problem printing 20x30

[8ball]

SO i went on to nations photo lab to print tonight a 20x30 picture i had it set up for 20x30 in photoshop with 300 ppi i upload it ti photo lab and it looked like crap


i live chatted the guy asked what original file size i told him 9x6 he says he doesnt think the file i have would work?


what do you think please help!!!!!

 

[JasonLambert]

Just take the photo in it's original size and upload it to NPL. Crop in their program... When you select the 20x30 you will be able to slide the image and zoom.

 

[8ball]

i did that
but it looked like absolute crap when i did that when i zoomed in it was all blocky looking the guy told me to go into photo shop and view at 100% and how it looked at %100 in photoshop is how it would print and and looked like crap as well when i did that

 

[MohaimenK]

can you post it here for us? Lets see

 

[Robin Usagani]

what is the original pixel size?

 

[8ball]

orignal pixle size was 300 and when i changed image size to 20x30 the pioxle size is still 300 ppi

they are on my laptop at home or i would post them here

im really frsutrated with this

 

[MohaimenK]

orignal pixle size was 300 and when i changed image size to 20x30 the pioxle size is still 300 ppi

they are on my laptop at home or i would post them here

im really frsutrated with this

No no, that's not what he asked. Give us the total pixles of the image. Like say I dont know 3220 x 5400? the PPI is different

Basically when you know that dimension and you divide it by PPI then it should be able to give you what the maximum size you can print it at.
Although say a 4000 x 6000 pixels can be printed at 13.33" by 20" but at 100ppi same image can be printed at 32" by 60" but obviously the PPI is less so you'll lose the quality in the latter

 

[8ball]

oh sorry when changed to 20x30 the pixle size changed to 6000x9000

 

[MohaimenK]

oh sorry when changed to 20x30 the pixle size changed to 6000x9000

I see, but your original size was probably much lower right? What camera are you using? See, that's the issue, when you bump up the size to something significantly larger, doing it on your own it will most likely not work. That's why its always better to send the actual image to the printing company and they use their own special software to blow the image out. Right now, you're doing it inhouse so you'll most likely have to re do the whole thing, don't bump the size and let them figure it out.

They assume you've done what they would do. Which is why the picture looks blocky. Let me know if I confused you anywhere LOL

 

[MohaimenK]

Hey I think this will help you:

Enlarge Your Photos Without Sacrificing Quality - PCWorld

The Wrong Way to Enlarge

"You might remember that there's a resizing tool in your photo editing program. In Photoshop Elements, for example, you can choose Image, Resize, Image Size and specify any size, bigger or smaller than the original photo.

Don't try that, though. Photo editing programs are fairly "dumb," and will just tend to duplicate pixels as needed to make the photo as big as you requested. The result is not pretty; your photo will turn into a blocky, pixelated mess.
In general, you should use your photo editor only to resize a photo smaller, never larger."

"Try SmillaEnlarger
What you need to enlarge a photo is a program designed just for the task. There are a number of commercial programs (and plug-in filters for Photoshop) that will do this. In the past, I've told you about Genuine Fractals, for example, and PCWorld reviewed the most recent version. Genuine Fractals uses fractal interpolation--very advanced math--to infer hidden detail when enlarging an image. The result can be Jack Bauer-style image improvements that can dramatically improve the appearance of a print compared to what you'd get with the low-resolution original. The downside? Genuine Fractals is expensive, clocking in at $160"

 

[8ball]

Mohaimenk it was alot lower yes like in the 2000x3000 range and it was shot form a nikon d60 not in RAW i will contact them about sneding them the orignal file and see what they say about blowing it up

will most places take the original and then blow it up correctly?

 

[MohaimenK]

Mohaimenk it was alot lower yes like in the 2000x3000 range and it was shot form a nikon d60 not in RAW i will contact them about sneding them the orignal file and see what they say about blowing it up

will most places take the original and then blow it up correctly?

Hey you were probably typing this the same time I typed my message. Just look at the post right above yours. I think it'll help :thumbup:

And yes that's their job, they do it w/ programs designed for it. So when you give them the original file, make sure you do convert it to 300 dpi TIFF file at 16 bit. They won't take RAW files from you

 

[Robin Usagani]

Your original isnt good enough to print that size. You can use a software to interpolate the pixels (adding pixels that were not there before) but the quality will not be close to be as good as if you had a larger file.

 

[8ball]

so moh is there any other way to do besides spending 160 bucks here is what nations said to me

[Michelle] it will show you in "document size"
[Michelle] in inches
[Corey] yes
[Corey] the doc size is 20x30
[Corey] 300ppi
[Michelle] you should be fine.
[Michelle] If you are unsure about your resolution in any way, you can put a note on the order when you place it with us and we will check it for you. No matter what, if we think you will not be satisfied with your prints, we will notify you and you will not be charged for the order.

DO you trust this?

 

[8ball]

schwetty what do you suggest you think im screwed trying to print this large?