Contact Sheet Printing, Formatting Questions

[Keith]

I'm taking on a project which involves generating Contact Sheets for around 3,000 RAW images. Looking at the Contact Sheet Print Settings (on PM 4.6.3) raises a few questions:

1.  Under "When using RAW" I have the option of using the embedded preview instead of RAW. These contact sheets wil be printed and used to select photos for print and various other uses. Will using the embedded previews (from CR2 images from various Canon bodies, if it matters) allow for generating thumbs at a resolution of 240 dpi? Forgive me if this is a stupid question but since I will be pulling directly from DVDs, it seems like using embedded previews will be a heck of a lot quicker with so many files involved.

2.  In generating a mock-up of a page, I noticed that the Header aligns right above the first row of thumbs, with no spacing. Is there a way to put some space between the header and thumbs? I've seen this question in others posts. Not sure if any changes have been made.

3.  I realize this is subjective, but for any of you who regularly generate contact sheets, do you find that 3 rows and 5 columns for 15 thumbs per 8 x 10 page is an adequate size?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Keith

[Kirk Baker]

I'm taking on a project which involves generating Contact Sheets for around 3,000 RAW images. Looking at the Contact Sheet Print Settings (on PM 4.6.3) raises a few questions:

1.  Under "When using RAW" I have the option of using the embedded preview instead of RAW. These contact sheets wil be printed and used to select photos for print and various other uses. Will using the embedded previews (from CR2 images from various Canon bodies, if it matters) allow for generating thumbs at a resolution of 240 dpi? Forgive me if this is a stupid question but since I will be pulling directly from DVDs, it seems like using embedded previews will be a heck of a lot quicker with so many files involved.

Yes, it will be faster.  The resolution of the embedded JPEG preview will determine the maximum DPI you're going to be able to achieve, but I expect things should be fine.

2.  In generating a mock-up of a page, I noticed that the Header aligns right above the first row of thumbs, with no spacing. Is there a way to put some space between the header and thumbs? I've seen this question in others posts. Not sure if any changes have been made.

There is no control over this behavior.  No changes have been made recently to the printing features in PM.

-Kirk