Multiple Image Picture Packages

Photoshop 7's Picture Package feature enables you to easily print multiple images on a single sheet of paper. In addition to printing multiple copies of the same image, you can print different images on one page with Picture Package.

Photoshop's menu command File> Automate> Picture Package opens a rather large dialog box with a couple of buttons and four major areas.

The Source area determines what image or folder will be used. Layout defines the page size and resolution, as well as the number and size of images on the printed page. The Caption area enables you to title each of the image, should you so desire. However, when it comes to putting multiple images on a single sheet, the innocuous Preview area holds the key.

By default, Picture Package will load the last image used in all of the preview spaces and, therefore, will print that last-used image in each slot. To assign a different image to each position in the layout, simply click on a position in the layout.

In the Select an Image File dialog box, navigate to the file you want to use in that position, select it, and click OK. The images can be in different folders, and even on different drives. (The images you see here are all from PhotoSpin.)

Once you've assigned images to each slot, you can click OK and Picture Package will generate the final document as it usually does.

TIP: By default, when you open Picture Package, it will attempt to generate the most recently used layout with the image(s) you last used in Picture Package. That can, in some cases, take quite some time and the process cannot be interrupted. If you've just created a complex picture package, with many different images, consider this technique:
1. Re-open File> Automate> Picture Package.
2. Select a small, low resolution image and a layout of (2)5x7.
3. Click OK.
4. Close the resulting document without printing or saving.

The next time you open Picture Package, it will generate a layout much more quickly and therefore be ready to use sooner.