It has really annoyed me that for a few years I have struggled to master the Lightroom print to file module, but today I tackled it head on! I wanted to be able to make a template with the final pixel dimensions of 2048, and finally worked out the maths & process to get everything to fit properly. As with everything in life, it seems so much simpler 'after the fact'! LOL! Now, I must go back to working out how to get the pictures look like they have not been blindly thrown into the collage after a frustrating two hours of trying to work the template out...
Best guidance came from http://laurashoe.com/2011/08/28/making-a-photo-collage-desktop-background-image-or-screen-saver-using-lightrooms-print-module/
my settings:
page set up - choose landscape or portrait ( dont worry about size)
use 100 ppi resolution (makes it easier to calculate!)
custom size document (eg 20.48 in x 15.36 in for 3:2 ratio with 2048 pixels on longest side)
jpeg quality 100 (it will downsize anyway)
sharpening - personal preference but the terminology is confusing for sure here - I used sharpening on, standard strength, matte output material ( this dampens the output sharpening a little, but applies enough 'web output' sharpening)
print to file (or PDF if you wish...)
image pixel border of 1 px is applied here, but can easily be turned on/off for each collage.
Snap to cells is turned on, and the boxes are multiples of exact fractions of the side length - eg 20.48 inches divided by either 3 or 4 depending on the layout you design. If you want the entire image to show, (eg to keep 2:3 ratio), select that ration and turn on maintain ratio as you drag the size of the new boxes.
