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View Full Version : Need advice/guidance on making large prints



Mike Milicia
06-11-2008, 09:40 AM
I recently purchased an Epson 7880 and I am beginning to experiment with making large prints
(20" x 30"). Trial and error can get expensive very quickly at these sizes so I thought I might be
able to jump start the process a bit by seeking advice from the more experienced printers out there.
I was previously printing a maximum size of 12" x 18" on an Epson R2400 using PS.
I do all my work on a Mac and I really don't want to introduce Windows (virtual or otherwise)
for any part of my workflow so Qimage is not an option.
My main subjects are birds and wildlife (mostly birds) so I need to reproduce a very fine level of detail.
There aren't many bird images that make sense at 20" x 30" but I do have a few, mostly of
larger birds, and I'd like to get them to look relatively as good as my 12" x 18" prints.

Any tips would be appreciated but here are some of the initial questions that I am trying to answer :

1 - Assuming I have a critically sharp image, how many pixels do I need to start with to get good results
at 20" x 30" ? I am currently using a 1D Mark III so my maximum starting point is 10.1 MP.

2 - What is the best way to do this level of upsizing and with what tools, PS or some other product ?

3 - If I am normally happy with my 12" x 18" prints using USM at 350/1.5/0 with an edge mask, is there a rule
of thumb for how to adjust these parameters when going larger, i.e. to 20" x 30" ?
Or should I be using a different tool/method altogether for sharpening?

Thanks for your help !

Fabs Forns
06-11-2008, 10:12 AM
MIke, I'll let Alfred answer your questions since he's the one that prints around here :)

But I have made a 54 by 36 inches file from a cropped Mark II f, 8 MP at full size.

All I do is increase the size using bicubic smoother in PS at Image Size.
For sharpening, we use PhotoKit Sharpener Output, where you select the paper and dpi and it does the job for you. I think you have a trial offer.

Alfred Forns
06-11-2008, 11:08 AM
Hi Mike

Would suggest to look at the video tutorial From camera to print. Its at Luminous Landscape, Michael did a good job. Best I've seen.

For sharpening do use PhotoKit since it will take the guesswork out entirely !!! For printing they need to look over sharpened in the monitor and I would hate having to repeat prints !!!

Big Congrats on the printer Always wanted one of those, running a 3800 and very happy with it !!!

Robert Amoruso
06-11-2008, 09:17 PM
Mike I am running a Epson 4800 and the Image Print RIP plus a R2400.

Alfred pretty much hit the nail on the head with making the print look over sharpened on the monitor. Michael's tutorial is a good one.

PK Sharpener is what I use for all my printing. A greatr product. Besides the output sharpening step Fabs showed, you want to go a capture sharpening before processing and then creative sharpening after you finish processing to those areas you want sharpened. I do this at my converted resolution of 240ppi and what ever size the original RAW image comes out at depending upon camera resolution.

Epson printers print natively at 360 ppi and I used to convert RAW to 360 but working on those images is SLOW. At 240 ppi much faster and I have not noticed a bit of difference between the two. After creative sharpening, I will crop to the size I wish to print at. Normally 17" wide (4800 is 17" wide) to whatever the length comes to. Bicubic smoother for upsizing works great. I not seen anything convincing that other products work better. Resampling must be on to do this.

You can set your preferences up so that cropping tool automatically resamples image to the size chosen in the crop. So what I do is set the height for 17" in the cropping tool, leave resolution blank (you could put 240 ppi) but that's moot if the image is at 240 ppi already) and then crop. Height goes to 17" and width to whatever. You can also set width and height here as well. If you are going to print full frame, use Image Size to set to maximum height of the printer and let width go where it may. All this assumes you are using roll paper.

If 240 ppi is not to your liking, use 360ppi. Resolutions should be in factors of 60 such as 120, 180, 240, 360. Hope this helps.

Gray Fox
06-12-2008, 12:19 PM
. . .but here are some of the initial questions that I am trying to answer :

1 - Assuming I have a critically sharp image, how many pixels do I need to start with to get good results
at 20" x 30" ? I am currently using a 1D Mark III so my maximum starting point is 10.1 MP.
People will have differing opinions based on their experience and skill level, and image quality certainly makes a big difference. I don't normally make prints that big so I can't vouch for the following chart but it does come from West Coast Imaging which would seem to be a credible source. I also recall reading one of Tim Gray's daily tips in which he recommend upressing no more than 2 to 1 in each dimension, which is somewhat consistent with the WCI chart.

http://www.westcoastimaging.com/wci/page/info/FAQ/uploadfaq/printsize.html
(http://www.westcoastimaging.com/wci/page/info/FAQ/uploadfaq/printsize.html)