Today’s Question: What is the advantage of the “Create Saved Print” option in the Print module in Lightroom? I save the images I print to a Collection but maybe this is a better option?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The primary reason to use the “Create Saved Print” option in Lightroom’s print module is so you can quickly and easily reproduce the exact same print layout (including the same photos). In other words, this option is most helpful for scenarios where you want to be able to produce the same print multiple times.
More Detail: When you choose the “Create Saved Print” option (found at the top-right of the preview area in the Print module) you are actually creating a “special” collection for the image (or images) included in the current print job. That includes the overall layout for the print in addition to the actual images included in the print.
What this all translates to is that if you need to produce print a given image at the same size and overall layout, you can simply choose the saved print, confirm the print settings, and print the image.
As you can probably appreciate, this option is most helpful for photographers who are selling prints. You can create saved prints of your most popular images for the specific print sizes you offer, so that it is easier to quickly create additional prints for those images.
For photographers who don’t sell their images as prints, this option is less useful. That said, in some situations it may be helpful to save some print layouts, so you can quickly reproduce a given print multiple times as needed.