profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Kurt, if you have IrfanView, or don't mind learning a new free software program, you can enlarge any image in IrfanView. Then you will need to play with "Sharpen" from the "Image" menu and "Median Filter" frp, tje
Effects" menu also on the "Image" menu. The Median Filter does a good job of getting rid of the artifacts from enlarging or over sharpening a jpeg image. --Richard

Klickitatdave Loc: Seattle Washington

I have had really good results on average using Topaz Gigapixel. It didn't work that well with photos that I took with a Motorola "Android" but that was to be expected given the low pixel count to begin with. I would recommend down loading the trial version and see how it works for your needs.

worldcycle Loc: Stateline, Nevada

In the past I have had good results by getting the largest sharpest print possible and then scanning as high of resolution as I can get it. Still not the sharpest image, yet with a print that large you probably should not be enjoying it from 18 inches away. Now have Gigapixel, but haven't really figured it out except it just makes a lot more pixels of something that may not be that sharp to begin with.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

That would be two generations away form the original digital file. There is bound to be some loss of image quality.

jharrell182

Photoshop Raw has an “Enhance”feature.
Open the image in Raw and right click on the small image in the top left corner of the screen. Apop up menu will come up and Enhance is one of the options. Click on Enhance and wait for an enhanced image is made. The Enhanced version is 2x the size of the original. Select the Enhanced version and click on open to get the new version opened.
I hope this helps

MJPerini

Be careful of extrapolating from the "Billboards only need 3 PPI" logic because while that is sometimes true, you need to remember that billboards have an 'enforced viewing distance" in that we rarely see them from less than 100 yards away. In a picture hanging in someone's home you are going to be quite close to it.
What the client asks may indeed be possible, just start with he best possible file that hasn't been an email attachment. Many cameras can output RAW (or at least be sure you get the best file available). This will give any up-rezzing software the most to work with. But file quality matters. If it is sharp, that's a leg up. Some files will work well and some won't. That's why I suggested showing the client an 8x10 of parts the actual file. Perhaps one of the best parts of the image and one of the worst parts......the best surprise is NO surprise
Good luck

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

I assume this is a jpeg file? can they send you a version with 300 DPI. Then either topaz Gigapixel or On1 AI Resize are your best bets currently. Also determine at what distance they will be viewing the image. If it is farther away then you could possible print it at a lower dpi like 180.

Good luck

BebuLamar

48x36" is about the size of a 60" TV and the number of pixels available is just slightly more than the typical 1080p so if it's viewed at about the same distance as you would view a 60" TV then it's OK.

profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Don't worry about the DPI rating of your photo. You can always change it in something like IrfanView and other programs. It does not really affect the quality fo the image. What is critical is the total pixel size of the image. ---Richard