Sharpening for print

[transcend]

I plan on printing a few shots at 4x6 this week (freebies from shutterfly) and am wondering how much I should oversharpen pics from my 10d before sending them off to print? Should i be sharpening more so then i just would for online viewing at the same size?

I have never really printed anything seriously before and would like these to come out nicely
thanks

[malum]

The rule of thumb that I use is to view it at 25% in PS and then sharpen to suit your taste.
This may appear over shappened at 100% but should be good for printing.

As they are only 4x6 why don't you order multiple copies at different sharpening to see which you like best.

[Scottes]

From a recent discussion:

As a rule of thumb, zoom the image to 25% and sharpen. When it looks good on screen it will look good on print.

This is just a rule of thumb, though.



The "Tip of the Week" on my site last week discusses using Print Size for judging sharpness on the monitor for an image intended for print.

http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/DigitalDarkroom/TipOfTheWeek/2004NOV29/2004NOV29.htm

A couple of weeks earlier, I discussed why you need to dial back the zoom magnification during sharpening.

http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/DigitalDarkroom/TipOfTheWeek/2004NOV01/2004NOV01.htm

Both include some sample images.

[malum]

I have a feeling that's where my rule of thumb came from :lol

Sorry for not quoting source but I can never remember where I read these things :D

[Scottes]

Sorry for not quoting source but I can never remember where I read these things

Personally I'm never worried about getting credit - hell, I didn't think of everything on my own! Passing info on is a good thing. Experimenting and passing *that* info on is even better.

[transcend]

From a recent discussion:

Great tips there, thanks. I alsways sharpen at 25% and then zoom in anyways, but i wondered if there was some special oversharpening i should be doing for print.

thanks for the help guys