Board index Equipment Printers large print at kinkos

Printers

large print at kinkos

jim123
 
Posts: 2

large print at kinkos

Post Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:18 pm


Hi

I have pic that I want to get it printed at kinkos in large size.

I am not sure if I need to change the file size for large print and if I need to, then how can I do it to keep image quality same as small image.

I also am thinking about getting new camera for large prints.
Is digital SLR camera capable of doing this or I need some other type of camera?
Which brand/model/lense is better for large prints?

Thanks for your reply
Jim

1designguy
 
Posts: 2515

Re: large print at kinkos

Post Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:49 pm


This all depends on how large you want to print, what processing software you are using, what the distance is for the viewer of the print and what print quality you are chasing.

Lets break it down...

Say that you are chasing a print standard of 300dpi. A 4x6 will have a dimension of 1,200 pixels by 1,800 pixels (just at 2.16 MP). A 5x7 weighs in at 1,500 pixels by 2,100 pixels (3.15 MP but this is a slight crop of the 3:2 ratio so 3.4 MP is needed). An 8x10 is 2,400 x 3,000 (7.2 MP but keep in mind that you have to crop 8.3% off the length to get this so 8.7 MP is needed). If we want to bump that up to a 16x24 print it will have a dimension of 4,800 pixels by 7,200 pixels (just under 35 MP).

It's obvious that many photographers print much bigger than this with cameras in the prosumer range. Heck, I've printed 16x24 from my Canon 1D MarkII (8.2 MP) with success. There is software (and companies that do this) that is made for huge renderings of images (billboards, buses, posters, wall art, etc).

If you do this for a living and deal with the media (print), certain minimum standards are required. If you do this as a hobby, experiment. In dealing with outside print services, make sure you know what their profiles are. Color variations in printing can be all over the board. Know how to set the embedded color profiles that match the printers for the best end result.

I hope this helps a little. I'm guessing a great deal about the specifics of your question.

jim123
 
Posts: 2

Re: large print at kinkos

Post Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:11 am


Hi

thanks for the reply

I noticed my small original image is 800(w) x 532(h) pixesl with 96 dpi. When i enlarged it with software, i got 13184(w) x 8768(h) pixels with 96 dpi. The file size changed from 107kb to 14mb, but dpi remained the same. Also i don't see 300 dpi in this image.

Is my original image need to be 300 dpi to begin with or something is not right during enlargement?

can you please help me understand this?

thanks
jim

1designguy
 
Posts: 2515

Re: large print at kinkos

Post Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:23 pm


The number of pixels is set by the size of the sensor in the camera and the quality setting you select for shooting. My Canon 40D is a 10 megapixel camera (3888 x 2592 pixels, if multiplied together that is 10,077,696 square pixels or 10 megapixels). When I open an original jpg image from the camera in Photoshop and open the image size dialog, it shows a width of 3888 pixels and a height of 2592 pixels as the pixel dimensions. Under the document size, it has a width of 54 inches and a height of 36 inches with a resolution of 72 pixels per an inch.

Now 72 pixels per an inch works well for computer displays. Printing is a whole other beast. Lets say I want to adjust the resolution to a desired 300 pixels per inch (call it dpi if you want) then your document size will change from the whopping 54" x 36" down to a new size of 12.95" x 8.633". You can squeeze more out of it and the 300 dpi is a target. If you start increasing the size of the image too far beyond it's boundaries, the noise and other related issues (pixelation, off focus, etc) begin to show up.

If you are using Photoshop, I encourage you to look at one of your images on screen. When you have it opened it go to View > Actual Pixels and it will show it on your screen full sized at the screen quality setting you have set. It will be larger than your screen. You will have to scroll to see the whole thing. Now that you have it in the actual pixels, press "Control" and "+" ( or just go to View > Zoom In) and it will zoom in. Repeat this a couple of times. You pretty quickly begin to see the image as different colored squares or pixels and no longer recognize the image. This shows the limits pretty well.

Remember, there is software that enlarges images beyond these limits. Some claim they can increase 40x in size. Basically they duplicate the pixels and employ some smoothing techniques. Kinkos may very well be using this software. The thing is that it is beyond your control until you see the print you have to pay for.

Does this help clarify thing a little more?

randolph45
 
Posts: 1

Re: large print at kinkos

Post Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:51 pm


I've been using Costco to print 12x36 inch panorama's in tiff format .Most are around 20 megapixel, shot with a Canon G5 and stitched together. They cost under $6. Other sizes are available.


Board index Equipment Printers large print at kinkos

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests

cron