JPEG Vs. TIFF Quality for Zenfolio?

[Richard Lane]

Hi Everyone,


I was wondering if anyone knows the best quality to post pictures on Zenfolio.com for large prints. I shoot in RAW with a 7D and a 1D MKIV.


I would like to offer high resolution images for small and/or large poster prints, or for high resolution downloads. However, when I upload the photos from aperture to Zenfolio, the default setting was 72dpi and 2MB. So, I changed it to the highest quality (12) with the slider scale and changed the dpi from 72dpi to 300dpi. So, now the files are about 10-15MB. I just picked 300dpi arbitrarily as I saw someone else using that figure on the zenfolio forum. Sometimes my images are cropped mildly.


Does this sound good enough for a poster print size of 24 inches x 36 inches?


I doubt a lot of people would buy this size, but as I build this website I would like to offer the highest quality, without over doing it.


I will say that even with the 300dpi 10MB setting the pictures don't look as good as they do on my monitor. I heard that Zenfolio reduces the "viewing image quality" in order to expedite viewing so that the user doesn't have to wait too long for the image to load.


TIFF Files are also available but then the upload time is very slow. But I will do it if it is better! I usually shoot about 1500 pictures for a 3 hour sporting event and out of those, I would probably like to upload approx. 500-1000 images. I have the unlimited storage account, so space shouldn't be a problem.


Should I just use TIFF and then I will also have high quality backups for an "extra" backup set?


If I use TIFF, should I use 8bit or 16bit?





Thanks for your help,


Rich

[neuroanatomist]

I would definitely say no to 16-bit TIFF files - outside of photographer-land, most image viewing software can't handle 16-bit files. Personally, I think high-resolution JPG images would be best for downloads - at the highest quality setting, the relatively lower compression has a miniscule effect on IQ.


Note that almost all print software is agnostic to dpi, the drivers just scale the total resolution to the selected output dimensions. What matters is the total number of pixels. If you are specifying dpi and dimensions, that's different, but otherwise, to a printer driver (including the pro labs), there's no difference between a 350dpi 16x10.7" image and a 72dpi 78x52" image - both of them are the full resolution 5616x3744 pixel image from a 5DII. Specifying a dpiis only really relevant for page layout, where you're fitting an image into a larger context. Having said that, I'm not sure what Zenfolio is using that dpi setting for...

[Richard Lane]

However, when I upload the photos from aperture to Zenfolio, the default setting was 72dpi and 2MB. So, I changed it to the highest quality (12) with the slider scale and changed the dpi from 72dpi to 300dpi. So, now the files are about 10-15MB. I just picked 300dpi arbitrarily as I saw someone else using that figure on the zenfolio forum. Sometimes my images are cropped mildly.


Does this sound good enough for a poster print size of 24 inches x 36 inches?

Thanks John,


Zenfolio offers a free upload app that exports images from Aperture to Zenfolio. I just discovered that this app uses the default export settings that Aperture uses. So, now I changed the pixels as you have suggested in preferences.


Aperture preferences offers exporting by selecting the pulldown choices(in edit mode)of; Pixels x Pixels, or Inches x Inches, then below that there is the DPI box and the default setting is 72dpi.


What do you think a good quality would be for my purposes?


I believe most people would buy the download, however I'm not sure what the customary pixel size is for a large poster print. I could use the 24 inch x 36 inch export, or pixel x pixel width, but I'm still not sure what dpi to use?


I now realize that the resolution quality is the sum of all of these settings, so thanks for clearing that up.


If anyone knows what final export resolution, or pixel width and dpi works well for large prints and downloads I will just try to use that.


Thanks Again,


Rich

[Mark Elberson]

My print lab specifies that images should have 300 DPI. For a 24

[Richard Lane]

Thanks Mark,


That makes sense! Since I

[neuroanatomist]

As Mark states, 300dpi at 24x36" is not realistic. The unreduced output of the 5DII/1DsIII is approximately equal to a 24x36" print at 150dpi.


If you want to deliver the highest resolution possible, just export/upload the full size images. Alternatively, since you crop a bit sometimes, if you want to standardize, select a pixel output that's a little smaller than your most-cropped images, e.g. output everything at 4200x2800 pixels. That's ~12 MP and works out to ~117 dpi when printed at 24x36", and that will more than adequate for that size print at a typical viewing distance.

[Richard Lane]

...output everything at 4200x2800 pixels. That's ~12 MP and works out to ~117 dpi when printed at 24x36", and that will more than adequate for that size print at a typical viewing distance.

Thanks John, I'll try that!

[Mark Elberson]

Zenfolio is partnered with several print shops. Which one(s) did you decide to use for your fulfillment? If you chose MPIX I'd go to the MPIX site and see what their recommended settings are. Again, like John said, many printers ignore the DPI in the file and set it according to their standards. 300 DPI is somewhat of a standard so I'd feel pretty good about choosing that. I would simply upload the full resolution files so that they will achieve the highest quality once they have been up-rezed for poster size prints. I do however think it's a good idea to offer a low-rez file for smart phone, email, social networking, etc. I think Zenfolio will do the heavy lifting for you though. I don't think it's necessary to upload the same file twice in different resolutions. I "believe" that Zenfolio will down-rez your file for digital downloads.

[Richard Lane]

Thanks Mark, your input is greatly appreciated, as is everyones!


I chose MPIX, so that

[HDNitehawk]

I will say that even with the 300dpi 10MB setting the pictures don't look as good as they do on my monitor. I heard that Zenfolio reduces the "viewing image quality" in order to expedite viewing so that the user doesn't have to wait too long for the image to load.

Rich


Thats not good. If your using the site to sell your pics it doesn't make sense to lower the look of the quality ofan image of aproduct, esecialy when the product is the image itself.


Zen's website says they handle files up to 24mb. I would want to see some samples of what they print off. My first thought would have been to download the highest quality I could and let the printer software sort it out. When I am saving files at home I use 350dpi default IQ 10 then print to the pixma pro's 13x19 and always get good results. I would hope the lab's printer is at least as capable of sorting this out as the home printers.


Let us know how this works out, I would be currious how Zen shakes out.


Rick