printing raw files?

[marcosb]

hello everyone i got a question and i dont want to sound stupid when im working on a raw file and i want to print it directly from the file i can on my printer epson stylus photo rx595 without converting the file to jpeg of tiff but when i go somewhere else to print i have to turn it into the two mentioned above and everybody tells me that there is no way you can print raw files by the way i used dpp witch is the progam that came with my camera.

question is does anybody print from a raw file?

thanks, marcoscrazy:

[Emma]

no, I can print RAW only straight from a PS program or similar. Anything else it must be converted to standard (JPEG etc) format.

[MHampton]

Deleted

[jeffkohn]

QImage can also print from RAW although I would never do that. WHen you say "when i go somewhere else to print" if you're talking about photo labs (even pro labs) I don't think any of them accept raw files, only JPEG, TIFF, or maybe PSD.

[rwwright]

i print my own photos and print either from raw or psd files in photoshop or lightroom. no problem

[johnastovall]

You can not print from a RAW file. The RAW file must under go a de-mosaicing process to render the information. This is done in some kind of a RAW processor. A Raw file had only one value of either Red, Green or Blue at a pixel location which must be de-mosaiced.

A tutorial on this process is here.

[kenw]

Even Picasa can "print" RAW, it ain't rocket science. But as has been said, it has to convert the file before it sends it out. Since each editor does this in different ways it would be printing suicide to take your RAW to a lab to have it printed as there is no way to predict how their editor will interpret the file.

[Emma]

converting them is no big deal: in ACR you just select all the files once you're done adjusting them, and click the SAVE button at the bottom. In LR, I believe it's on the OUTPUT tab, but I don't recall exactly because I prefer my Bridge/ACR combo to LR or PSE Organizer.

And this brings up a useful workflow question: on "money" shots, I ALWAYS bring them into PS. Wedding reception, parties, etc, I just print or convert to JPEG to send to a pro right in ACR, but for any custom portraiture (bridals, head shots, family photos), PS is still necessary just for final polishing, especially sharpening. Then I save as PSD files and Save As JPEG to send out to a pro, or just print the PSD from PS at home.