Resize image for large printing

[tommyg]

Hey guys,

I have a few images I want to get printed up onto a large canvas - 30 by 45 inches, doing this via NuShots.

However, their software says our original image as a JPG is not large enough, so I need to resize it up.

I know in Photoshop I can just go into the image and select to resize, and pick the new size I want it. But i there a better way that I should be doing this?

Any help greatly appreciated
Cheers
Tom

[Mr Darcy]

We need a bit more information.
What format did you capture the photo in originally?

If it was RAW (NEF) then go back to the original file and start from there.
If it was the JPEG you sent them, then nothing you do will improve the image, though you may get something reasonable.

Also, what are the requirements of your chosen printer?

If your image is not big enough to start with then the software, whatever you use, will need to make a guess at what goes between the dots that are there. While recent software does a damn good job of this, it really is making something up out of nothing.

That said, what counts in the end is the perceived size. The definition required for a print you look at from 30cm is far greater than the definition you need if you are viewing a billboard from across the road. if you are planning on looking at your print from across the room, with perhaps a buffet in the way to stop people getting too close, then you may be OK.

Use Photoshop's image resize and turn off "resample image". Set the image size you want in the document size section. DO NOT click OK yet. Now look at the resolution. If it stays above 300, you are sweet. Just click OK & SaveAS the picture so you don't alter your original. If it drops below 300, you need to make a judgement call. It won't be clear when viewed up close. This may not be a problem. If it is, try turning on the Resample check box. Click OK, then have a good hard look at the image and see if it looks OK. If it does, then SaveAS again and send it off.

[tommyg]

What format did you capture the photo in originally?

The photo was originally shot in RAW format on D700

However, the printer requires a JPG image, so our first attempt was to simply create a JPG and place it into their software for uploading - however once we selected that we wanted to print to such a large size we were told the image was not large enough.

When opening in Photoshop the original, the size is;
4284 by 2844 pixels, which in inches corresponds to roughly 15 by 10 at 300 dpi

I know I can at this stage simply change it to the size I want and select to resample. I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts as to whether this is the best option or not

Thanks
Tom

[surenj]

Hey Tommy,

my suggestion is to use PS resize but use it in 10% increments until your target size is achieved. (you could even make an action out of it)

I think 200ppi is enough for those huge canvases provided noone is crazy enough to examine them close up.

Don't forget about sharpening as well.

[ATJ]

Last year (or was it the year before?) Gerry organised for use to have some images printed large on canvas (same size as yours I think). All I did was to export the image (raw from D300 4288x2488) from Lightroom using LR/Mogrify to 16 Megapixels. The end result was a 5025x3338 JPEG which looks wonderful printed up big on the canvas.

[aim54x]

Genuine Fractals/Perfect Resize (it has been renamed) is the industry standard resizing plugin......I have seen it used to resize some pretty small files to BIG prints.

[Wink]

Apparently PS does a great job up to about 300% reproductions. After that the plugin mentioned above is the weapon of choice.

[tommyg]

Thanks for that, will have a look over the weekend at that

Cheers
Tom