Printing

Helicon Print is a smart but simple utility for printing photos. Although it's a separate application, it's still tightly integrated into Helicon Filter.

With Helicon Print you can add several images to a printing queue, choose and apply the same settings for all of them, start printing, and then forget about the printer until the entire queue is done.

The printing workflow is easy:

1. Add images to the printing queue.
2. Set the printing settings.
3. Start printing.

Add Images To The Printing Queue

To add images to the printing queue, select one or more images and press CTRL+P (or you can either go to the main menu and choose File → Print, or right-click on the image (to bring up the pop-up menu) and then choose Print).

You can also paste an image from the clipboard using the paste button or the CTRL+V shortcut.

In addition, you can use Helicon Print as a separate application. Press the Windows START button → choose All programs → choose Helicon Software → choose Helicon Filter → choose Helicon Print. You will immediately see the Open File dialogue in Helicon Print. There you can choose one or more images.

If Helicon Print is already open, simply press the Open new file button.

The printing queue is cleared when you close Helicon Print. Therefore, do NOT close it every time you add an image: just minimize the window.

Set Printing Settings

Once you have one or more images in the printing queue, there are five basic steps needed to prepare them for printing. Follow the steps on the screen print below.

1. Select the image that you want to print next. If you want to print all the images at once, just select one of the thumbnails.
2. Set printer settings (optional step if the default settings are fine). Select your printer and set the paper size, source and orientation. Then set the properties specific to your printer. These typically include: print quality, photo paper type, color correction, etc.
3. Configure size (optional step).

A. Fit to page. The whole image will be printed, but some of paper may remain unused.

B. Fill page. Some of the image may be lost, but the whole printable area of paper will be used.

C. Original size.

D. Custom size. Here you can set the desired proportions of the printed image in inches or centimeters. You only set one dimension here; the other will be calculated automatically according to the original proportions of the image. This option can be very useful if you want to print, for example, 4 10x15 cm. images on a single sheet of A4 paper. Switch to the custom size option, set the size to 10x15 centimeters and position the image in one of the four parts of the page. Print the image, then load the same piece of paper into the printer again with the same orientation, position the next image into the another corner and print that image. Continue for the rest of the images in this way.

Use printable area. If this checkbox is selected, you will see the part of the page that will be printed upon. This varies for each printer.

4. Position the image on the paper (optional step). Click on the image and move it where you wish.

4a. You can also use the buttons to position and rotate the image on the page.

5. Press Print this page button. If you would like to print all the images in the printing queue with the same settings, press Apply to all. Then expand the Print button and choose Print all.