# How to get best possible image quality for big size prints



## Tom75 (Dec 3, 2013)

Hi all,

I would like to get an image printed in a big size of about 100 x 70 centimeters and wanted to ask what the best way is to do this in oder to get the best output quality.

The original image has a width of 4675 pixels by 3117 pixels
the size is now 49 by 33 centimeters at a resolution of 240ppi

What should I do to get the best possible result at a size of 100 x 70 centimeters?

I don´t want to go down with the resolution very much to get this size but if I would do this with the "Resample image" button off, the resolution will go down to about 118ppi.

Or should I rather have the "Resample image" button on and just increase the size to 100 x 70 centimeters so that the resolution remains 240ppi?

What is the best option for this?


Thanks a lot for the help.

regards,
Tom


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## Leash5 (Dec 3, 2013)

Personally, I would export it as a tiff with no resampling, just leave it at its native size. THEN, open in Photoshop. Use the crop tool and enter 100 X 70 and make sure to put 300dpi in the constraints. The optimum dpi (or ppi) is 300 for a color image. 

Or, if you are printing straight from Lightroom you can use the border controls in the printing module to get the size down to what you want, by adding larger borders for an 8x10 piece of paper. Always 300dpi.


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## Tom75 (Dec 3, 2013)

Hi and thanks for the answer.

I have never thought about doing it this way. I have quickly tried it to crop it in PS as you mentioned but I have the feeling that the quality suffers quite much.

What is actually the advantage with resampling the image?

Regards,
tom


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## clee01l (Dec 3, 2013)

Not too long ago I sent a cropped version out for a canvas print at about those same dimensions.  the pixel density was 110ppi and the print was great.   I do not know if the print vendor resized my image or not. bit you might be surprised by the quality.   After all the viewing distance for a 100X70mm print is not going to be the same as something printed on "A4" size paper

If you want excellent upsizing, then Perfect Resize is the tool to use.  There is a 30 day free trial.


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## robosolo (Dec 3, 2013)

Tom75 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I would like to get an image printed in a big size of about 100 x 70 centimeters and wanted to ask what the best way is to do this in oder to get the best output quality.
> 
> ...



If you want to get the best results use OnOne Perfect Resize. The company claims that it can resize up to 10X, but that requires a long processing time. I've tried it up to 4X and the resulting enlarged image was superior to anything I could get using Photoshop or Lightroom alone. You can clearly see the differences in edge smoothness and sharpness by zooming in. It will work as a stand-alone or a PS Plugin.
I suggest that you download a free 30-day trial and see for yourself.
robosolo


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## Bryan Conner (Dec 4, 2013)

robosolo said:


> If you want to get the best results use OnOne Perfect Resize. The company claims that it can resize up to 10X, but that requires a long processing time. I've tried it up to 4X and the resulting enlarged image was superior to anything I could get using Photoshop or Lightroom alone. You can clearly see the differences in edge smoothness and sharpness by zooming in. It will work as a stand-alone or a PS Plugin.
> I suggest that you download a free 30-day trial and see for yourself.
> robosolo



Perfect Resize is definitely the best solution in my opinion.


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## Tom75 (Dec 4, 2013)

Thanks a lot for the help everybody, sounds great.

I will definitely try the perfect resize, would be interesting to know how the software is able to do this? Also great that it can be used as a PS plugin.

Regards,
Tom


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## Tom75 (Dec 4, 2013)

Have just one more question regarding using the perfect resize tool.

Should I do the resizing with perfect resize on the final edited image or do I need to optimize / finilize the image after the resizing process?

Thanks and regards,
Tom


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## clee01l (Dec 4, 2013)

Tom75 said:


> Have just one more question regarding using the perfect resize tool.
> 
> Should I do the resizing with perfect resize on the final edited image or do I need to optimize / finilize the image after the resizing process?
> 
> ...


Perfect resize works as an Edit-In Preset in LR. So, it will do it's magic on a TIFF created from your finished LR image. Since the TIFF will be cataloged by LR you can do additional LR adjustments if necessary, but it is best if you do all of your LR adjustments up front. 

As for how it works,  OnOne bought a company whose app was called Genuine Fractals. The app works on fractal math algorithms to turn fewer pixels into more pixels.


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## Leash5 (Dec 4, 2013)

Tom75 said:


> Hi and thanks for the answer.
> 
> I have never thought about doing it this way. I have quickly tried it to crop it in PS as you mentioned but I have the feeling that the quality suffers quite much.
> 
> ...



Hmmm... rethinking your question, 1cm = 47 pixels. Was your original only 4675 by 3117 at 72dpi? If that's the case, you can't crop it in Photoshop using 300dpi in the crop tool to get the size you need, as you will be making it larger, and not smaller, and the image will definitely suffer. To be properly resized at 70 x 100 it's going to end up at about 100 dpi, which is quite low resolution. I do printing professionally for a living and the optimum is always 300dpi (rounded up from 266, long story). That said, I print magazines, which are viewed at close distance. If it's hanging on a wall you can get away with lower res, I suppose. Upsizing with Perfect Resize might be OK in this instance.


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## Tom75 (Dec 4, 2013)

Leash5 said:


> Hmmm... rethinking your question, 1cm = 47 pixels. Was your original only 4675 by 3117 at 72dpi? If that's the case, you can't crop it in Photoshop using 300dpi in the crop tool to get the size you need, as you will be making it larger, and not smaller, and the image will definitely suffer. To be properly resized at 70 x 100 it's going to end up at about 100 dpi, which is quite low resolution. I do printing professionally for a living and the optimum is always 300dpi (rounded up from 266, long story). That said, I print magazines, which are viewed at close distance. If it's hanging on a wall you can get away with lower res, I suppose. Upsizing with Perfect Resize might be OK in this instance.



Thanks Leash, yes the question was about upscaling  to about double the size therefore I was sceptic to this cropping approach.

Regards,
Tom


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## Tom75 (Dec 4, 2013)

clee01l said:


> Perfect resize works as an Edit-In Preset in LR. So, it will do it's magic on a TIFF created from your finished LR image. Since the TIFF will be cataloged by LR you can do additional LR adjustments if necessary, but it is best if you do all of your LR adjustments up front.
> 
> As for how it works,  OnOne bought a company whose app was called Genuine Fractals. The app works on fractal math algorithms to turn fewer pixels into more pixels.




Thanks a lot for the information Clee, this sounds all very nice also with respect to my workflow. I will download Perfect resize this evening and try it, I guess once it is installed it will just appear in LR under the edit in menu?

Thanks and Regards,
Tom


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## robosolo (Dec 4, 2013)

Tom75 said:


> Thanks a lot for the information Clee, this sounds all very nice also with respect to my workflow. I will download Perfect resize this evening and try it, I guess once it is installed it will just appear in LR under the edit in menu?
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> Tom


It should appear in the LR under File > Plug-in Extras or if you right-click an image, it appears as a secondary editing program. If this does not occur then go to Edit > Preferences > External Editing and check to see if its been added.
soloryb


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## Tom75 (Dec 4, 2013)

Thanks very much for the tip about Perfect resize, this tool is really amazing, the result is great.

this I will definitely buy when the trial has run out. 

Also the effects tool that is included in great.

Regards,
tom


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