Getting Bad 6x4s Returned

Sorry if this has been covered before, I searched and came up with nothing.

I am having a problem getting good 6x4 @ 300dpi back from labs. What I do with my snapshots is:

1) Shoot RAWs with my 20d (3:2 aspect ratio)
2) Adjust with ACR no cropping.
3) Then I select those RAWs in Bridge, go to Tools>Photoshop>Image Processor
4) Select max resolution 1800x18000
5) Hit run, and theoretically get back JPEGS at either 1800X1200 pixels or 1200X1800, depending on the orientation.

First of all, I am always one pixel off, meaning my final jpgs are always 1800X1201, or something like that. Is that a rounding error?

Worst of all, I seem to always get a number of prints back from MPIX or WHCC that are not cropped properly. Heads cut off etc. Not all of them, just some of them. Any idea what's going on here? Is my technique correct? I guess I should double check the JPGS on my computer and check against the RAWs...

That is the lab, not you.

I always put a white border on mine to allow for the random crop. The border I use is 3/8" on a 4x6 and what I get back usually has less than 1/16" of border left.

Rad

The "one pixel off" issue doesn't have anything to do with the lab, but I have had this happen using the Image Processor script. It has prompted me to create my own action to resize images. As far as images being cropped at the lab, like Radtech says, there is always a slight bit of cropping to accommodate paper drift. Mpix.com claims in their FAQ that the drift is merely 1/8" and that images are increased in size by 1.5-1.7%. I don't think that is enough to lose a head in a picture. Most online print services have a crop preview. I'd make extra sure that there isn't something weird going on here. You can also contact your service to find out what's up - it may be an issue on their end.

Is bridge using bicubic smoother or bicubic sharper interpolation to downsize? Make sure its hte sharper. Smoother is for upscaling.

Hello,

I would recommend that you just shoot a bit looser by zooming out or stepping back a bit. Even if the lab does produce prints for you that exactly match what you see on the screen, you'll loose part of your subject if it's right on the border once someone puts the print in a frame.

If you ever decide to make an 8x10 print of one of your images, you'll be glad for the extra space around the subject as well to accomodate the tighter crop that this aspect ratio change will require.

Hope this helps.

I am not sure. I am not even sure where to find this setting in Bridge. Perhaps under preferences?

I guess, I really should frame a little looser. I seem to like to frame real close, but it comes back to bite me.

I guess I can always crop on the computer. Thanks for everything folks. This forum is the greatest. People always respond quickly, and I have learned so much from everyone since I joined almost a year ago.

...any hints on automating the addition of such a white border to my 6x4s?

The Image Processor script uses the "Fit Image" action that ships with CS2. It does not specify any interpolation method. This is why I created my own action for this type of work.

Here is the relevent snippet:

// use the fit image automation plug-in to do this work for me
function FitImage( inWidth, inHeight ) {
    if ( inWidth == undefined || inHeight == undefined ) {
        alert( strWidthAndHeight );
        return;
    }
    var desc = new ActionDescriptor();
    var unitPixels = charIDToTypeID( '#Pxl' );
    desc.putUnitDouble( charIDToTypeID( 'Wdth' ), unitPixels, inWidth );
    desc.putUnitDouble( charIDToTypeID( 'Hght' ), unitPixels, inHeight );
    var runtimeEventID = stringIDToTypeID( "3caa3434-cb67-11d1-bc43-0060b0a13dc4" );    
    executeAction( runtimeEventID, desc, DialogModes.NO );

// use the fit image automation plug-in to do this work for me
function FitImage( inWidth, inHeight ) {
    if ( inWidth == undefined || inHeight == undefined ) {
        alert( strWidthAndHeight );
        return;
    }
    var desc = new ActionDescriptor();
    var unitPixels = charIDToTypeID( '#Pxl' );
    desc.putUnitDouble( charIDToTypeID( 'Wdth' ), unitPixels, inWidth );
    desc.putUnitDouble( charIDToTypeID( 'Hght' ), unitPixels, inHeight );
    var runtimeEventID = stringIDToTypeID( "3caa3434-cb67-11d1-bc43-0060b0a13dc4" );    
    executeAction( runtimeEventID, desc, DialogModes.NO );

Jfrancho: I assume this code creates 6x4s? Can you explain a little more? Also, can anyone point me in the right direction as far as automating a white border around 6x4s? Thanks.

In order to get what I feel is the ultimate in quality I edit each image manually in PS. I will resize, curves, sharpen, etc. Yep, this is alot of work when I am ordering a great deal of prints but well worth it in the end.

It could be that you might just have to change labs. I went through about 5 or 6 before I settled on the one that I am using now.

No, this is the code from the resize part of Image Processor. It just shows that it uses the FitImage action that is built in to PS.

I have this long email from mpix about the crop. It all as to do with aspect ratio.....Email them they will give you the formulas.

Here is the sizes that don't crop from mpix 4x6, 6x9, 8x12, 16x24 and 20x30. They suggested either changing the aspect ratio or adding the border like was mentioned..

Got it. So you created your own action so that you are sure which interpolation method to use. What is the best to use when downsampling from native RAW resolution? Also, do you use two actions--one for landscape and one for portrait, or do you account for different orientations in one action? If so, how?
Lastly, does anyone have a way to automate applying a white border to a batch of files?

Usually Bicubic Sharper for downsampling. Yes, an actio for each orientation. I don't resample any raw images, I save them as .psd. I do all my processessing on the full res file. The processing I do after the resize, is output sharpening, which is usually the high pass method. For applying a white border, you can expand the canvas size, but leave the image centered on it. There's got to be about a dozen ways to do this. Check the photoshop forums, they'll have something.

Yes, yes. I don't use the image processor for my "good shots." I take a lot of snapshots, and for those I still shoot raw, adjust in ACR, do one pass sharpening in ACR, and batch convert to jpg, usually downsampling to 6x4. For my good shots, I do a two pass sharpen, a capture sharpen, using edge masks, and at the end output sharpening. I convert to 16bit TIF and do PP there, crop and output sharpen. I think this is what you mean when you say: