Resizing for Printing?

[fokker]

Okay so I haven't really printed out that many of my photos (just slackness on my part). I'm going to get a batch printed soon, and was just wondering what the best settings are. For example, printing in 6x4", is it necessary or optimal to resize the original photos (jpg's converted from RAW) or will it not matter?

The way I was thinking about it, if I use 300dpi resolution on the lightroom export settings, then 6x4" would ideally want a size of 1800x1200 pixels - is this reasonable logic? If I do or don't resize will I see any difference in sharpness in the final pics?

 

[oldmacman]

Okay so I haven't really printed out that many of my photos (just slackness on my part). I'm going to get a batch printed soon, and was just wondering what the best settings are. For example, printing in 6x4", is it necessary or optimal to resize the original photos (jpg's converted from RAW) or will it not matter?

The way I was thinking about it, if I use 300dpi resolution on the lightroom export settings, then 6x4" would ideally want a size of 1800x1200 pixels - is this reasonable logic? If I do or don't resize will I see any difference in sharpness in the final pics?

For a 4x6 print, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference from a 6MP and 21MP camera. My Wife shoots with an old Canon 10D and there is no lack in quality compared to my 5D mk II on similar shots. The only thing you have to ensure is that your files are cropped to a 2x3 aspect otherwise the photolab will make the cropping decision for you (usually not to what you would have selected).

 

[Robin Usagani]

I would just leave the dpi empty. Your aspect ratio is already 3:2. I usually just save it to the highest res JPG and print away. If you are trying to print something with different aspect ratio, then I would crop it first or they would automatically crop it from the center (sometimes you want to crop more at the bottom etc.).