Printing raw files.

[stratt0n]

I shoot and edit in raw. but do I put on disk or flash drive to have them printed out? It seems that Wal-Mart only recognizes jpeg photos. The photos come out grainy. So what does everyone else do to get photos printed?

 

[Seventen]

When I print out I would normally edit my RAWs using Nikon view nx 2. and then convert the file to the highest quality jpg there is then print out.

 

[480sparky]

Most labs won't work with raw files. JPEG is the standard. If they come out grainy, you're either cropping them too much / enlarging them too much they are pixelating, not saving the JPEG at a high enough Quality setting, or you're not applying Noise Reduction correctly.

 

[brihalbach]

Check the settings in raw. I had a friend who had this trouble and didn't change the dpi from 72 to 300. Ask if they can print tiff files. You will get more information with it than a jpg format. But it depends on the printing company.

 

[KmH]

I shoot and edit in raw. but do I put on disk or flash drive to have them printed out? It seems that Wal-Mart only recognizes jpeg photos. The photos come out grainy. So what does everyone else do to get photos printed?

Print labs want JPEGs because they have a smaller 8-bit depth file size. but they also cannot print 16-bit depth Raw files.
So the print lab doesn't need as much file storage space.

Digital photos cannot have 'grain', only film can have grain.
Digital photos have image 'noise' and there are different kinds of noise - Digital Camera Image Noise: Concept and Types

If prints of your photos have visible image noise either to high an ISO setting was used to make the photo or the photo was substantially under exposed.
Under exposure makes image noise more visible as does editing that adds exposure to compensate for under exposure.

To guard against under exposure we strive to control the exposure of digital photos by exposing for the highlights in the scene and letting the shadows take care of themselves.
To that end we have to be sure we have to set up the camera by using an appropriate light metering mode for the shot.
Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure

Digital cameras have a function that lets us gauge the exposure distribution of a photo that is called the Histogram.
The concept of exposing for the highlights is codified in a technique known as Expose-To-The-Right of the histogram, or ETTR.
Optimizing Exposure
ETTR
Exposing to the right - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In some cases with JPEG files that have been heavily cropped and enlarged what people see as image noise or pixelation is the borders of a part of the file size reduction JPEG uses which is grouping pixels into 8x8 px, 8x16 px or 16x16 pixel groups known as Minimum Coded Units or MCU's.

You may some useful info in this group of tutorials:
Image Files

• Understanding Bit Depth
• Understanding Image Types: JPEG & TIFF
• Understanding RAW Files: Why Should I Use RAW?

Tones & Contrast

• Understanding Histograms, Part 1: Tones & Contrast
• Understanding Histograms, Part 2: Luminosity & Color
• Using the "Levels" Tool in Photoshop
• Using the "Curves" Tool in Photoshop
• Understanding Image Posterization

For more details about some of the many considerations that go into having prints made from digital image files see:
Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

 

[Big Mike]

I shoot and edit in raw. but do I put on disk or flash drive to have them printed out? It seems that Wal-Mart only recognizes jpeg photos. The photos come out grainy. So what does everyone else do to get photos printed?

The way I look at it, a raw file isn't even really an image yet. It's just the digital information that could be used to create an image.

The only reason you can see an image on the back of the camera, or when opening/importing the raw file, is that there is a small embedded jpeg in the raw file.

So if you sent a raw file to a lab to be printed, they would have to process it into an image first....and that's not something they want to be doing.

As for photos coming out grainy, that is likely because the ISO was rather high for the camera being used and/or the images were too dark and needed to be brightened up in post production.

What do I do? I shoot in raw, process the images (in Lightroom) then export them as jpeg files. I set those files to a good lab (not Wal-mart) to be printed.

 

[Scatterbrained]

...... I had a friend who had this trouble and didn't change the dpi from 72 to 300. .......

Doesn't matter. Really, it doesn't. The file size will still be the same regardless of what DPI you put in the box during conversion.

 

[KmH]

It's PPi for digital image files as is seen next to the box where the value can be changed.
If a photo is cropped, both the file size and the image resolution (pixel dimensions) is reduced.

Also making the ppi a bigger number results in a smaller print.
Bigger prints are viewed from a further away and as viewing distance increases the need for print resolution also decreases.

Print labs have RIP software that will take care of setting an appropriate print resolution (PPI) based on the file size and the print size ordered (RIP = Raster Image Processor).
They will let you know if the image resolution (pixel dimensions) is lower than their minimum resolution requirements for the size of print ordered.

But the image resolution (pixels by pixels) and the print resolution (pixels per inch or ppi) determine print size.
You can let the lab handle that or if you want more control over your prints you can set all the necessary parameters before you upload the file to the lab.

For example:
A 3000 x 2000 pixel photo assigned a print resolution of 100 ppi will be a 30 inch by 20 inch print. 3000 px / 100 ppi = 30" and 2000 px / 100 ppi = 20"
A 3000 x 2000 pixel photo assigned a print resolution of 400 ppi will be a 10 inch by 6.67 inch print. 3000 px / 300 ppi = 10" and 2000 px / 300 ppi = 6.666"....

Here is the math equation:
pixels / pixels-per-inch (ppi) = inches (if you remember from school the pixel units cancel and only inches are left for the result.)

From that simple equation and using some basic algebra we can determine that:
pixels / inches = ppi
inches x ppi = pixels

So you can use those 3 basic math equations to determine several things.
If you know what size print you want and know the pixel dimensions of the photo you can determine the ppi.
You have a Nikon D5100 that makes photo that have pixel dimensions of 4928 x 3264 pixels and you want an 8 x 12 print.
pixels / inches = ppi .... So 4928 px / 12" = 410.67 ppi and 3264 px / 8" = 408 ppi
400 ppi is more print resolution than the human eye can detect so the 8x12 will have more than enough resolution.