Rongnongno Loc: FL

Recently a post was made about a company claiming to output a 1200 DPI with a 600 DPI printer. Obviously the claim is false. What is true thought is that many times we do not pay enough attention to printing. The company offers a software solution that I found lacking after looking at the samples they offered on line to demonstrate how good it is supposed to be.

Well, this thread is a reaction to that post and the company claims as no one really needs a someone else to put lipstick on a pig. We can all do that quite well if we do not pay attention to what we are doing.

Everything in our computer is calibrated, WYSIWYG and so forth. We select the crop ratio, the printer/paper combination ICC and here we go...

Well, not so fast.

First off you need to consider if you left space for matting/framing. If you did not, welcome to cut toes, short hair style and of course some kid left or right cheek amputation (when it not the weird guy from accounting that lost an arm...). Please revise your crop...

Now you are ready, right?

Nope.

First off the ratio is just that, a ratio. It does not mean the image is printable at all. If you print a 8*10 at 300 DPI the image needs to be al least 2400px*3000px if you are under or over you need to adjust the size using your favorite software.

Up-sizing is more difficult than downsizing simply because the software has to make up pixels that do not exist in the first place. There are several solution to this from specialized software or add on to using what already have.

Once you have done the down/up sizing you then have to check for tonal change then for sharpness and edit as needed.

Well, basically all this should have done all of this a loooong time ago!!!

We really need to PP for the final printed product from the start to avoid all types of problems that will creep up if you do not.

Do not forget that an image is rarely seen close up so the DPI can become somewhat irrelevant in some instance. The further away the less important it appears to be but then again the print may also have to be larger. Selecting the correct crop and image size from the start will make your image look much sharper and more attractive if you pay attention.

In short, while we all learn PP and try new things all the time we often lose track of the final product, whatever it is. Don't.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

Back to basics always works. Attention to detail lays a foundation for success.

cthahn

Now what should we do?

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

[quote=Rongnongno][i]Recently a post was made about a company claiming to output a 1200 DPI with a 600 DPI printer.[/quote]
The dpi of a printer is something I never thought about! How can this capability of a printer be found out? I just looked in my printer's manual and could not find it.


Definitely something to consider. The printer I send out to for larger prints offers to put a white border around images, but only up to what they consider "poster size". So I can get it for an 11x14, but not for a 16x20. When I send in a photo to be printed 16x20, I put a border around it in PS. This prevents the longest dimension from going right up to the paper's edge.


Up-sizing is something I just learned how to do using PS. It is definitely a handy thing to know. And thanks for pointing out the need to check for tonal change and sharpness afterwards. Right now I am using this to make it possible to print some older images in larger sizes. But I can understand how keeping the print size in mind in pp will save a lot of time (and photo paper) later.


Once I have an image ready for pp, I will crop according to what looks good to me, if composing in the camera did not come out as I had hoped. Only later do I decide on a size to print it. So when you say to select these "from the start", how do you made these decisions? Is it based on the pixel dimensions as it comes out of the crop? Or do you decide on a size and re-size the image if necessary? Not sure how often this would be required, since I just learned the process...

A very timely subject for me! I am interested in improving not only my image quality, but also the print quality.

Susan

Rongnongno Loc: FL

I usually know what I will do so the crop is first made in camera meaning that I plan for the final product format. A single portrait rarely goes over 8x10 but can be printed in 5x7. The 5X7 format is the most restrictive so I plan for it.

Meaning that I will crop at 8x10 ratio then use 5x7 guidelines to make sure that I do not kill the image in that format. The result is a trade off. The 8x10 will have more 'empty space'. The question becomes a composition exercise in order to exploit that space by either using to one side or centering it.

Once I have cropped to a ratio, not to the printing size I do global PP and detailed corrections that will be common.

When done I then save the file once, as is. I save it again with 8x10 appended for reference. Adjust the size, composition (to deal with the empty space) do the final touch up, save, print. I open the first save crop it to 5x7 save it with 5x7 appended, adjust the size, final touch ups, save, print. If I need other formats I always selected the widest (1x1 by example) then use guidelines to compose for the next widest, save, Open, crop, adjust save as long as needed. Sounds more painful it really is. You do not ready need to save a version of each but I just do so that I do not have to back... You must keep the PP original saved and work on a copy thought, just in case you do crop and save which means you will have a problem if you need to print to a higher format...

I would end up with three versions.
<Name>
<Name>-(08x10)
<Name>-(05X07)

This may be confusing at first, just observe what takes place when you select a ratio to crop. Use guidelines to compare the different ratios. The widest/longest* is what is needed first, always. But the leanest/shortest is used to create the composition.

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* Depends on ratio orientation.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

The starting image size from my older camera (Nikon D700) is based on the 2x3 ratio (4x6, 8x12, etc.). So if I know I want a print at 8x10, then I leave empty space on the edges of the longer side. If I want a print at 5x7 (10x14, etc.) that would require even more empty space around the subject within the confines of the 8x12 image/ratio from the camera. Is this how you are deciding on the "crop" in camera? I generally ignore the grid, but is this what you use for proportions? Cannot find any reference to the proportions within the grid.


I do work on a copy so the original RAW image is left unchanged, and have saved different versions for specific uses. But since I never thought to plan for different sizes, have not used the re-naming to designate that. (I do have some re-namings that I use.) Perhaps because I do mostly wildlife and landscapes, this concept has not been as important as it would be for portraits. It is definitely something to think about, keeping in mind some of my specific needs for planning ahead for different print sizes.

Recently I decided to use up some 8x10 frames, so took some images and cropped them to 5x7 for some pre-cut mats. Most of my images would crop down so they fit and looked good, but there were a few that would not, unless I cut off an important portion or made the subject too small to enjoy!

Thank you for the detailed description of your process. It helps a lot when trying to understand it.

Susan

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Please note that I am referring to the post processed file, not the digitized capture. (.PSD*) if you use PS CC ~ or another extension if you use something else.

<Name>.<raw>
<Name>.<PSD>
<Name>-(08x10).<PSD>
<Name>-(05X07).<PSD>

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* In my case.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

There is no grid that exists for each camera. Once upon a time these existed but went the way of the dodos when the digital world came about.

Since I am likely older (than you) I also plan for me not being as 'horizontal/vertical' as I was so this correction also needs to be addressed.

Only experience and instinct will allow you to gain this 'frame in camera' but not to worry, it really does not take all that long to get the feel for it. As a generic rule, always avoid filling the sensor* with pertinent data, you would lose some on it when cropping.

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* Top to bottom or sideways.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

I just checked my cameras, and you are right about the D810 - no grid, just the line around the focus points area. But there is a grid in the D7000 around that same area. Guess I am so used to seeing it in the one camera that I never noticed it was not there in the other one! I like to use it when I am not sure if I have the camera properly oriented with the horizontal and vertical.

In general, even when "filling the frame" I like to leave a little extra around the edges. My thinking was in case I have to rotate it a bit in pp. But now I have another reason to think about it!

As for who is older, you are definitely ahead of me in experience, but I'm no "spring chicken" either! I appreciate your help.