Education | Understanding Printing Workflow Options

Topaz Photo AI General
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I am curious as to how you all approach printing with these applications.

Not all photos need the Topaz treatment, but when they do:

1-I generally open from LR into Photo AI, and let it do it’s thing making NR, sharpening, and potentially upscaling adjustments as needed.

2-Back into LR Classic for crop, exp, and all that jazz.

3-Here’s where I am iffy. Do I sharpen again, perhaps as layer for printing, or is the sharpening from the original Topaz work sufficient? I do also have the option to use Nik Output Sharpener if needed. I haven’t printed since I started using Topaz, and I can experiment, but it’ll save me paper, ink, money, and time if I have a starting point.

I guess I’m a bit confused as to whether PhotoAI is capture sharpening, output sharpening, or both.

Thanks all!

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Great question! Whether you need additional sharpening after using Photo AI depends on the quality of the print you’re trying to achieve.

Photo AI actually performs both types of sharpening—capture sharpening (for image detail) and output sharpening (to account for printing requirements). The sharpening applied in Photo AI should generally be sufficient, especially if you’re already adjusting exposure and other aspects in Lightroom Classic.

If you’re preparing the image for print, you may still want to consider additional output sharpening, especially if you’re working with large prints or need finer control.

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Thank you John!

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