DebAnn Loc: Toronto

I have RAW files from my trip to Africa, most shot with my Canon 90D. I'm designing a photo book and wonder about a few needed for double-page spreads. Is it better to export the images from Lightroom in the 24-inch wide 300 dpi format required. Or, is it better to use images already exported in a smaller size and size them up in one of the programs (like ON1) that upsizes without losing detail?

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

My sense from past experience with photo books. your book company will tell you format RAW,JPEG,TIFF, etc as well as size formats. I would use Lightroom. Stan

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Given the native images from the EOS 90D are 6940 × 4640 pixels before cropping, you wouldn't meet 7200 pixels wide before cropping (as in 24in x 300ppi = 7200). At 200ppi, you'd only need 4800 pixels for 24-inch print.

To your original question, export from the final edits from LR to the desired use rather than reprocessing exported files. You can (should) also test the various options using LR. Export files and then import back into LR so you can look at the 1:1 image details via the compare function. If you 'upsize' an image to 300ppi to get to 7200px, how do the pixel-level details look vs the original edit that would resolve to say 200ppi?

Don't confuse 'dpi' with 'ppi'. For printing pixel-based images, you need to focus on the pixel resolution of the image for the intended print size in inches. You can update your view options on LR to see the current pixel dimensions of each image. Your calculator / spreadsheet tool can determine the ppi measurement for the intended print size / usage. The 'resize' checkbox in the LR Export can be used to 'upsize' an image during the export processing. That upsize is based on the desired pixel size vs the current pixel size, not the value in the dpi box.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thanks Stan. I have created several books through Blurb but never with photos that go across two pages (lay flat book). I know to upload jpgs at 300 dpi.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

The difference between PPI and DPI here: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-147932-1.html

I've never done a photobook.
Let us know how yours turns out!

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

To be honest, in all the years I have been successfully processing, sizing and printing images, I have never looked at anything other than saving the image as, for instance, an 8" x 10" image at 300 dpi and hitting "print". LightRoom allows me to choose 300 dpi. So I don't really care about ppi. I know this argument comes up periodically but I don't get why others usually hit on the dpi issue. Whatever works for each person, I guess.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

As an experiment, I resized the original RAW file in LR and exported it as a jpg at 300 dpi. Then I printed a portion of it and the resulting print is excellent. So I guess I'll do the same for a few others. Thanks for your help.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

I have done numerous photo books through Blurb; I create them directly in LrC. The size of image you will need for double page spreads depends upon the size of the page you are using. For every book I've created, Blurb has had a 300 ppi requirement for images. For a 10 x 15 page spread, using the figures I have quickly available, you would need an image that is 4500 pixels across on the widest side. You can fudge on this to some degree, depending upon image clarity and other factors, but not too much or you may lose image resolution. Once you determine your page size simply multiply the page size by 300 and that will give you an approximate pixel image size. If you do need to upsize a bit do it from your original image in your software of choice, ON1 would be fine. It would also be fine to use the Print Module in LrC and export as a JPEG and then add that export to your catalog to use in the book.

domcomm Loc: Denver, CO

Don't let anyone confuse you by talking about PPI when it comes to printing. I've been in the printing/publishing field for 49 years, so I know from experience that they are only concerned with DPI, not PPI. For printing, your files have to be 300dpi.

Second thing – don't reduce your files, then up-size them, no matter how good the app claims to be. You can always reduce size without loss, but enlarging will always lose at least a small amount of detail. You can't put back in what is no longer there. you can sometimes get by with enlarging a tiny bit, but not much – say 1/8" or even 1/4" at the most.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thanks for the info.

Spirit Vision Photography Loc: Behind a Camera.

Is the Blurb software easy to learn, navigate?

Thanks

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Yes, if you download their BookWright layout tool, you can choose various layouts for the pages, add text and upload jpgs. BW tells you if any image is too low resolution or if it isn't placed properly etc.

If you are more tech savvy, you can build a Blurb book directly in LightRoom or InDesign, but I haven't tried it that way.

rochephoto

Process your RAW as a tiff and then use Alien Skin / Exposure Software BlowUp 3 (Very Good Software!!). Then revert to an Srgb Jpeg to use for your book.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thanks for the info.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

How does up-sizing an image file cause loss of detail? Or are you just talking about downsizing then upsizing . . .

BTW, and with all due respect to your nearly half a century in the printing, publishing industry, there remains a huge amount of confusion about dpi vs ppi.

The easiest way I can describe this is to explain what each is and how they are related. Dpi is a printer resolution measurement - dots per inch - and it relates to how much the printhead moves for the minimum increment in the case of an inkjet printer, or how many dots of toner or whatever are deposited for each linear inch. PPI is a measurement of image resolution in pixels per inch, and it will determine how large an image that is x pixels wide by y pixels tall, can be printed at a given resolution.

You can print a 300 ppi image on a 1200 dpi printer, and all that will happen is that each pixel will have 16 printer "dots'' in it. If you have an image that is 4000x6000 px, then at 300 ppi your image will be 13.3" by 20". But if you printed it at 200 ppi, it would be 20 x 30. You can use a 300 dpi printer, 600 dpi printer or 240 dpi printer, and the image size will not change. It will be whatever the dimension in pixels divided by the chosen resolution is.

Given that a book is normally read at a distance of around 16 - 18" or smaller for a smaller book - 300 ppi is a good starting point, though anything from 200 ppi to 300 ppi should be fine. Physically bigger images can be more than fine with lower resolution.

This is an excellent reference that explains the rationale and the physiology behind resolution recommendations based on viewing distance and the acuity of the human vision system.

http://www.photokaboom.com/photography/learn/printing/resolution/1_which_resolution_print_size_viewing_distance.htm

And here is the Blurb page on dpi vs ppi:

https://support.blurb.com/hc/en-us/articles/207794936-Pixels-per-inch-PPI-and-dots-per-inch-DPI-

And this is an article referenced in the blurb link that very clearly and succintly clarifies this whole thing:

https://www.andrewdaceyphotography.com/articles/dpi/