I use photoshop but I also use the Digital canon pro software. In this other thread, I was told not to mess with dpi, is this true at all ? If I can do it all in Canon software I would like that. And I could not find the convert to in photoshop, its not under edit.
I asked mpix if I should resize or set the dpi or ppi and received this, seems like a general reply.
File Sizes: There are several approaches you can take when sizing your files for print. One is not necessarily better than another. Much depends on your particular workflow. The approach you take should be the simplest and most effective for your operation. The simplest method is to crop the file for the subject composition and leave the file's resolution unchanged. This method crops your file without changing the resolution of the file, saving you time and preserving the original pixels. This can be done with either the selection tool or the cropping tool. In the case of the cropping tool, enter the width and height dimensions; however, leave the image resolution area blank. This will remove the unwanted pixels from the image without altering the file resolution (dpi). Our printing equipment will resize the files as needed when they are printed.
Like sharpening an image, re-sampling and interpolation is very much dependent upon the particular printer being used and the print size being created. Interpolating an image without knowing the specific characteristics of a printer can be counterproductive. Re-sampling and interpolating images take time, time that is better spent on the creative aspects of your photography. It is not an effective use of your time to resample images to higher resolutions than the original camera files. This interpolation will take place on our end, at a higher quality and much quicker than it will on your end using your computer. This saves you time creating the image files and saves you space and time when saving the images to hard drive and CD.
Please keep in mind that even the highest resolution professional cameras have file sizes that are limited to under 50MB. Interpolating images to resolutions higher than the original camera image is time wasted. Not only is it wasting your valuable time and storage space but also you may actually be compromising the image quality. Think of the camera image as your negative. Would you ever consider cutting or reshaping a negative or slide? The pixels that were captured when the shutter was clicked are the best pixels (image) to print. Each time you interpolate, resample or sharpen you are introducing artifacts into the image. Each of these functions is best left to the printing device itself.
Thank you!
