[F-Stop]

I've been asked to print off six 8x10 photos by a co-worker for her daughter that is moving away and would like several scenic shots of the Province. I have yet to print anything that I've shot in the last 3 weeks so I'm kind of lost as to where to begin. I've read already about the whole PPI vs. DPI but I get mixed answers depending on the site I read.

Here's what I have:

Image size: 2000 x 3008 6.02 MP

I need an 8x10. I am sending the photos either online or bringing them instore to WalMart to print. Do I resize the photo or keep the highest quality image and print the photo as is but select 8x10 format. Seriously, I have no clue what to do. Last time like 4 years ago I brought in an image to print and because the image saved with a 96 DPI res. for monitor viewing it came out very pixelated. I don't have money to waste and I'm rushed for time and need to do this right the first attempt.

My second question is will my photo if scaled down to 10" actual fill out an 8" wide frame or will I be left with a gap on the matting? If so what does everyone else do to work around that issue?


If anyone is interested, here are the Photo's I'm Printing:
Cape Bonavista Shed on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The Gathering on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Trapped on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Wild Strawberry on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Directional on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Portugal Cove Marina on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


Any help is welcome! -Greg

[roscot]

Morning Greg,
If you are taking the files to a Walmart the like, you can just burn them gto a CD or DVD and bring that in. They will crop as necessary to print the size you want. Some companies have kiosks that allow you to specify the crop as you upload the files, but the function is somewhat limited.

What I would do is crop the image with your editor to the size you want at 300 ppi and in sRGB color space. Burn the cropped images to disk and bring that in. This will ensure you get the image the way you want it.

Hope this helps

[jfdavis58]

I've been asked to print off six 8x10 photos by a co-worker for her daughter that is moving away and would like several scenic shots of the Province. I have yet to print anything that I've shot in the last 3 weeks so I'm kind of lost as to where to begin. I've read already about the whole PPI vs. DPI but I get mixed answers depending on the site I read.

Here's what I have:

Image size: 2000 x 3008 6.02 MP

I need an 8x10. I am sending the photos either online or bringing them instore to WalMart to print. Do I resize the photo or keep the highest quality image and print the photo as is but select 8x10 format. Seriously, I have no clue what to do. Last time like 4 years ago I brought in an image to print and because the image saved with a 96 DPI res. for monitor viewing it came out very pixelated. I don't have money to waste and I'm rushed for time and need to do this right the first attempt.

My second question is will my photo if scaled down to 10" actual fill out an 8" wide frame or will I be left with a gap on the matting? If so what does everyone else do to work around that issue?


If anyone is interested, here are the Photo's I'm Printing:
Cape Bonavista Shed on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The Gathering on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Trapped on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Wild Strawberry on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Directional on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Portugal Cove Marina on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


Any help is welcome! -Greg

Start by some careful spotting (YOU HAVE SOME BLACK SPOTS AND SOME SENSOR DUST SPOTS-especially in low gradient mono-color areas, but it's probably evident in all images--try viewing as actual pixels)-this is both a fix suggestion and the starting point where you tell us what photo editor you will be using...

When the image is right in whatever working color space (color/contrast/colorcast and sharpened), save it then convert it to (Mode)8bit-(colorspace)sRGB--you will be outputting a JPEG. If you make either a mode or colorspace change you should carefully check color/tone/cast to insure a match to your desires and taste.

Cropping should be an artistic decision. It cannot be made in a void! You want 8 by 10, borderless(?)--then try for a 4:5 ratio keeping as many original pixels as possible. This can be done much earlier in editing/post processing. Consider saving this intermediate image.

Resizing is an output decision and print output requires a resolution specification for accurate results. You want 300ppi and 2400 by 3000 pixels. Most discount labs (Walmart, Walgreens, Target, Costco, Samsclub) can shrink the file to fit the paper, some cannot stretch it: old-school think says make this a 30 pixel jump: 2430 by 3030 to insure true borderless printing.

If you want a border multiply 300 by the fraction amount of an inch, round to nearest multiple of 30 and subtract twice from both height and width: 1/4 inch times 300 is 75. Make this 60 or 90. Multiply by 2 (top and bottom borders or left and right borders). Subtract from 2400 by 3000 to get 2280 by 2880 (60 pixel border) or 2220 by 2820 (90 pixel border). Don't do the shrink thing (adding 30 pixels)! Specify a border on the order form/in the ordering process.

You could also just leave the file at 2400 by 3000 dimensions and specify a bordered print-they do the shrink think. A risk here is that an artifact may become visible: a jaggy line typically along a roof line or power line or something at a diagonal in the photo with good contrast against it's local background.

Dimensions are fully interchangeable-the lab will rotate as necessary. Check your order before leaving the store! Demand a reprint for anything not correctly rotated-this is automatic!!!!

Check the color/contrast/color cast situation again;
you may need to apply a small amount of sharpening;
save as a high or higher or best JPEG and turn off the JPEG progressive option before hitting OK.

It's a good idea to close all open files (but not the edit application) then open the saved (to-be-printed) JPEGs to make a final check. DON'T RESAVE, just exit the editor if all is well. Burn, transfer, print.

If you are fully color managed, you could softproof. If you are well experienced with the whole printing process and the lab or perhaps have profiled the labs prints (or accessed their profiles for soft-proofing) then you would also specify a 'no auto-correction' print process on the order form (under special instructions).