*Printing Photos*

[ATVrider43]

So this may be a "beginner" question, but how do I know what size or pixels my photo needs in order to get a good quality print. Sizes between 5x7 to 11x16 or etc. All my photos in photoshop are like 4000 to 5000 pixel dimensions. Also is any regular photo printing store good? Like Costco?

 

[dbvirago]

Use the largest size your camera can produce. Crop it to the size you want to print. Native size is probably 4x6. If you don't crop, the printer will crop randomly.

Costco is actually decent.

 

[ATVrider43]

Yeah I didn't crop some last year and they printed really bad...cropped randomly like you said. Okay so in photoshop what crop should I use?

 

[deeky]

Crop is really hard to say because it depends on what size you are going to print in. For the most part, I have started processing all of my shots in their original size and saving as such. Then, when I know what size (aspect ratio) I am going to print in, I will crop the shot then and resave it as another file. If it is for on-line display, I'll crop it to whatever works best for the specific image since I don't have to meet any standard frame/mat requirements.

4x6, 5x7, 8x10 and all of the other standard sizes actually have different proportions, so no one is a catch all to use as a blanket.

 

[dbvirago]

Another factor is cropping you do as part of your editing. Native size is 4x6, so if you print with images SOOC, then you are ok. But if you crop something out of the image, you have changed the aspect ratio. So, as deeky said, cropping for display and cropping for print are two different things. Sometimes if you want to say, print 5x7, and you have cropped the original to remove an element, you may be better off going back to original and setting the crop tool in PS to 5 x 7 and recropping for print

 

[KmH]

Print quality has a lot to do with image quality, not just how many pixels.
There are also some technical aspects. Computer displays are back lit and prints are front lit, so prints often don't look like what is seen on a computer display.

Most DSLRs have a native aspect ratio of 3:2 - 4x6, 6x9, 8x12, 10x15, 12x18, 20x30.
Most P&S cameras have a native aspect of 4:3 - 6x8, 12x16.

The popular 8x10 & 16x20 have a 5:4 aspect ratio
The popular 5x7 & 10x14 have a 7:5 aspect ratio.

For prints, we have to be mindful of how many pixels-per-inch - PPI we assign to an image.
Suppose your DSLR delivers 3:2 aspect ratio, 6000 x 4000 pixel images.

At 100 ppi, a 6000 x 4000 pixel image will print as a 60 inch by 40 inch print. 6000 px / 100 ppi = 60 inches, and 4000 px / 100 ppi = 40 inches.
At 200 ppi, a 6000 x 4000 pixel image will print as a 30 inch by 20 inch print.
At 300 ppi a 6000 x 4000 pixel image will print as a 20 x 13.33 inch print.

Next we need to consider viewing distance, and print size. People look from further away as prints get bigger.
So we often talk in terms of desk size prints and wall size prints. An 8x10 print hung on a wall behind and over a couch is really small, and people tend to want to get on the couch to look at it.
Make that a 16x20 print and it looks better.

The higher the image quality, the fewer ppi needed to make a quality print.

Lastly, cropping means discarding pixels, and can result in an oddball aspect ratio image shape unless the crop is restricted to a specific aspect ratio.

Here are some tutorials that are relevant - Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

 

[ATVrider43]

Okay, thanks a ton guys!!! Thanks for describing it as well.. appreciated!