How large can I go? First time making big prints...

[Gina Franco]

Hi jks!


Now my ignorance will really show: it looks like the default output resolution on my DPP is set to 350DPI. Should I change that to 300?


And here's the part that really confuses me: I do always shoot in RAW. But when I convert to jpeg, I don't generally resize because I don't usually print anything. I just convert to jpeg with default settings and load the images to Flickr for my own enjoyment. So: the resize option at default settings currently says the image is converted at 4272 x 2848 in pixel units, or 12.206 x 8.137 in inches. Do I change that option in inches--that is, from 12.206 x 8.137 to 24 x 36?


Sorry to be slow about these things. And thank you so much for this advise!


Gina

[Gina Franco]

SupraSonic: I may look into this. Thank you!

[Gina Franco]

As always, DB, your post is enlightening and extremely helpful (though much is still over my head). I always appreciate your input. Thank you!

[Gina Franco]

cian: I *really* understood what DB meant when you pointed out that individual pixels will be visible at some point. Truth is, I haven't seen too many digital prints. Most of the prints I've made were film, not digital, so I'm starting to get it...


Thank you!

[Gina Franco]

Mark: WOW! That's very cool.

[Dave Johnston]

I have printed 24x36 with my 50D and 20x30 with the XSi you have... both turned out looking great. Hope yours turns out.

[jks_photo]

Hello gIna,


Most photo labs have machines that print at 300dpi. I for one have that. There are a new breed of machines coming out that print at 720dpi and images are really stunning.But for now 300dpi is the norm for most photo labs.


At 350 dpi you just get a file thats just too large for printing purposes. So setting it too 300dpi will help you save space on your hard disk. Second when converted to jpeg at 350dpi your supposedly 8x12 inchsize output as per Canon's DPP will read to something like 9x14 when read by the photo lab's printing machine which runs at a native 300dpi.


Asfor resizing, what I always do isto decide onwhat sizeI want the image to be printed. The I resize accordingly.Like I mentioned before with maintain aspect ratio checked sizes given by DPP won't always be exact to print sizes bu they will be close enough. Then just crop them asyou like them with photoshop or whatever software you use. The benefit of doing this process [ at least for me] is to save on hard disk space. YES , you need to change that option to inches then you need to specify what size you want to output to be.





Hope this helps you.

[Gina Franco]

jks: I'm very grateful for all this help. Thank you so much!! I'll let you know how they turn out, okay? Again, thank you!

[mbaltrusitis]

You would be surprised how big you can get that image with only 12MP. If you do a lot of work. Does the camera have razor sharp focus? Is your post-processing right where it needs to be? With my XS and 50mm f/1.8 I was able to crop an image so I was only using the top right quarter of the image and printed it out to 11x14 and it came out VERY nice. I am very particular and don't waste money on prints but the image was definitely of a very high quality.

[jimgarvie]

Gina,


I have 16X20 prints on the walls in my studio and some were taken with a 40D, a 30D and some go back to my D30 (3.4 mpx). They all look great at normal viewing distances. All were printed at White House Custom Color. I'd suggest you take a couple of your better images and send them to a lab like WHCC and order several different sizes. See what you think about "how big you can go". A lot depends on the amount of detail in the image, the lens you used and the technique you used. I've had some 20X30 images made from my 8 mpx 30D that were lovely.


Give it a try and see what you like,


Jim