Help with processing for a large print

I have photo that my sister inlaw want to enlarge. I have the photo in raw format from my 40d. whats the easiest way to determine how large the print could be and in what format?

Atrawick wrote in post #9164456
Whats the easiest way to determine how large the print could be and in what format?

My newspaper printed at 200dpi and many photo printers print at 300dpi. You may want to print somewhere in that range depending on how far away your photo will be viewed.

Calculation is easy.

Max width = [width in pixels] / [dpi]
Max height = [height in pixels] / [dpi]

Max width = 3000 / 300 = 10 inches
Max heigh = 2000 /300 = 6.67 inches

"How large can I print?" boils down to a few factors, such as the original image quality, your desired and maximum print size, your technique in sizing and refining your image, and how you intend your print to be viewed.

For prints up to, say, 12x18 inches, my opinion is that if your original has good crisp and sharp details nothing realy needs to be done aside from some "output sharpening" (depending on the subject, you want to sharpen at a view that approximates your desired print size and make sure things are "crisp") -- modern print drivers can optimize size and resolution quite well.

For, say, a 4x6 or 5x7 shot, sometimes the "shrinking" algorithm can cause things to soften that would be dealt with separately again, processing things for your desired output.

Fo, say, poster-sized or large gallery-sized prints, a lot of people have reported great results by just following the simple methods above, but I always advise that some special care be put into testing and analyzing your images for large sizes by having some "proof" prints of close crops at up to 8x10 inches done by the shops/labs that you want to use to evaluate both good detail, sharpness and overall tones and colors before you shell out big bucks for big prints that might turn into a big disappointment. What you learn from the crop prints is both about the original image, the printing outfit you are using, and what techniques will work best not just for this print but for the future.

This is the pic i want enlarge. I really don't know what size she wants. This is the pic. I resized it to post. This is 25% @ 900x521 @ 240dpi jpg 8bit. Should I go up to 16bit and save in tiff. This pic clears up @ 100%

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I have this question to. How many ppi can you get away with at larger prints, say a 16x20? I know ideally you'd want 300ppi, but a client wants that size and I shoot with a 12 MP camera. I had to enlarge the image, but it still looked pretty good on screen (the image was well exposed, little noise, nice contrast). It got rezed up to an effective 300ppi but it probably is somewhere around 220ppi. Can I get away with that do you think?

kkamin wrote in post #9166224
Can I get away with that do you think?

Have it printed and take a look! It really does depend on the image and what you think looks good. It doesn't cost much for a test print.

I already sent it, I had to meet a deadline. I get it back tomorrow. I was just hoping for some type of blind reassurance. : )

I routinely get excellent results at 16"x24" (and even 20"x30", although I've only printed this size once) with an 8.2 MP camera.

If the image file is "good", large prints are no problem. I just resize (resample) and tweak the output sharpening appropriately and send it to the printer.

Gary

Although your image has apparently been cropped a bit (it has a unique aspect ratio) you may be surprised at how well the full file would print at 20', 24', or even 36' wide.
Maybe even wider.

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