Print sizes and confision

[Rachelsne]

How do I know how the largest print size a photograph will be able to be printed at? Is there a formula I can follow.

For example I uploaded to Mpix and my file information is:File Size:3.479 MBDimensions:3457 x 2293 and a list of prints sizes are available, does mpix only show the print sizes relevent to my file? I know I have to crop to fit some proportions, but I am just worndering about sizes at the moment.

Thanks

 

[tirediron]

Generally speaking 300 dpi (Dots per inch) is considered the standard for 'arm's length' photo-quality printing. Therefore: Your 3457 x 2293 pixel image can be printed at up to 11.5 x 7.6 inches. Assuming that you're using Photoshop or PaintShop Pro, set your default image resolution to 300 DPI/PPI (PPI = pixels per inch and can for these purposes considered to be a measurement equal to DPI) and crop that way.

On-line services often have software which will analyse the image and determine the largest/smallest sizes practical based on the PPI/DPI.

 

[Ptyler22]

From my 40d I had some 16x24 prints made from a jpeg the resolution was 3888 X 2592. They came out very nicely. I thought they would be a little blurry but they came out quite sharp. I wouldn't even be afraid to go a little bigger next time.

 

[tirediron]

From my 40d I had some 16x24 prints made from a jpeg the resolution was 3888 X 2592. They came out very nicely. I thought they would be a little blurry but they came out quite sharp. I wouldn't even be afraid to go a little bigger next time.

With some of todays high-end printers you can go down to as little as 220 DPI, but then again you're also generally not viewing a 16x24 from the same distance as a 5x7.

 

[Phranquey]

The largest you would want to go to maintain your best quality would be an 8x10. Your current dimensions would need to be cropped to 2866 x 2293 to get the correct aspect ratio, and that would give you 287dpi in printing, which will result in a very good quality photo.

As tirediron says, you can print bigger at a lesser dpi, because generally larger photos are viewed from a greater distance, offsetting the the slightly lower quality, so you won't be nose-up to the photo like you would a 4x6 or 5x7.

 

[RacePhoto]

How do I know how the largest print size a photograph will be able to be printed at? Is there a formula I can follow.

For example I uploaded to Mpix and my file information is:File Size:3.479 MBDimensions:3457 x 2293 and a list of prints sizes are available, does mpix only show the print sizes relevent to my file? I know I have to crop to fit some proportions, but I am just worndering about sizes at the moment.

Thanks

Here's a guide that will give you some ideas at 300 dpi. In the end, you can go larger if necessary and maybe still get good results. The chart is for Print Media standards.

http://www.unlikelymoose.com/more/cameras/megapixel_converter.html

Keep in mind, this is a guide, not cast in stone.

 

[Brian L]

I just had Ritz camera Print a 20x30 inch in tiff file format to keep detail of a sunset. I have a pentax 6mp slr and if you look at it close like 3 inches from the picture you can see a little blemish going on. However Hung on the wall in a frame looks just as sharp on my computer monitor. My resolution on my camera is 3008x2000.