# How do I maintain a resolution of 300 dpi when emailing an image from Lightroom?



## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

Hi

I need to send images at 300 dpi for printing in a magazine. I used to be able to do this from LR 2.7 Each image I sent then was about 7 MB in size. Now a similar image that I email from LR 4 is sent at only about 500 KB at the fullest quality. Please can you help.


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## erro (May 22, 2012)

DPI/PPI as such doesn't affect the file size. What pixel dimensions are the image that you email?


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## Denis de Gannes (May 22, 2012)

When you select an image to e-mail a dialog box appears, in the lower left corner there are choices as to quality. Have you made an appropriate choice.


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

erro said:


> DPI/PPI as such doesn't affect the file size. What pixel dimensions are the image that you email?



Thanks for your response.

In the export dialogue box I applied dimensions in inches - 6 inches wide x 6 inches high.


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## erro (May 22, 2012)

So, 6*6 inches at 300 PPI ought to be 1800*1800 pixels. File size is of course depending on how detailed the photo is (less details equals better compression) but I would guess somewhere around 300 kB up to 1 MB.

What is your actual problem?


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

Thanks for your reply.

I chose the highest one - entitled _"Full size - Original size, very high quality."_


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

Thanks Robert

If 6x6 inches at 300 PPI equals a file size of 300 KB up to 1 MB this is really reassuring. I didn't know this - I thought the file size should have been about 7 MB. (You can tell I'm a beginner!) The reason I thought there was a problem was that if I attach the same image to an email from My Documents/Pictures (before any adjustment in LR) the size is approx 7 MB. That's what worried me! Have I been worrying unnecessarily?


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## erro (May 22, 2012)

Let's start from the beginning.

Your 7 MB file, what are the pixel dimensions in width and height? Is it a JPG or a RAW-file?


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## erro (May 22, 2012)

BrianP said:


> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> I chose the highest one - entitled _"Full size - Original size, very high quality."_



But you also said that you entered 6*6 inches in the export dialog. Do you export or email from LR?


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

The image in My Pictures says that the dimensions are 2784 x 1856. It was taken in RAW.


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

First I emailed the photo from LR to myself (at the highest quality setting) in order to check that things were OK. When I saw the size of the image was only 500 KB I thought something was wrong. So I then looked at my settings in the export dialogue box. These were still 6x6 inches at 300 PPI.


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## erro (May 22, 2012)

BrianP said:


> The image in My Pictures says that the dimensions are 2784 x 1856. It was taken in RAW.



That's a fairly small image, 5 megapixels. What camera do you use?


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## erro (May 22, 2012)

BrianP said:


> First I emailed the photo from LR to myself (at the highest quality setting) in order to check that things were OK. When I saw the size of the image was only 500 KB I thought something was wrong. So I then looked at my settings in the export dialogue box. These were still 6x6 inches at 300 PPI.



But you are talking about two different things here.... emailing has setting presets like "Full size, high quality". Export has settings like 6*& inches. But those are two completely different ways of getting JPG out of LR and has nothing to do with each other. Or? I'm personally still on LR 3.6


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

I use a Canon 5D. (I've just re-checked the image again in my Pictures folder - it's size is 7.57 MB & dimensions 2784 x 1856).


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

I understand what you mean. So long as 6x6 inches at 300 PPI equals about 500 KB (like you said) I'm more than happy. Many thanks for what you have advised. I think I can sleep now without worrying!


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## erro (May 22, 2012)

BrianP said:


> I use a Canon 5D. (I've just re-checked the image again in my Pictures folder - it's size is 7.57 MB & dimensions 2784 x 1856).



Canon 5D is a 12,8 megapixel camera that normally gives photos with 4,368 × 2,912 pixels.


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## Jim Wilde (May 22, 2012)

sRaw?


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

I forgot to say that it's a 5d Mark 11. I'm only reading the dimensions from the Pictures folder so I can't throw any further light on it.


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

Yes - just checked the camera - it's in s Raw 2.


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## erro (May 23, 2012)

BrianP said:


> Yes - just checked the camera - it's in s Raw 2.



So, is that the way you want it?


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## BrianP (May 23, 2012)

erro said:


> So, is that the way you want it?



I'm not so sure now. I only used sRAW2 because the Canon manual says it delivers the most shots out of the RAW alternatives and  prints up to A4 if needed. 

 For the photos I've already taken what I'd really like to know is how do I send images from Lightroom up to a maximum of 2551 pixels across by     3570 vertical (at a resolution of 300 dpi). Does LR's email function allow this or do I have to do something else with the export dialogue box?

 I'd really appreciate your help with this. Many thanks so far.


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## erro (May 23, 2012)

The sRAW photos you've taken so far apparently is only 2784*1856 pixels. If you want those larger they have to be interpolated. LR can do that in the export settings, but interpolating to increase the number of pixels will never give you better quality. I doubt that LR's email option allows enlargment of photos.

If you set your camera to shoot normal RAW photos at 4368*2912 you can downsize them to your desired size.

Note: Your camera take photos with 3:2 (1,5) proportions, but your stated size 3570*2551 is 1,4 so you'll need to crop to 14:10 or similar, then resize.


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## erro (May 23, 2012)

And don't bother with the DPI. It's irrelevant. The important thing is the number of pixels.


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## BrianP (May 23, 2012)

erro said:


> The sRAW photos you've taken so far apparently is only 2784*1856 pixels. If you want those larger they have to be interpolated. LR can do that in the export settings, but interpolating to increase the number of pixels will never give you better quality. I doubt that LR's email option allows enlargment of photos.
> 
> If you set your camera to shoot normal RAW photos at 4368*2912 you can downsize them to your desired size.
> 
> Note: Your camera take photos with 3:2 (1,5) proportions, but your stated size 3570*2551 is 1,4 so you'll need to crop to 14:10 or similar, then resize.



Many thanks Robert. That's really great! I'll give interpolation a miss for my current photos and set my camera to normal RAW from now on. Your advice is much appreciated!

Regards
 Brian


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## gregDT (May 24, 2012)

I'm unleashing the pedant inside here and apologise, but would it not be wise to re title this threat to 300 PPI rather than the current 300 DPI. I believe the question related to pixels per inch which is obviously a very different beast to dots per inch. I'm a bit thick I'll admit but for a little while the threads title suggested one problem but the conversation and good advice related to another, which confused me no end.

Pedant mode off


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## BrianP (May 22, 2012)

Hi

I need to send images at 300 dpi for printing in a magazine. I used to be able to do this from LR 2.7 Each image I sent then was about 7 MB in size. Now a similar image that I email from LR 4 is sent at only about 500 KB at the fullest quality. Please can you help.


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## clee01l (May 25, 2012)

gregDT said:


> I'm unleashing the pedant inside here and apologise, but would it not be wise to re title this threat to 300 PPI rather than the current 300 DPI. I believe the question related to pixels per inch which is obviously a very different beast to dots per inch. I'm a bit thick I'll admit but for a little while the threads title suggested one problem but the conversation and good advice related to another, which confused me no end.
> 
> Pedant mode off


I've mellowed. I try to respond to intent.  Most folks do not understand the concept which is why they have trouble understanding and ask in the first place.
One of the things that makes this forum special is that we are gentle with all comers.  While I am just as pedantic as you it serves no purpose here.  I often ask myself the question:  "How important will this response be in a year from now?"   There are not many things in life that are truly important in the long term. 

Call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)


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## gregDT (May 25, 2012)

I agree but someone searching the forum in the future looking for posts related to pixels density might miss the good advice when they see a reference to dots per inch in the title. This is no criticism of the OP, the question in the body of the post was clear enough. It's a simple error I've made myself many times mixing dpi and ppi as a typo..


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