print size/quality at big box

i usually use a local (multi-state) department store for printing anything bigger than 4x6, or multiple copies.

i wanted to print an image i had played around with, maxing the vibrance and clarity, to make an artsy looking image. its shown below.

i tried to order (and probably still could have) an 8x12 but the system gave me a warning about it being too small to print well at that size. i WASNT blowing it up to poster size. i didnt do any resizing other than when i exported it from LR. does cropping an image degrade the size that much? it IS a pretty tight crop from original 31.2mb file. this one clocks in at a whopping 1.02mb.

is there some way to keep the resolution up when exporting?

Many/most postprocessing software gives you an ability to Resize a photo...by percentage value, or to a target pixel count

I took a 12MPixel image from a P&S, resized it to provide 250 pixels per inch on a 12" x 60" canvas, or a 3000 x 15000 pixel JPG.

With Lightroom, when you Export a file, you can tell it the final size and the dpi value and it will output the appropriate number of pixels to maintain the dpi value you specified, for the sized print you want.

Many print services simply insist on having a source file which permits a minimum of 300dpi, or 2400 x 3600 pixel minimum for 8" x 12" print, simply because they do not want customers complaining about 'poor quality print' when too small of a pixel count is provided...no other logic than simple arithmetic!

I have printed a portrait in A2 size (420 x 594 mm) from a Canon G1 original file and it came out great. Printer was a Canon large format printer about 20 years ago. It can be done 2022 for sure.

My advice is that you get to print shop and let them resample the image to their printer resolution and required paper size. It should not be your job to do it.

If you need to upsample on you own, see https://shinyprints.co​m …le-your-images-for-print/ for some great tips.

Why not give TOPAZ GIGAPIXEL a try. IMO it does amazingly well and you can try it for free(long enough to enlarge your picture) and if you don't like it then don't buy it.

If you wanted to print an 8x12, the usual guideline is 300dpi for that size of a print.

Therefore if your crop created a image that was less than 2400 x 3600 pixels, the lower it is to these specs, the less the IQ will be on that enlargement. A 5D3 max resolution is 5760 × 3840. I would expect you should have something like a 4M-8M file, a 1Mb file that you now have means you really cropped beyond what would be ok for an 8x12 photo. You can crop off about 30-40% on the long side and still have a decent file left to print.

The way to get around the error/warning of the upload program used by the store is to resample your cropped image to be something close to these dimensions after the crop. LR or whatever will then resample/resize the image up using one of several well known uprezzing algorithms. I would suggest resharpening your image just a bit after this resampling process.

Here is a graphic, if you cropped away more than the yellow box, then yes, your image is going to get flagged, unless you crop, then resample that image back up to at least the size of the yellow box.

Ltdave wrote in post #19333044
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i wanted to print an image i had played around with, maxing the vibrance and clarity, to make an artsy looking image. its shown below.

i tried to order (and probably still could have) an 8x12 but the system gave me a warning about it being too small to print well at that size.

is there some way to keep the resolution up when exporting?

Hosted photo: posted by Ltdave in
./showthread.php?p=193​33044&i=i2059639
forum: RAW, Post Processing & Printing

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I am looking at this on my monitor at 14" by 21", and it looks GREAT!

In this image there isn't any fine detail that matters. . The colors are really great and the edges are crisp, and that's what matters in this type of shot. . I would forget about resolution and override the caution message that you got from the printing service that you are using. . Those caution messages are set by default, and do not take the content of each image into consideration.

Often times, we need to forget about quantifiable specs and if something looks great, just go with it. . If this looks so great on my monitor at a display size of 14" by 21", then it will surely look great as an 8 by 12 inch print.

Heck, if it were mine I would not hesitate to print it on metal at 12 inches by 18 inches ..... or even at 16 inches by 24 inches, if you're able to eliminate the blue fringing on the #20 player's jersey, and the noise grain on his face and the dark part of his jersey.


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I would actually go back to the original image and crop just a bit differently. I shoot hockey, and this crop seems to eliminate some of the other elements that makes hockey shots stand out. I would get more of the net in, and maybe a bit more of the opponent in the background. This will also help your crop factor vs print resolution issue a bit. Just a suggestion though...

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19333359
I would actually go back to the original image and crop just a bit differently. I shoot hockey, and this crop seems to eliminate some of the other elements that makes hockey shots stand out. I would get more of the net in, and maybe a bit more of the opponent in the background. This will also help your crop factor vs print resolution issue a bit. Just a suggestion though...

yeah for the team, i did pull back on it some. if i even gave it to them.

this was just some playing around and decided i liked the graphic look. i thought id print it and pop it in a frame (Hobby Lobby 50% off every day frame) for the goalie. im actually surprised it looks as sharp as it does. im on an extreme angle to the net from this side (i shoot further around the corner going the other way) and i hadnt cleaned the window in a couple of games (and the rink is hosting Silver Stick International Championships 2-3 weekends so LOTs of puck and stick bangs)...

Nice shot. I prefer it with a white balance change bumped temp toward warm and tint toward magenta. As to size, Gigapixel works very well. PM me.

As a former Goalie, I loved the nice tight shots of the goalies and gear during the Playing of the National Anthem during “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcasts back in the 70’s and 80’s.
Still love the tight crop for this image as well. Branding and details of stick, Blocker (Waffle Board for old timers) Catch Glove and Mask with eyes.