR5.

It is easy in Photoshop to expand the Canvas Size in order to create a border. I have not found a way to do that in Lightroom. When you use a commercial printer, like a minilab, to make a print, it sees the entire image, including the border as the image size. That way nothing of any importance gets cropped by the lab. There are other specific examples, but in general, I use Lightroom for printing unless I run up against something only Photoshop can handle.

 

That said, Lightroom is continually improving, and there is less daylight vs Photoshop for many operations.

It is easy in Photoshop to expand the Canvas Size in order to create a border. I have not found a way to do that in Lightroom. When you use a commercial printer, like a minilab, to make a print, it sees the entire image, including the border as the image size. That way nothing of any importance gets cropped by the lab. There are other specific examples, but in general, I use Lightroom for printing unless I run up against something only Photoshop can handle.

 

That said, Lightroom is continually improving, and there is less daylight vs Photoshop for many operations.

 

There is a way to create a border in LR for printing and it's very simple and easy to find. It's in the Print Module. Increase the page margins and the border expands. You can even change the color of the border with the Page Background Color control.