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Info for Prints

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FredL

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Joined
Feb 8, 2014
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Location
Newnan, GA 30263
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Cloud Service
I am amassing a good number of prints for my family and personal use, and I am looking into any suggestions on attaching information about the photos (dates, places, people, occasions, etc) on the backside of the photos - sticky labels, permanent markers, etc.

I would appreciate any suggestions/comments/caveats,anyone might have on this.
 
You can only print on the front of a print image. On the Print module in the Print panel, there is a field labeled "photo info". and below that a font size. You can place your photo information in with the Title or Caption metadata field and use this as a token in the "photo info" field. You can create and edit your on text template (with carriage returns) and have a multi line "photo info" field printers at the bottom of the print image. I use this field with the filename token and a vert small font to ID and print that I make and tie it back to a LR image.
 
Thanks Clee --
What I am looking for is suggestions on methods for labeling photos after they are printed and outside of LR. When they are in a photo album, I would like to have info written on the back of the photo (or a separate label) with names, dates, occasions, etc. and other pertinent info about the print. Just interested in how others may be doing this.
 
..What I am looking for is suggestions on methods for labeling photos after they are printed and outside of LR.
Perhas I was not clear enough. "You can only print on the front of a print image...in LR. Anything else is a manual process that you will need to develop outside of LR. I use the Print Info field to print important information about the Photo in the margin/border of the print. So, this is how this other is doing it.
 
I like things tidy, so I'd probably print sticky labels, but at the studio we used to simply write lightly with a thin ball point pen.
 
If you wanted to be very organized and systematic about it for a large number of photos, you might try this:
  1. Fill out the metadata for each photo in Lightroom. Note that you may not have to manually enter some types of data such as dates and places if the date/time and map location for the image is already correct in Lightroom.
  2. Use a Lightroom plug-in like LR/Transporter to export the metadata in a form you can import into a spreadsheet or database. That plug-in can export specific metadata fields.
  3. Print from the spreadsheet or database using a template that formats the data for sheets of self-adhesive labels.
  4. Print the labels.
  5. Stick them on the prints.
I haven't tried those steps myself, but it's an idea.
 
Before going all-out with sticky labels, I'd want to make sure that the adhesive from the labels would not, over time, penetrate the print and discolour it.
 
Thanks Victoria,Conrad and Hal --- does anyone know if there are sticky labels available that won't damage the print?
 
Thanks Victoria,Conrad and Hal --- does anyone know if there are sticky labels available that won't damage the print?
Look for those made with archival quality paper and adhesive. They may also say acid free on the box.
 
I like things tidy, so I'd probably print sticky labels, but at the studio we used to simply write lightly with a thin ball point pen.
if available; try Artline 200 fine felt pens. Been awhile since I have used them, however they were instant drying and great for the back of photos and for signatures on the front.
 
Thanks for everyone's responses on this topic. I'm not sure just yet as to how I will proceed, but if I discover any good methods, I'll post them.

Thanks all
 
This looks like a good thread to camp on to with my question. I see some ideas here I may use also.

Has anyone found software whose primary purpose is to print the metadata belonging to a photo on the same page as the photo itself? For example, using stock 8.5x11 paper, choose a place on the page for the photo, select desired metadata fields, and arrange metadata field labels and field content as desired on the page. I see the LR print module gives one the ability to add selected metadata fields to be printed on the border of a photo. I would like more control over placement and labeling of the metadata values than this provides.
 
Has anyone found software whose primary purpose is to print the metadata belonging to a photo on the same page as the photo itself?

I will reply later tonight or tomorrow. In simple terms, if you want to automate, then use Data Merge with InDesign or Photoshop, combined with various Lr plug-ins. Adobe should provide a more seamless user friendly integration.
 
I will reply later tonight or tomorrow.

I was under time pressure yesterday.

I use Lr/Transporter or Listview plug-ins to create a text file (tab delimitted or csv) which I then use with various applications. The main applications I use are Photoshop, InDesign or Microsoft Word.

Photoshop.
Using the DataMerge option you can layout your metadata with font sizes and styles as you wish and place them where you want to. It is useful if you want to create an individual layout (for example for a fine art large print) or you want to batch lots of images to individual files. It is not suitable if you want to end up with multiple images on individual pages within a single document (such as a multi page pdf).

The main drawback is that it is not the most user friendly process, with lots of Gottchas along the way. [Hint 1 ... you have to be very careful with the header text record and only use tabbed delimited text files ... but other traps await].

Still, it can be got to work and if used with a Photoshop macro can be very powerful.

InDesign.
It is a pity Adobe have not designed a round trip to InDesign from Lr. Especially as the ability to place our metadata on a printed page is missing from the Print module (but fully exists in the Slideshow module).

The text file created above for Photoshop above will mostly work with InDesign, but there are gottchas with this route as well, especially if your images are in multiple folders or not in the same folder as your text file. The beauty of InDesign is that it is designed to handle multiple page documents. You can end up with an .Indd file or export your .indd file to a pdf. I have written a Javascript which automates the complete process for me (once I have a suitable text file with my file urls and metadata).

Microsoft Word.
I use a text file created using the Lr/Transporter or Listview plug-ins to create a mail merge document. There are hundreds of tutorials on how to do this, but it is a little tricky to place the image on the page. Again, the advantage is that I can create a single or multi page document.

I use this technique when I want to create a document which may be textually verbose, where I have a lot of images with Titles and Captions. I want to have an image spanning the page, with the Title stuck to the bottom of the image (left justified) and the Caption printed as a paragraph underneath. I have written a one line VB script to remove the page breaks, so if required, I will have a decent quality Word document or export to PDF. The main advantage is that the Word Document can now be freely edited.
 
Dunno what you're doing with your prints, but we've used Friedl's Metadata Viewer plugin to copy to the clipboard, then edited a bit, printed it out, and stuck the sheet on the back of the frame. It doesn't even touch the photo. I think with the ListView plugin you could also export. Or use exiftool.
 
I understand at times it may be most appropriate to print a label for the back of the image.

Some times (not always) I wish to place the metadata in a professional manner and style under the image as per the attached example.


Here is a framed print, showing the Title underneath, Date and Location on left, Copyright and Reference on right. Apologies for the poor quality grab shots, taken with my iphone at an angle to avoid reflections.

upload_2017-2-14_17-53-58.png


Here is a detail, showing the metadata placed with small font on bottom right, with the Title centred under the image.
upload_2017-2-14_17-52-10.png
 
Thank you folks for your ideas. I will revisit this when I actually have a need to embed or print metadata alongside an image. I am impressed with Gnits' ingenuity and grasp of so many different software tools. I'm not willing to invest the time it would take me to learn a lot of different software tools. I'll learn to be satisfied with whatever features are available to me in LR and possibly some of the plugins.
 
I am impressed with Gnits' ingenuity
Thanks for the compliment ... appreciated .... but my background is solving large scale enterprise application issues. This stuff is second nature to me.

In that world my approach is really so so basic. It is sad that Adobe do not have the desire to address real world usability and interoperability between their own products.

I have sent you a private mail (via the Lightroom forums mail feature). I am happy to try and help if at all possible, using the tools you do have.
 
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