Cropping images and retaining a usable file size for prints

[terminaltackle]

Being new to photography and having limited knowledge of the file size and relevant print size ratio. I thought the users on this site could give me some guidance in this area.

1st. I shoot in jpg and the camera is a istds with 6.1mp sensor. Cropping an image for printing, ex 8x10 print, what would be the maximum crop and dimensions that I could do to a file that is originally 3008x2000?

2nd Would resizing the image prior to cropping allow me to discard more of the original image and still retain a file that could be printed to a 8x10?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Brett

[mudder]

G'day Brett,

I think the maximum size you can print an image at would be influenced by the quality of the shot and the PP performed on the image...

I've blown up uncropped images from the D70 (6Mp, 3008x2000) to 20"x30" without any up-sizing or interpolation and it turned out terrific with quite good detail... You'd need to put your nose up to the print to really find fault... I really think how large you can print is determined by the image and the PP done to it...

If you do upsize an image (via interpolation etc.) then I'd do that before I do any final sharpening...

Re: your second question, resizing an image will enable you to crop and print larger than if you hadn't resized, but I don't think whether you resize before the crop or after would change anything... Not sure if I've helped there...

[PiroStitch]

Mudder,

Just out of interest, who did you send the print to?

[mudder]

Mudder,

Just out of interest, who did you send the print to?

G'day,

Most of the prints I've had done have been at Edge Printing in Collingwood... Not the cheapest around but I've usually been happy...

Their site is here : http://www.theedgephoto.com.au/

Prices etc here : http://www.theedgephoto.com.au/digprint.html

[DaveB]

1st. I shoot in jpg and the camera is a istds with 6.1mp sensor. Cropping an image for printing, ex 8x10 print, what would be the maximum crop and dimensions that I could do to a file that is originally 3008x2000?

As long as you have a good clean image from a digital sensor (e.g. not a film scan) you should be able to print it at ~200ppi and still produce a pleasing image. For an 8x10" print that would be 1600x2000p. Or for a 3008x2000p image: 10x15".

But it's rarely as simple as that. Depending on their content detail some images can be printed larger or smaller than that, and the further away the print will be viewed from the larger the print can be.
And the more pixels the better: I regard 200ppi as a minimum for many applications.

2nd Would resizing the image prior to cropping allow me to discard more of the original image and still retain a file that could be printed to a 8x10?

Whether you keep or discard the unneeded pixels early doesn't make a difference to the image quality in the area you're going to keep. Although obviously it can result in larger intermediate files to deal with if you're not careful...
My own workflow is generally to maintain the original image as the master, and apply the appropriate capture-sharpening, cropping, colour corrections, etc to it as a layered file in Photoshop. Then a copy of that master file is flattened, converted to the output colour space, resized, and sharpened as appropriate for each output use (e.g. web, 4x6" print, 16x24" print, etc).

[Aussie Dave]

When looking to print your images, two of the major equations to think about are "what DPI am I printing at and what size will I be printing ?". These will determine the pixel dimensions of what the image needs to be, and can have an impact on the outcome.

A 3000x2000px RAW image being printed as an 8x12" at 300dpi equates to:
8"x300dpi=2400px
12"x300dpi=3600px

The same process, but printing at 200dpi means:
8"x200dpi=1600px
12"x200px=2400px

Already, it becomes evident that to print this RAW image at 300dpi, one needs to slightly UPsize/resize the image.....but to print at 200dpi, one needs to DOWNsize it.
The greater you upsize the image, the more you (potentially) lose detail - which may become evident once the image is printed.

The quality of the image, as mentioned by DaveB, will also be a major factor in how much the image can be manipulated. I'm not sure there is a hard & fast rule to go by, as every image will be different. A nice, crisp image will handle more PP than a "not so perfect" image....so to speak.

Of course, one cannot expect to print out poster-sized images, to be veiwed 6" away. The larger the print, the further the viewing distance (usually).

IMO, cropping before or after resizing will have the same effect....but cropping before will result in smaller files to work with (as suggested by DaveB)

[terminaltackle]

Thanks for the explanation, as I do not print at home as a rule the advice given has helped me understand how to best prepare my images prior to printing. Thank you and hopefully I can return the favour sometime..

Brett

[big pix]

Epson has a lot of information on their web site so have a dig around, this may also help........

1: set up Photoshop colour management as per Epson web site.

2: make your images adobe rgb 1998

3: follow the epson print guide.......

4: Colour handling: Let Photoshop determine colours........printer profile set to paper stock [epson semi matt if using]

5: rendering intent: relative Colorimertic and tick Black point compensation

6:print settings: media type: premium semigloss photo paper:mode:advance settings: print quality set to 720 and above

7:colour management: NO COLOUR AJUSTMENT

AND PRINT.........

[terminaltackle]

Thanks for the tip on the epson site, as for photoshop, I dont have it. I have a old copy of Paintshop pro 5 that I use and struggle with at times. That said I dont blame the tools, and at present I am focusing on how to use what I have and not what I havent.

Thanks
Brett