Creating Printing Presets for iPhoto

This document shows you how to create a printing presets file that can be used with the iPhoto application. Printing presets are printer-specific collections of settings which have associated metadata. The metadata describes the situation in which the printer settings should be applied by the printing system. For example, a given preset might be appropriate when printing high-resolution photo images to glossy paper. The metadata describes this situation in a general manner, while the printer specific settings describe which key-value pairs achieve the desired effect on a given printer.

If you are a printer vendor who wants to support printing presets you should read this document. This document

gives an overview of printing presets files
describes the format of a printing presets file
tells you where to install a printing preset file for a printer module
provides an example of a printing presets file

Important: This is a preliminary document. Although it has been reviewed for technical accuracy, it is not final. Apple Computer, Inc. is supplying this information to help you plan for the adoption of the technology described herein. This information is subject to change, and software implemented according to this document should be tested with final operating system software and final documentation.

For information about updates to this and other developer documentation view the New & Updated sidebars in the ADC Reference Library. To receive notification of documentation updates, you can sign up for ADC's free Online Program and receive their weekly Apple Developer Connection News e-mail newsletter.

Apple’s iPhoto application helps users to save, organize, and share photos by simplifying the user experience. Before iPhoto, users needed to understand the interrelationships between paper type and other print settings to get the best printing results. With iPhoto, this is no longer true. The simplified Print dialog in iPhoto presents users with a Presets pop-up menu. The Presets setting determines which set of printing presets are used for the print job. This saves the user from the need to navigate to different panes in the Print dialog to make settings for paper type, resolution, and so forth.

When iPhoto was introduced, Apple supplied printing presets files for many printer models. Developers can provide a printing presets file for a printer by creating a file whose contents follow the format specified in the next section. The Apple-supplied printing presets file is used only if a printer module does not have a printing presets files supplied by the printer vendor.

Note: Printing presets differ from custom settings. Printing presets are defined by a developer for printer module and include metadata which allows the settings to be applied across different printers. In the implementation, the preset metadata allows the printing system to apply a preset across printers. For example the printer preset for "Photo on Photo Paper" can be applied either to an Epson or an HP printer and the correct settings are enforced.




	Get information on Apple products. Visit the Apple Store online or at retail locations. 1-800-MY-APPLE Copyright © 2007 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. \| Terms of use \| Privacy Notice

Creating Printing Presets for iPhoto

Contents: