Graham1949 Loc: Nottingham, England.

Just a thought hoggers, I want to be able to show photographs that I take, on a CD then be able to print off a chosen photograph at various sizes from 6" x 4" up to 11" x 16" without cropping etc, is this possible, is there a software program for it? Also, once I've done my post processing should I save the files as PSDD or TIFF or JPEGs for viewing on a laptop.
I've never thought about this issue before, it just came up in a general conversation about photograph sizes etc.
Thanking you all in advance.
Graham.

Whuff Loc: Marshalltown, Iowa

A photo has to be cropped for print size. A 4X5 crop will print 4X5, 8X10, 12X15, or 16X20 but not 11X14. To print 11X14 you have to crop it to that size etc. I know of no software that would allow that without leaving off some of the image.

Walt

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Generally this is an interesting topic. It can also be a very technical topic, depending on just how critical one is. For just a general discussion as opposed to instructions on actually doing this kind of work, and considering two things you mentioned, 1) prints as large as 11x16 and 2) you are using a laptop, maybe we want hints on the wide range but don't want to over do it! :-)

Ideally the "edited product" should be saved to an "intermediate" format. TIFF fits better than PSD, and nothing else is close. The problem is that each different display, whether it is different in size or different hardware, has to be "refinished". Any change in size means it really should be carefully done and then resharpened by inspection before being displayed. Note that the mere act of showing an image on you screen usually causes it to be resized. Usually printing does too. You have a 6000x4000 MP image? Your screen isn't that big, so displaying it causes resampling. And a typical Epson printer would make that into an 11x16 inch print every time, while an 8x10 or 4x6 requires resampling.

The problem for you would be that it doesn't take many TIFF files to fill up the typical laptop! So you'd really want something with more disk space to save the intermediate files to. Then what you might do is produce a separate finished file, properly sharpened, for each size. Those can be in JPEG format, and it is likely that even if you have 1 for laptop display, 1 to give to someone who will look at it full screen on a larger monitor, and may 3 others suitable for different size prints, all together they will be smaller than that intermediate TIFF they are made from!

Keep the original RAW files and the TIFF intermediate files on a home computer with multiple TB's of disk space and keep the viewable JPEG files on the traveling laptop.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Your Nikon D7100 sensor size is 15.6mm x 23.5mm, which is the same proportions as a 4x6-inch print, or 8x12-inch, or 12x18-inch, or 16x20-inch. These are all basically 2x3 proportions, whether measured in millimeters or inches. Any other proportion will require a bit of cropping of height or width.

Kuzano

I got rid of all my printers and such. I came to the conclusion that there is no way I could beat the price of a good print service, and that's what I do now. I fought the math for sizing and the cost for my own in home prints, and I was losing money.

I will say that before making that decision, I bought the book "The magic of digital printing" by Erik Doeffinger. Great book when it comes to the math of printing, sizing, frankly everything. That drew me to the conclusion to find a good print service. I have not had any printer with my system for about two years now. (correct that) A $100 Dell laser printer, with $20 replacement cartriges for plain b/w letters/documents.

When I want a print, I take a file to my local printer and tell him what size print I want.

Screw it... let him do the crazy work.

Even with doing all the work that I was doing, I could not create a print of various quality at ANY price less than he charges me.

My pigment Epson Color Stylus wide carriage print sits idle... hasn't had any ink in it for 2 or more years. And I never had any problem with the printer function. It never dried out on me. It created excellent images on various papers and media.

It was just crazy making and a frigging money pit!!! It's not at all as rewarding as going out shooting!

Graham1949 Loc: Nottingham, England.

Thanks guys, some very interesting and excellent information. I just knew you hoggers would come up with great answers and advice.

big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada

I believe it is 16x24 inch.... but you knew that didn't you.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

I know "zilch" about the Nikons, but doesn't it also depend upon the quality parameters Graham has preset in the camera? My Canon 60D set at Large-Fine makes an initial image of 72" x 48" (2:3 ratio) so almost every picture has to be cropped for printing. If I intend to print a photo, I make an initial crop to 11x14--the largest size I generally print, and if I need a smaller print re-crop from there.

Is there a better way?

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Now that you've read what everyone has to say about cropping to the proper ratio so that it will print correctly, remember to not crop an image until the decision has been made as to what size you will print it. I will sometimes finish editing and then create some virtual copies of the image and put them in a collection in Lightroom. Then I'll crop them to the ratio for different size prints so that I can see what they will look like when printed. When working with raw images, there's really no need to save your image as a psd,tiff,or jpg unless you plan to upload it to the web, email, or take it to a lab to print. In any case, you'd want to use sRGB color space in jpg format. If, and I repeat, if, you have some pixel editing to do, this means layering, or heavy editing, then absolutely save the layered image in either native Photoshop (psd) or tiff formats. They retain the layers for further editing should it be needed. You'd be surprised how many times you actually need to re-edit an image.

Billy Bob

My Canon Ix6820 will printer will print 11 x 17. I just trim off to make A 11 X 14 if need be. The software is on the printers driver, all printers have the size menu for the max for that printer you have. I try to buy 13 x 19 printers.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Oops! Thanks for the catch. 16x24-inch is the same 2x3 dimensions.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

This is so true! I will sometimes save cropped images with specific names, such as Hummingbird3-8x10(16x20) or Hummingbird3-11x14, because these commonly requested sizes are NOT the same dimensions as 4x6, or 13x19, which are my favorite for printing, and match the 2:3 ratio of my sensor.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Sorry, I forgot to mention that first you should make a copy of the original for any PP and or cropping; never use the original, and if you even think you may want to re-work the PP'd print make a copy or "save as" of that too!

Graham1949 Loc: Nottingham, England.

WOW, I've got a lot of info to get around, thank you all for enlightening me.
Cheers Guys.