20x16 print from D30?

[wavey davey]

Can i expect to get a good 20 x 16 print from an image taken on a D30. It's going to be a portrait of a retiring headmaster. What are you're suggestions re camera settings and any hints for post processing before it goes to the printers - for wet printing that is - i.e. - will any sharpening be required? Thanks

[Pekka]

For extreme upsizing it's better to not sharpen before resize. I have used http://www.nyphotographics.com/ftppage.htm with very good results.

[gmitchel]

A 16x20 print from a D30 will need help when you upsize, unless you don't mind lots of digital artifacts.

You wind up with 90 dpi in your print unless you do something to increase the resolution.

Fractal Graphics is the best tool to try for upsizing digital images. 16x20 will be a stretch even for FG, though.

The advice about upsizing, then sharpening is dead on. When you upsize, you will lose some sharpness. It has to happen. Programs like FG don't invent data. They just replicate the existing data in sophisticated ways.

Good luck with the picture,

Mitch

[mrchips]

BobbyC wrote:
I got involved in this discussion to try and offer my help to the poster, since Dr. Mitch has decided I'm not of the caliber to make a post here because I can't tell a good print from a bad one or make a good 35mm image, based on his vast experience making and selling prints to clients, I have withdrawn my comments.

There ya go doc, feel good? I hope you don't treat your patients this way.

I apologize to the entire forum and will refrain from offering my advice again.


I think it was Andy Rooney who said "I've met a lot of stupid people who went to college" A college degree means your intellegent not "SMART" Stay and enjoy the forum and your comments are always welcome:-).


Denny

[oops]

Have several folks erased their posts or is somebody playing the "scitzophrenic" approach?

Looks like a pivot man in a Circle J. Contest.:D

I HATE it when I get caught like that!

[Rudi]

LOL! And here I was, keeping quiet, because I thought that *I* was missing something... :D

Poem:

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
I'm a schizophrenic,
and so am I!

:D :D :D

(for the politically correct crowd: this is a JOKE! You do not have to read it!)

[wavey davey]

I don't know...you post a simple question, hoping to get some 'how to go about it' answers, and you end up with a lot of bickering. Can anyone tell me how to improve my image, prior to taking it to the processors for wet printing whereby the final product size is 16x20.

[gmitchel]

If you are determined to upsize D30 images to 16x20, you have to do three things.

One, you have to crop. D30 images have a 2:3 aspect ratio and a 16x20 image has a 4:5 image ratio. (I'd recommend you crop AFTER enlargement if the crop involves any resampling. No point enlarging digital artifacts from resampling.)

Two, you need to resample the image. You can use Fractal graphics. Some people love it. Some don't like the "painted" look it tends to give enlargements. You can use Photoshop's Bicubic Interpolation. It's OK for something like 12x18. Another possiblity is Fred Miranda's Stair Interpolation action for Photoshop. It performs multiple passes of Photoshop's Bicubic Interpolation, the idea being gradual enlargements result in less artifacting. the output from Fred's action is limited to 2:3 ratio, so you would need to shoot for 16x24 and then crop to 16x20 or resample one more time down to 16x20.

Three, you will need to sharpen the image. One of the inherent effects of enlargement is a loss in sharpness.

Good luck, and have fun!

Mitch

[soumya63]

I have done a 20x24 print mosaic and it is almost as sharp as its smaller print. No visible pixelation or other artifacts.

I have used Genuine Fractal for the enlargement. If you are into big size printing, this is probably the most effective low cost solution. By the way, I did not sharpen the enlarged image as it did not lost any visual sharpness.

Genuine Fractal is a Photoshop Plug-in. For enlargement, all you need to do is to save your picture from Photoshop in Genuine Fractal format and then again reopen the saved file in Photoshop. While reopening, Genuine Fractal will prompt you to change the image dimension and dpi setting. Use them to resize you picture. You can also use it for reducing your picture size with minimum degradation in quality.

Soumya (http://gfoto.tripod.com)

[DaveMarks]

16x20's are not a problem with the D30 at all, I do them all the time. Use Fred Miranda's SI photoshop action to upsize the image it will look great.

Convert your RAW file to Tiff and run the action in photoshop use 2x, then size down to 16 inchs. At this point you can crop of the excess area using the photoshop crop tool.

Upload the file to EZ print and get back a beautiful 16x20 in glossy or luster (E) surface.

Here is a link to Fred's site. http://www.fredmiranda.com/
Click on the link to Action, it will tell you everything to do.

Here is the link to EZ Print.
http://ezprints.mye-pix.com/
Set up an account for free, upload from your computer, order the print online from the site. They will mail the print to you. I have order on Monday before and had the print by Friday.

[billfranklin]

Hi,

I keep reading about "fractal graphics". Exactly what is this and where do you find it?

Thanks,

Bill

[Roger_Cavanagh]

billfranklin wrote:
Hi,

I keep reading about "fractal graphics". Exactly what is this and where do you find it?

Thanks,

Bill

Genuine Fractals can be found here http://www.lizardtech.com/solutions/photo/.

It's a Photoshop plug-in that gives a proprietary that (a) saves space and (b) can be used to resize images.

Regards,