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Thread: Prepping a file for printing

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    Default Prepping a file for printing

    I have an image that is about 1,600 x 2,000 pixels in size. Let's say I wanted to print it out at 16 x 20 inches through Adorama Pix. Would there be any difference in quality if I enlarged it in Photoshop first to say 300dpi 16 x 20 (4,800 x 6,000 pixels) rather than just sending the image as is at 100dpi?

    My understanding from Kelby's Photoshop book is that it would be better. He also suggests enlarging in increments of 100% either 200% or 300%. He seems to think it works better that way rather than odd percentages.

    I've also heard that fractals might work well for creating enlargements too.

    Any thoughts, tips or comments for what I'm trying to do?

    Keep in mind I am aware this is pushing the quality issue here. I'm willing to spend some money to see how well it works.

    Thanks

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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Schurman View Post
    I have an image that is about 1,600 x 2,000 pixels in size. Let's say I wanted to print it out at 16 x 20 inches through Adorama Pix. Would there be any difference in quality if I enlarged it in Photoshop first to say 300dpi 16 x 20 (4,800 x 6,000 pixels) rather than just sending the image as is at 100dpi?

    My understanding from Kelby's Photoshop book is that it would be better. He also suggests enlarging in increments of 100% either 200% or 300%. He seems to think it works better that way rather than odd percentages.
    I have tried the incremental and found it just produces different artifacts, which may or may not work better for a particular portion of an image. One could spend a lot of time trying different methods and then dlending together the best results for different parts of the image. In the end probably a better result in my opinion is to just upsize, sharpen, then hand edit artifacts.


    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Schurman View Post
    I've also heard that fractals might work well for creating enlargements too.
    Yes, could work well by inventing detail. Again results are probably image dependent.


    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Schurman View Post
    Any thoughts, tips or comments for what I'm trying to do?

    Keep in mind I am aware this is pushing the quality issue here. I'm willing to spend some money to see how well it works.

    Thanks
    Pushing beyond 2x magnification on the upsizing has diminishing returns. I have found I get my best results with applying Richardson-Lucy image deconvolution on upsized images; e.g. see:
    http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/image-restoration1/

    Then as a final step, and it depends on the printer and paper, unsharp mask for the print (will probably look ugly on the LCD monitor). That will require making several test prints.

    Roger

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    Doug, you need not spend a lot of money printing out the entire image for several different tests, instead consider making crops at the desired print resolution and print them out as say 4x6 prints to evaluate the effectiveness of different enlargement methods, and then when you found the right combination submit the full image for printing.

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    Chris,
    Good point. I should have made that clear. Check prices and if cheaper, for example put four 4x5 images on an and 8x10 and order one 8x10 instead of four 4x5s.

    Roger

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    Thanks for the tips Roger and Chris.

    I did a quick test. I upsized an image by 300% and compared how it looked at 100% to the original image at 300%. The one that was upsized looked much more detailed. So I'm thinking that upsizing it photoshop first to ensure I have 200-300dpi before sending it to Adorama will give me the better final detail.

    The idea about using a cropped portion on 4x6 makes a lot of sense becasue they are only $.24 each. 8x10 is $1.49 and 16x20 is $9.60.

    Any thoughts on paper types for bird and wildlife photos? They have Lustre, Matte and Glossy. One picture I'm going to print is an Orco breaching in the water. Most of the other will be various birds.

    Thanks
    Doug

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    If you are placing the print behind glass, then lustre or matte, though really, paper choice is personal.

    Canvas is an alternative and is more forgiving of losing fine detail in larger blow ups since the surface is textured.

    http://www.adoramapix.com/app/products/gallerywraps

    Lastly, make sure you an have idea of what the final print will look like, by doing a soft proof with the adorama icc profile to make sure the image(s) are not overly dark or washed out. I think they only print in sRGB color space so you might also want to convert to this space after you've completed your edits and ensure no massive color shifts occur. (This is assuming you have a profiled monitor!)
    Last edited by Chris Korman; 10-29-2011 at 02:47 AM.

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    I am not sure if you can print a 2000 pixel image 20" wide. The print quality will be poor regardless of what method you use- it is just too much enlargement for too few pixels. Maybe some will find the quality acceptable but for me this is a no go.
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    Quote Originally Posted by arash_hazeghi View Post
    I am not sure if you can print a 2000 pixel image 20" wide. The print quality will be poor regardless of what method you use- it is just too much enlargement for too few pixels. Maybe some will find the quality acceptable but for me this is a no go.
    Subject and light always trumps pixels and sharpness. I do agree 100 ppi is pushing it, but subject and light are more important in my opinion.

    Roger

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