Automatic printing

Using the features on this tab, you can use Color Factory to print all images in a channel on a local or network printer.

In Color Factory Settings, expand the relevant channel and select AutoPrinting. 

Open the Auto Print tab.

The following dialog appears.

When enabling Auto Print, the following options are available:

Print template: Browse (...) to choose a print template. See the appendix for more information about how to create and modify print templates.

Use multi image print mode: When enabled, several processed images can be printed on a single page using the specified template. Since sometimes you need to get a printout quickly, you can set the maximum number of seconds Color Factory will wait for the next image before printing the ones that have already been prepared. Some space might therefore be unused on the printed page.

If you want to ensure pictures from the same batch are printed on the same page, avoiding mixing pictures from different sources on the printouts, the pictures can be stored in a common subfolder within the channel’s input folder. Color Factory will then treat the contents of that subfolder as belonging to the same source and print them on the same page(s). Remember that you also need to enable the inclusion of subfolders in the channel’s input options for this to work as intended.

Printer setup: Opens the standard printer selection dialog and lets you set printing preferences.

Get number of copies from: Here, you can choose the metadata field of the images from which the number of printed copies should be extracted. For instance, you can opt to add this information to a custom metadata field.

Use this channel for printing only: When this function is enabled; the channel will only print the input images – no processed file will be stored in the output folder. Typically this type of functionality is used when two channels are configured to use the same input folder. One channel can process the images while the other simply controls image printing. After processing, the input image is deleted.