Hey everyone, I decided to do some printing of some random photos I took while walking around. Does the resolution of the picture matter when printing? For example if I print it on a 8 x 10 paper would the picture quality be any different if I printed from a resolution of 1024x860 or 5616x3744? Is there a general rule to follow when printing pictures? I'm fairly new to photography, so any little bit of information will be greatly appreciated.
Yes, the resolution of the photo matters when printing.
Resolution is the pixel dimensions of the image. The 2 pixel dimensions you state 1024 px by 869 px and 5616 px by 3744 px are differnt aspet ratio pixel dimensions.
An 8x10 print has a 5:4 aspect raio. The long side is 5 units long and the short side is 4 units long. The unit in this case is 2 inches. Stated another way the 10" long side is 1.25 times the 8" short side.
1024 x 869 has the long side only 1.178 times the short side, so it won't fill an 8x10 sheet of print paper to each edge. If you print it so the 10" dimension is filled, there will be more than 8" for the 8" side.
The other resolution 5616 x 3744 is a 3:2 aspect ratio, and to avoid losing part of the image would need to be printed as an 8x12. Using 4" as the units this time: 3 units x4"= 12" and 2 units x 4"= 8".
Next you need to know that the print size is determined by how many pixels-per-inch (PPI) you assign to the photo.
A very popular online consumer print lab
www.mpix.com uses printers that print at a maximum of 250 PPI, so we'll use 250 PPI for an example.
1024x869 printed at 250 ppi would give you a photo that is (1024 pixels divided by 250 PPI =)
4.096 inches by (869 pxiels divided by 250 PPI =
3.476 inches well short of 8x10. But we can figure out exactly what PPI you need to print the long side at 10 inches by doing a little algebra and changing the equation to 1024 pixels divided by 10 inches=
102.4 PPI. Or if you want to be sure the 8" side is just right, 869 pixels divided by 8 inches =
108.6 PPI
The 1024 x 869 is an odd-ball aspect ratio that wcan't exactly fit an 8x10 pice of print paper, while 5616 x 3744 is a standard aspect ratio (3:2) it is not the aspect ratio of an 8x10. To print the 5616 x 3744 as an 8x10, some of thos 5616 pixels on the long side will have to be cropped (cut off anf thrown away). But crop a copy, not the original.
There are other printing issues that deal with printer resolution, file type, and color space but we'll save those for another thread.
