TechNote (Archived)

Print multiple images on a page (Photoshop Elements 2.x)

What's covered

Creating a picture package

Manually combining images

To print multiple images on a single page from Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, you can create a picture package that contains all of the images you want to print. If you want more control over the placement of images (for example, you want to make a collage), you can manually combine images on a page.

Creating a picture package

With the Picture Package command, you can place multiple copies of one or more photos on a single page.

To create a picture package:

1. Choose File > Print Layouts > Picture Package.

2. Choose an image source from the Use pop-up menu:

-- Choose File to add a single image to the picture package.

-- Choose Folder to create a picture package for each image in the selected folder.

-- Choose Frontmost Document to use the image currently active in Photoshop Elements.

3. In the Document section, choose the desired Page Size, Layout, Resolution, and Mode settings.

Note: Deselect Flatten All Layersif you want to edit the individual images in the picture package file. Deselecting Flatten All Layers increases file size.

4. In the Label section, choose your preferred label options.

5. Click OK.

To replace one or more of the images in a picture package with different images:

1. Select the image you want to replace.

2. In the Select an Image File dialog box, select the file you want to add to the picture package, and then click Open.

3. Repeat steps 1-2 for each image you want to replace.

Manually combining images

If you want to print multiple images from Photoshop Elements on one sheet of paper, you can add the images into a new or an existing document. You can then print the resulting document.

Note: If you want to print a contact sheet of thumbnails for separate images, use the Contact Sheet ll command. For more information about this command, see the Photoshop Elements user guide.

Setting a standard image resolution

Make sure that the images you want to print have the same resolution. If the images have different resolutions, they'll be out of proportion to each other and to the document.

Note:Increasing the resolution of an image, or upsampling, may cause the image to become pixelated or blurry. If pixelation occurs, specify smaller dimensions. To restore the original resolution, close the image without saving the changes.

To set a standard resolution for images:

1. Open an image, and choose Image > Resize > Image Size.

2. In the Document Size section, select one of the following:

-- Constrain Proportions: This option lets you change the width, height, or resolution of an image without changing the pixel dimensions.

-- Resample Image: This option lets you change the width, height, or resolution of an image while changing the pixel dimensions.

Note: The pixel dimensions determine the total number pixels in the image. When you change the pixel dimensions, the amount of data in the image changes, potentially causing image degredation.

3. Enter the desired resolution in the Resolution text box. Note the new width and height of the image.

4. Click OK. Repeat steps 1-4 for all images.

Adding images to a document

After you set a standard resolution for the images, you can add them to a new or an existing document.

To add images to a new document:

1. In Photoshop Elements, choose File > New.

2. Enter a name for the document.

3. From the Width, Height, and Resolution pop-up menus, choose units of measurement that are consistent with the images that you want to add.

4. Enter width and height values that can accommodate the images that you want to add. Be sure to allow for any extra space between images.

5. Enter a resolution that matches the resolution of the images.

6. Choose a color mode from the Mode pop-up menu.

7. In the Contents section, select a background color for the document.

8. Click OK.

9. Open an image, and select the area that you want to add to the new document.

10. Either drag or paste the selected area into the new document. Reposition the image if desired.

11. Repeat steps 9-10 for additional images.

13. Choose File > Save.

To add images to an existing document:

1. Open the images you want to add to the existing document, and choose Image > Resize > Image Size.

2. For each image, note the width and height in the Document Size section, and click Cancel.

3. Open the document to which you will add the images.

4. Choose Image >Resize > Canvas Size, and note the width and height in the Current Size section.

5. If necessary, type new dimensions in the New Size section. Be sure to allow for any extra space between images.

6. Click a square in the anchor grid to select a position for the existing document on the new canvas.

7. Click OK.

8. Open an image, and select the area that you want to add to the document.

9. Either drag or paste selected area into the document. Reposition the image if desired.

10. Repeat steps 8-9 for additional images.

11. Choose File > Save.

Working with layersafter adding images

When you add images to a document, each image is pasted onto a separate layer. If you want to select an image, select the layer for the image in the Layers palette. You can then edit or reposition the image. If the Layers palette isn't visible, choose Window > Layers.

If you want the layers to stay intact, save the document as a Photoshop Elements file, and select Layers in the Save section of the Save As dialog box. If you want to merge the layers, choose Flatten Image from the More button on the Layers palette. Merging layers enables you to select all the images at once, and it reduces file size and print time. Because editing capabilities are limited when the layers are flattened (for example, you can't move the images independently), you shouldn't flatten layers until you after you edit all images.