Sharpening / printing

Do you sharpen your photos for web use, or for printing? If so, is this something you do for every photo?
What is your workflow / method of sharpening for this?
I want to print, however, for my web use, I never really sharpen (maybe add a tad bit in raw processing, however, that doesn't do much good).
One of the few photos I ever sharpened (smart sharpen I believe) is this one
http://brianstar.smugm​ug.com …5912/1/12829631​2/Original
I feel it got messed up. Maybe I didn't sharpen well, but the car trails edges seem messed up along with a lot of signs and stuff (maybe I oversharpened?)
I probably need a tutortial to follow, but I am just curious if this is considered a must for serious printing.

I sharpen to what's pleasing for the web, but I oversharpen for prints 11x14 and smaller. I can only go up to 13" wide and I don't do 13x19" prints. My next size up is 20x30" so I let a lab handle that.

Whatever size I'm printing, I crop it to 240PPI and the dimensions so I can sharpen more "accurately." I can't really comment on your sharpening since I don't know what the ultimate size will be or who will print it. I only know what works for me and my Epson, to my tastes.

It does seem, in general terms, over-oversharpened to me though.

cdifoto wrote in post #3027200
I sharpen to what's pleasing for the web, but I oversharpen for prints 11x14 and smaller. I can only go up to 13" wide and I don't do 13x19" prints. My next size up is 20x30" so I let a lab handle that.

Whatever size I'm printing, I crop it to 240PPI and the dimensions so I can sharpen more "accurately." I can't really comment on your sharpening since I don't know what the ultimate size will be or who will print it. I only know what works for me and my Epson, to my tastes.

It does seem, in general terms, over-oversharpened to me though.

I am guessing a few (I am not sure what photos yet, I may create a thread asking for some comments on what people think will look good posted) will be general size (8x12,8x10,10x10 depending on ratio) and a few will be 12x18,10x14,etcetc.

Don't forget the "Sticky"s at the top of the index to the threads for a lot of good info. If we didn't think they would help, we wouldn't have put them there?

Here is a link to my web output work flow. Print is the same, except for the resize and the final round of sharpening: http://www.photocamel.​com …-part-ii-lots-images.html

jfrancho wrote in post #3028491
Here is a link to my web output work flow. Print is the same, except for the resize and the final round of sharpening: http://www.photocamel.​com …-part-ii-lots-images.html

Thanks.
Photosguy, I think I read that before. I'm looking for specific opinions on printing. I'll re-visit the sticky later though when I get a chance (I'm at school now.)

For printing, I resize to 300 ppi, and use the TLR output script for 300ppi, but change the opacity to 45% from 65% on the high pass layers.

Not really an answer to your question but I just wanted to mention the local contrast enhancement technique that is on luminous landscape using the unsharp mask. In unsharp mask try 10-25% amount, 50 pixels, with 0 for threshold. I really like what this does for most pictures, especially those posted on the web.

cdifoto wrote in post #3027200
Whatever size I'm printing, I crop it to 240PPI and the dimensions so I can sharpen more "accurately." I can't really comment on your sharpening since I don't know what the ultimate size will be or who will print it. I only know what works for me and my Epson, to my tastes.

I sharpen using Smart Sharpen/Gaussian/100%/​1 pixel/More Accurate and believe that this generally gives an improved result especially for 6x4 and 7x5 prints. If a print appears oversharpened (occasional) I will reduce the percentage or change the number of pixels. However, I normally have all my shots at 300ppi. What's the technical reason for making yours 240 ppi - why does this make the sharpening more accurate?

I use a Canon iP4300 with QImage or online printing via Snapfish. Would I benefit from using a ppi of 240 or is it just an Epson thing?

Thanks

Pugwash wrote in post #3030287
I sharpen using Smart Sharpen/Gaussian/100%/​1 pixel/More Accurate and believe that this generally gives an improved result especially for 6x4 and 7x5 prints. If a print appears oversharpened (occasional) I will reduce the percentage or change the number of pixels. However, I normally have all my shots at 300ppi. What's the technical reason for making yours 240 ppi - why does this make the sharpening more accurate?

I use a Canon iP4300 with QImage or online printing via Snapfish. Would I benefit from using a ppi of 240 or is it just an Epson thing?

Thanks

Is there any specific guide for sharpening for print? I am pretty damn confused, there are all these confusing sharpening ways. Something simple that gets the job done w/o too much work from me trying to figure out if I sharpened it correctly would be nice.

The problem is that "correctly" sharpening an image for print is a really subjective thing. Its hard to know how much is enough, but luckily too much is pretty easy to spot in a print.

jfrancho wrote in post #3031519
The problem is that "correctly" sharpening an image for print is a really subjective thing. Its hard to know how much is enough, but luckily too much is pretty easy to spot in a print.

That's the problem. If you look in my first post, I got some soft text sharp, however, other things got oversharpened and look awkward.
I am pretty bad with sharpening, but if I want to print anything 12x18 or 20x30 or whatever, it seems like I'll need to add some.
I'm not even sure what method to use. Smart sharpen and USM are simple (however I screw em up.) There is some high pass filter method or something, but I am pretty newbish with photoshop and not sure how to do that.
Plus, how much is too much for a print? Should it look oversharpened on your screen like the one in my first post?

I use the TLR scripts, and reduce the opacity by about 20-30% on the highpass layers made by the output script. There is also a informative PDF on the site that describes sharpening in detail.

jfrancho wrote in post #3032174
I use the TLR scripts, and reduce the opacity by about 20-30% on the highpass layers made by the output script. There is also a informative PDF on the site that describes sharpening in detail.

Which site? I assume on this "site" I'll also find the TLR scripts?
Thanks!

The link is in the work flow I posted above: http://www.photocamel.​com …-part-ii-lots-images.html