How to Flatten Pictures to Print Faster
High-resolution pictures taken with a digital camera or images with multiple "layers" created in photo editing applications can be huge in file size. While high-resolution or multi-layered photos are great when viewing them on a computer screen, they often take a long time to print because of the amount of data that must travel from the program to the printer. You can reduce the print time of many images by using a technique known as "flattening." This process merges all visible parts of the image into a single layer, thus reducing the size of the image file and the amount of time needed to print the picture.
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Instructions
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Flattening Images in Adobe Photoshop
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Launch Adobe Photoshop on your computer. Click "File" then "Open" then browse to the folder that contains the image to flatten. Wait for Photoshop to load the image.
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Click "Layer" and choose "Flatten Image" on the menu bar. Photoshop merges all layers in the image.
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Click "File" and choose "Save As" on the menu bar. Enter a new name for the image in the "Save As" field and click the "OK" button. Save the image with a new file name to avoid permanently changing the original picture. You cannot reverse the flattening or merging process once you save the file.
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Print the image from within Photoshop by clicking "File" then "Print" on the menu bar. Alternatively, print the image from another picture viewing application. You should notice a significant increase in speed when printing the image.
Flattening Images with GIMP
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Open GIMP on your computer. Click "File" then choose "Open" on the menu tool bar. Navigate to the file to flatten in the "Open" window. Highlight the file and click the "Open" button.
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Click "Image" on the toolbar and then "Flatten Image."
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Click "File" then "Save As" and then click "Save" to save the image file under a new name. Click "File" and choose "Print" on the tool bar to print the image.
Using Paint Shop Pro to Flatten Images
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Launch the Paint Shop Pro editing application on your computer. Click "File" and "Open" then browse to the file you want to flatten. Select the image file name and click "Open."
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Wait for the image to load in the Paint Shop Pro canvas window. Click "Layers" on the menu bar. Then click "Merge" and choose "Merge All" (flatten) on the drop-down screen.
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Click "File" then "Save As." Enter a new name for the image file and click the "Save" button. Click "File" and "Print" on the menu bar to open the "Print" dialog box. Click "OK" to send the image to the printer.
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