Printing 4x6 and 8x10 what dpi 100,200,300

[shortie]

Hi All

I have some shots I need to print out for the family nothing major but the family want some prints at both 4x6 and 8x10

The problem I have is that I need to crop them right down to get rid of all the bits I don't want e.g. other people and distactions

The question is with the following sizes in pixels will they print OK at 4x6 and do I have any chance of printing them a 8x10

100dpi - 400x600
200dpi - 800x 1200
300 dpi - 1200x1800

I guess the answer would be no chance except for 300 dpi but just want to see if any one has tried this

Cheers

Shortie

[Jesper]

Usually, with smaller prints, you want a higher resolution, because you will look at the smaller prints from a closer distance than with larger prints. At 300 pixels per inch (1200 x 1800 pixels for a 4x6 print), your prints will be very good, but I think that even at 200 pixels per inch your prints will still look quite good. However, what you find good enough, is something you can only answer for yourself. Why not try printing some images at different resolutions and see what you consider acceptable?

[shortie]

thanks for that

I will give it a try so will send some off today and see what they are like

Is there a standard which any ones know of in the printing of pics and dpi

or it it all subjective from the end users point of view either you like them or you don't :( :( :(

Shortie

[shortie]

should have added - thanks for such a rapid response

[Scottes]

Is there a standard which any ones know of in the printing of pics and dpi

or it it all subjective from the end users point of view either you like them or you don't

There's no standard, but more a rule of thumb as Jesper said. Alas, that rule of thumb isn't very accurate. Something like a 4x6 will be held fairly close, like 6 or 8 inches, so a high PPI like 300 is great. (There's not much sense going higher than 300 DPI by the way.)

As the viewing distance increases, the DPI can drop. Something that will be viewed from 6 or 8 feet away could easily drop down to 180 DPI or even lower. At a distance of 6 feet you can't even tell the difference between 180 DPI and 300 DPI.

A billboard - which is always quite distant - is generally printed at 25 DPI.


I would say that the absolute minimum setting for a 4x6 or 5x7 would be 240 DPI. For an 8x10 I'd say 200 DPI. For larger, 180 DPI. These numbers are expecting that people will be slightly further away as size increases.

But it also depends on the image subject. A finely-detailed image - like an animal with distinct fur - may not have enough detail at 180 DPI since some of the hairs may be only one or two pixels wide. But a landscape without high detail - like a mountain reflecting in a lake - would be very good at 150 DPI.


Printing 4 or 5 images at varying DPI is a good test for 30 cents a piece. That will give you an excellent idea of what you think is acceptable.

[shortie]

I have sent the shots off so will try and report back when they arrive

Shortie

[robertwgross]

Shortie, it is for reasons like this that many of us have our own inkjet printers at our own computers. You can fool with your image file and print out anything quickly without having to deal with sending files out to be printed by a commercial printer.

In some cases, the commercial printer will beat the cost of your own inkjet prints. However, at least to me, time is money. Normally, I have my own 5x8 prints done within a few hours of shooting them.

---Bob Gross---