#12x18 size photo how to

Otherwise the only dimensions changed are merely tags, not pixels. When resizing, you MUST check the 'Resample' box. Unfortunately the net result is confusing consumers. Funny enough but RA-4 and Inkjet based labs are kind of divided like the Hatfields and McCoys with each lab thinking the other guy's technology printer is junk. This should be on their main site for instructions. They are primarly used at lower volume / fine art type shops and sometimes they require you to rescale to nothing less than 240dpi ahead of time. Big reason these printers are so popular is they upscale anything to their native 300-400 dpi to huge dimensions and it holds up well.

They'll punt them back and tell me to let their printer do the upscale.Īgain, most commercial labs are using RA-4 digital printers for volume enlargements, and the front end RIP on a Lambda or LightJet or Frontier will do a much better job than having photoshop rescale. Commercial labs I get murals done at won't even accept upscaled files. By checking the resample box and increasing print dimensions Photoshop is now interpolating and adding information in a way that's rarely as good as the lab printer can. I was going by memory but Ed is correct - it's the resample option (should be unchecked) after resize. You don't want the resample box checked when you upsize the print unless the lab has instructions to do this. So, after all is said and done, does it sound like when I print the 12X18 sections from each of the 24X36 and 30X45 images, that I will have the same degree of detail as if I printed the whole 24X36 and 30X45 print looking at the same area? I didn't select or specify the 300 ppi, it just came out that way. The resulting cropped sections, from each larger print, measured 12X18 at 300 ppi.

#12x18 size photo how to

I had to use the arrow keys to position it because I don't know yet how to just grab the selection and move it around. Then I positioned the Marquee over the area I wanted to analyze on each print. I didn't see that I could select the Marquee size, I just set the top left corner and moved the opposite corner until the Width and Height measurements were 12X18. Then, I did in fact use the Marquee tool with rulers to make a crop of 12X18 inches on each of the larger image files. I resized one to 24X36, maintaining 300 ppi and the 'Resample' box was CHECKED. Just got home and checked what steps I took and the results of each step.įirst, I took my native RAW file and resized it using the image size window options. The print will ALWAYS have the same dot metrics, regardless of the size or resolution of the image being printed. The Crop tool is not appropriate for this operation, since you can choose the shape but not the numerical size nor resolution.ĭone in the manner I suggest, the sample print will have the same characteristics as a piece cut out of a print made at the intended final size.Īn inkjet printer will ALWAYS resample or remap an image to fit it's basic format, such as 1440x1440 dpi. You can also change the Canvas Size on the larger print and crop it accordingly, but you have fewer options how and where that crop occurs. That way you can sample several areas of the large print, each one smaller than the maximum size of your test print. What you paste will be in a new layer, which you can keep or flatten as you wish.Įach time you paste a new clip in that window, it will go into a new layer, so you can slide and rearrange the clips (e.g., after increasing the Canvas Size). Create a new file, which will open a dialogue at the same size as the clipboard, then paste in the new window. That places the selection into Clipboard memory. At the top of the screen, you can set the dimensions of this box in inches (among other things), position the marquis on the print, and click and copy (ctl-C). In order to extract a smaller image for a test print, you should use the Rectangle Marquis Tool in the toolbox. In the Resize dialogue box there are boxes where you enter the desired size in your choice of units, including 'inches,' and a box to enter the desired resolution, and a check box titled, 'Resample.' Once the numbers are entered, you should CHECK the Resample box. Resize is a major menu item in Photoshop. I disagree, because I think you have confused 'resize' with 'resample'. They should also have no problem with a 30-45' file from a 24mb capture provided it's sharp and artifact free. The lab should be doing this, especially if it's a Lambda / LightJet RA4 type printer, which is the most common type for online enlargements. If 'Resize' is left checked Photoshop will just rescale to whatever size you indicated at the default dpi (usually 300) and you will get a 30x45 at 300 dpi with massive amounts of fake information (interpolated) added.