 Joan Warburton |
Resizing Photos Is it possible to resize a digital photo by simply increasing dpi? I realize you would have to unlock the original size by unchecking things like "maintain original size" or "lock original size". Is it better to increase the size in inches? Will the dpi automatically increase? Jpg comes out of my Nikon D70 roughly 3,000 x 2,000, 300 dpi. This file size is not big enough for large size prints according to many printers. Are there any formulas or rules of thumb for upsizing? Thanks in advance for your help.
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Joan Warburton |
I'm sorry, I should have mentioned that I have Photo Shop and Paint Shop Pro. I'm more proficient in PSP. Also, I realize there's distortion in some instances, and that's not an issue. Thanks again.
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anonymous |
If you increase the size of a photo, the dpi will decrease. You can't add more dots per inch if they weren't there in the first place. I have heard of something like next to neighbour and increasing in increments of 10% at a time (which I have done), but still, at the end of the day, you can't create something that wasn't there in the first place. But if you simply increase the size of a photo, the dpi will go down, you should be able to go down to 200dpi with not too much problems to create a larger print.
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- Carolyn M. Fletcher  Contact Carolyn M. Fletcher Carolyn M. Fletcher's Gallery |
I'm having a discussion off site on this subject with a bunch of people. Both Sony and Canon tell us that ALL digital shots come off the camera at 72 dpi. So will someone please explain to me in plain english, if that's true, how do you get them up to say 300 dpi for a print to be published if you can't just change it in PS?? I'm getting a whole lot of different answers from everyone and I don't know what to believe. Could we get somebody who is positive of the answer to weigh in on this? There must be something in the PS manual I'd assume. I don't have one.
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Tammy L. Odell |
Yes, it is true that MOST digital cameras have a default setting of 72 dpi. The canon rebel has 180, why I am not sure. But it is no big deal to change it...or so I have read. From my understanding the dpi is just for printing purposes, so you can change it, you know that it is possible. Why would canon create a camera with a 72 dpi if it could not be changed after the fact?? That would be insane, no one would want it if you couldn't change it. I am almost 100 percent sure that you just go into your image size and type in the resoultion, say 300, and UNCHECK the resample image box and that chages the dpi(or is it ppi) for you. Save it as normal and when you open it back up, you'll see your new resoultion in the image size box. Now if I am wrong, I would love to be corrected, but I am alomost positive of this. I have the Photoshop Book for digital photographers and Scott Kelby says this is how to do it.
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Joan Warburton |
Thanks so much for your interest. When I download my photos from the D70, they come up as 300 dpi in any program that I put them in. The problem is that I've been advised several times that if you want good prints you have to be at a minimum of 400 dpi, even for small prints. Also, if I change the size of an image does it stay at 300dpi or does it decrease as I increase the size? Is there a way to keep it the same? Tammy I've had several printers advise me not to change dpi in Photo Shop and not to believe everything I read. They say it doesn't work and the large prints come out terrible. I'm sooo confused. I've looked over the net for articles and info but can't find anything. Thanks again. joan
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Tammy L. Odell |
Well, if you can't change it in Photoshop, where would you change it? It isn't something that I can change on my 20d. I'm sorry, but I have to believe that it is changeable in Photoshop. The people at Canon aren't dummies. THere has to be a way to change it w/o losing image quality. Plus I have had 11x14's printed and they are beautiful. Those have been changed from 72 dpi to higher in PHotoshop. Maybe someone who knows will chime in....
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Michelle Ross |
I size my images to an 8 x 12 with a 250 DPI resolution . . .this is what the lab I work with recommends. . . I think anything over 300 is overkill(or at least I"ve been told). My files come out of my camera in a 72 dpi. Before I understood all this DPI mumbo jumbo(well I still dont' understand it all) I printed who knows how many prints at 72 dpi and they looked just fine. .. in fact when I print from my card to my printer on occasion it's 72 dpi and the 4 x 6 size come out just great! So I'm thinking whoever told 400 dpi even for small prints is not understanding things . . . when you download your photos from your camera do they go through a resizing program?? If so this might explain why they are at 300 dpi if you have the setting indicated at that!
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Tammy L. Odell |
I did the same exact thing Michelle! I printed 100's of photos, mostly 4x6's, at 72 dpi. And they still came out beautiful!! I just recently learned that I should make them at a higher resouluion. So now I try to remember to resize them, if I forget I don't worry too much about it, unless I am making an enlargement!
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Peter K. Burian |
Joan: An interesting discussion. I have a few comments to add. Using Photoshop or Elements 2 or 3. When you select SIZE or RESIZE, a dialog box opens with various options. 1) If you select RESAMPLE IMAGE (put check mark in the box) the software *will* change the image file size if you change the dpi setting. 2) If you do *not* select RESAMPLE, the image file size will not change. Only the dimensions change. See below. Example: Let's say you have a JPEG that is 35 inches x 26 inches at 72 dpi. (File size is 14 megabytes.) A) Do *not* select Resample. Then, change the dpi to 300. The dimensions of the image will change to 8.5x6.4 inches. But the file size will be the same as before. You could now make an 8.5x6.4 inch print at 300dpi, a high resolution setting great with any photo printer. Note: If you decide to select 240dpi, also fine with most photo printers, you could make an 8x10.7 inch print. So far, you have not changed the image file size. B) If you *do* select Resample, the file size will change. e.g. Using the same example file, let's say you decide you want to make an 10.5 x 14 inch print, using 300dpi. Make the pertinent changes after checking RESAMPLE. You'll see that Photoshop will now increase file size to 38MB ... using Bicubic Resampling. Conclusion: It's not ideal to make massive increases in file size. Quality will really suffer.
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- Carolyn M. Fletcher Contact Carolyn M. Fletcher Carolyn M. Fletcher's Gallery |
Thanks so much for clearing this up for us!! We all are eternally grateful!! I mean it!!
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Joan Warburton |
Thank you so much, Peter. I printed out your response and intend to copy it for both printers who told me minimum 400dpi. My feeling is that they've had problems with digital photos and what they've really experienced is problems with people who haven't resized properly. Thanks again.
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Peter K. Burian |
Joan: Please print this note too: Inkjet photo printers are optimized for using files at 300dpi or at 400dpi, depending on the brand and model. But extensive testing shows that prints made from an image at 240dpi are gorgeous. (Assuming a high quality image file of course.)You would need a magnifying glass to see any difference. Use the 240dpi rule of thumb and I doubt you will ever be disappointed. Regards, Peter Burian
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Michelle Ross |
Okay since we are on this sizing thing. I was approached about possibly doing a poster size print for my son's basketball coach. He asked me how large I can print ... if I KNOW I want to print a 20 x 30, how should I proceed after taking the photo when it comes out of the camera at 72 dpi and is around 28 x 42. I use PSE 3.0 for my post- processing work! I want it to be as clear as possible and have never had the guts to print a huge enlargement.
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Peter K. Burian |
Michelle: Well, there simply not enough pixels in that image file for a really clear 20x30 inch print. But if you want to try ... In RESIZE, select Resample. Set the dimensions to 20x30 inches or as close as is possible. Make sure that CONSTRAIN PROPORTIONS is checked. Set the dpi to 125. Finish the re-sizing. SAVE AS TIFF. You now have a file that someone can use to make a huge print, but it's at 125 dpi, which is very low. You don't want to go much higher in dpi, because the image file size will be MASSIVE. An excessive amount of file size increase really degrades image quality. Check the image file now, at 100-oercent magnification on your monitor. If it looks like mush, it will not make a clear 20x30" print. If it looks fine, it might, but remember: The 125 dpi setting is very low. The bottom line is that you really should be shooting with an 8 megapixel (or preferably higher) camera if you plan to make huge prints. Your camera is optimal for an 8.5x11" print or maybe a bit larger. Hope that helps. Regards, Peter Burian http://www.betterphoto.com/photocourses/PBN01.php
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Michelle Ross |
Thanks for the info Peter. I get so confused. I have printed to 11x14 with no problem but have never gone any larger that that ... and I don't "offer/advertise" prints larger than that. I just bought this camera, so an 8mp is out of the question ... LOL ... I have very few customers who ever get over an 8 x 10 though ... This was just a question this coach asked me so I thought I'd research and see. ... I guess I'm still confused as to why more dpi in larger images degrades the images. It's just a brain thing on my part. LOL
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Joan Warburton |
Peter, I can't thank you enough. This site is wonderful and I'm so happy to get such clear, concise information. Thank you. Michelle, I've printed out 16x20, and it was beautiful. I'm using Nikon D70 6 mp. From what I'm gathering, though, Paint Shop Pro is resizing my images because they're all listed at 300 dpi when I open them up in that program.
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Peter K. Burian |
Michelle: Yes, it is a confusing topic. I hate to tell you how long it took before I finally fully understood it. Joan: The Nikon D70 produces larger files and images of superlative quality. A compact digital camera (with a much smaller sensor, etc.) cannot match that level of quality.
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Peter K. Burian |
My friend asked me a few more questions on the same topic, and I provided the following answer. No different than what I have been saying but expressed slightly differently. <<
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Michelle Ross |
Thanks again Peter. My Minolta isn't a compact camera though ... not sure if you realized that or not. It's a Digital SLR. what I thought would be comparable to the Nikon D70, if that makes things any better. It is still only 6 mp, though.
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Peter K. Burian |
Michelle: I don't recall your mentioning which camera you used. If it's the Maxxum 7D, you can make larger prints. I have made 13x19" prints from images made with the 7D and they are beautiful. (I always shot with the largest and finest JPEG option.) In SIZE or RESIZE, select Resample. Set the dimensions to 20x30 inches or as close as is possible. Make sure that CONSTRAIN PROPORTIONS is checked. ** Set the dpi to 200 ** Finish the re-sizing. SAVE AS TIFF. For Sharpening for such a large print, try this. FILTER ... UNSHARP MASK. Set 200, 0.9 and 1 in the three boxes. You now have a file that someone can use to make a huge print, but it's at 200 dpi which is a bit low. You don't want to go much higher in dpi, because the image file size will be MASSIVE. An excessive amount of file size increase really degrades image quality. Check the image file now, at 100% magnification on your monitor. If it looks like mush, it will not make a clear 20x30" print. If it looks fine, it might be ok. Peter Burian
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Michelle Ross |
Thanks Peter! So you have the Maxxum 7D? Now that I think about it I think you emailed me right after I had gotten mine and I posted a few images from it. . . I will try what you suggested. . . thanks again for all your help with this! I'm not sure my brain will ever absorb it all :-) Okay I just tried your suggestions . . . and then when I view the image at Actual pixels(which says 100% at the top of my screen) it looks pretty clear to me . . definitely not mush. . . BUT I did this on a single person . . . if I do this for a group I don't know if I can work with that or not . . . I'll go play with that some more using the team pictures I took as guinea pigs!
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Peter K. Burian |
Michelle: I own the 16 megapixel EOS 1DsMk II but have used the 7D extensively when writing the Magic Lantern Guide to the Maxxum 7D. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1579906958/qid=1124975379/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-9591969-4598202?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Yes, you are viewing at 100% and that should give you a good indication of the image quality. It's not easy to predict how good a print will look, however. Peter
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Kevin Mull |
Can ayone answer me this... (Using PSP8) If my high res photo (2048x 1024) has a 72 dpi and I go straight to print or 'print layout' view and resize to 6 x 4" (there is nowhere to adjust or see dpi at these stages) Basically as my camera defaults to 72dpi and there is nowhere in camera to change it, I don't want to have to change it in the 'Resize' options in PSP8 everytime I want to print it. Many Thanks
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Kevin Mull |
OK, since posting I've finally got this DPI confusion nailed, with help from Peter B's posts and other articles. Tammy, the reason your '100s of 6x4 photos at 72 dpi came out beautiful' is because they were NOT printed at 72 dpi (that would mean a pixel res of 430 x 230 apprx!!). More like around 200dpi, it depends on the original res you took them at. PEOPLE, you've got to stop obsessing over DPI, it doesn't matter if your camera is set to 72, 96 or 300, it's only a VARIABLE. Stick with say the 'ideal 300' and don't print out any higher what is calculated, print lower size by all means the printer will only print what pixels your photo has, it's as 'simple' as that
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Aaron Reyes |
I was thinking the same thing... it's relative to what size you print. At 72dpi I can print an 8MP picture at 48in x 32in, at 300dpi it prints 11.52in. x 7.68in. That's at 100%. if I make an image 300dpi and print the picture at about 19in x 13in it will just drop the dpi relative to the size, so it'll be about 177dpi. Since the image isn't being resampled, nothing really changes. And resampling to make it actually larger can only go so far before it looks like crap because you can only work with what you get from the camera. Try photomerging a few pictures together and then you'll have the actual pixels to make extremely large and stunning photos. or get a better camera. (if only we could afford it right?)
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Peter K. Burian |
Some additional Step by Step instructions if using Photoshop or Elements. This is in response to someone who asked for more specifics: "Resizing for a 10 X 8 print (jpg photo from Canon 10D camera) using Epson 2200 printer. I have both Elements 2 and 3." My reply: 1. In the Menu at the top of the Elements screen, choose IMAGE ... then RESIZE. Make sure that Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are checked (when the box opens). 2. Set the Width and/or Height for the image. It won't be exactly 8x10" so you may have to do a bit of cropping first. a) If you must do cropping, Close the resize box. Find the CROP tool (resembles a #). Click on that. b) Now, small boxes appear at the top of the screen, with a blank space for WIDTH and for HEIGHT. Type in 8 in and 10 in. (or 8.5 in and 11 in if you plan to make an 8.5x11 borderless print) c) Now, use the CROP tool to crop the image. It will be restricted so you can only crop for an 8x10" print. Play around until you are happy with the crop. If not happy, EDIT ... UNDO or STEP BACKWARD will eliminate any cropping. 3. Once cropping is ok, delete the 8 and 10 in that you had entered in the boxes at the top of the screen. (That reverts your CROP operation to normal for the future.) 4.After cropping, select RESIZE again. The size should be 8x10 inches because that was the cropping you did. Make sure that Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are checked (when the box opens). 5. Set Resolution to 300. Click OK 6. Save the file at this point, as a TIFF. FILE ... SAVE AS and select TIFF from the dropdown Format menu. Do not close the file. 7. To sharpen, try this. FILTER ... SHARPEN .... choose UNSHARP MASK 8. Set 150, 1 and 1 for an outdoor photo (For portraits, try 150, 1 and 4 to avoid excessive sharpness.) Click on OK. 9. Now, resave the sharpened image with a new name, such as Manhattan_Sharpened.tif You should now be able to make an excellent print. My Reply: For re-sizing, the process is the same, but instead of setting 300 for resolution, set 72 in the resize box. Play around with the size a bit. For e-mail enclosures, a 4x6" image at 72dpi is usually plenty. Make sure that Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are checked. For sharpening, the process is the same, but try these settings instead: 100, 0.4 and 1. (For portraits, try 100, 0.4 and 4 to avoid excessive sharpness.) Click OK and Save As JPEG with a new file name, such as Manhattan_Downsized.jpg --------------------------------------- I hope this is helpful. Peter Burian, Instructor, Digital Photography
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- Carolyn M. Fletcher Contact Carolyn M. Fletcher Carolyn M. Fletcher's Gallery |
Is anyone else having a problem printing this thread out? My printer cuts off the right side of the page so part of the dialog is missing. Any suggestions?
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Peter K. Burian |
Carolyn: If you cut and paste, it works well. For anyone not certain how to do so: Left click your mouse and hold it down. Run it over all of the pages. Then right click on the area that was higlighted. Select Copy. Open a new page in WORD or other software. Right click the mouse and select Paste. You should then be able to print from that, without any problem. Peter Burian, Instructor, Digital Photography
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Michelle Andersson |
Anyone know if you end up with a better quality print if you crop the .NEF file or if batch converting to Tiff and then dealing with cropping gives one the same result as cropping the orginal .NEF file?
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Chris London |
Not to beat this horse much further, but if you *really* need to increase the print size of your photos and keep the quality, I recommend the "Scott Kelby" method. In his "Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers", Scott recommends that if you need to increase the size of a print to do it incrementally, no more than 10% at a time. To do this: I have used this technique to increase 6MP images from my Canon 10D and it has produced sharp, poster-sized images. Obviously, the higher quality the original, the better the outcome, but it is cheaper than buying a lot of much more expensive equipment and I'll bet nobody you show can tell the difference. Happy shooting! Chris London
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Peter K. Burian |
Chris: Bicubic Smoother is great for major increases in image file size -- but only for those with a version of Photoshop that includes that option. But yes, increasing file size only 10% at a time, and repeating that, can also be useful. Peter Burian
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Joan Warburton |
What a wealth of wonderful information! Thank you so much for your time!!! joan
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- Carolyn M. Fletcher Contact Carolyn M. Fletcher Carolyn M. Fletcher's Gallery |
That worked just fine, and thanks again!
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