What is the process and Printing

That i would need to go through to achieve the best print.

Here is my question. Maybe im over thinking it.

When i upload a file to an online printing company do i make the file size he size picture i want or do i just leave it the full size out of the camera.

Currently when i take a raw file image out of my camera (Canon XSi 12.2 MP) i would do the conversion using something like ACR for talking purposes, adjust the white balance etc.

Then i would bring it in to photoshop then go to file, automate, fit image then input 1200 x 1200 pixels then say save the file as a .jpg and post them on the net.

If i wanted to print these in 5x6 and 8x10 do i need to do anything else, should i not reduce the image to 1200 x 1200 pixels or keep them at the original 12.2 MP size or crop to fit certain dimensions?

Would the image come out of if i sent a full 12.2 MP file and had it printed to 5x7?

Hope im getting my question across.

Thanks for the help/advice.

There are some folks with more expertise about printing than I. But the first step is cropping the print to the desired shape. 8x10's are different shapes than 5x7. So you need to crop your files to the desired output first.

You need to learn how to "soft proof" an image...reading this should give you some knowledge, https://photography-on-the.net …rch.php?searchi​d=24179881

chauncey wrote in post #11687701
You need to learn how to "soft proof" an image...reading this should give you some knowledge, https://photography-on-the.net …rch.php?searchi​d=24179881

Chauncey,

That link you posted isnt bringing anything up. Could you please repost it?

Thanks

In the blue bar at the top of this page has a "search" function...type in "soft proof".

Mudhog, the first thing to do is to crop to the proportions you want. If you want an 8x10, enter those dimensions into your cropping tools and draw a rectangle that suits your composition. From there, many print shops have decent processes that will resize your image to properly print, although you may want to resize the image and apply sharpening to it first. It depends on your preferences and requirements!

Unless you have a problem with uploading large files (slow up-link) send the printer as many original pixels as is possible. I.e., native image minus those pixels that have to be cropped for matching the paper shape.

So if i wanted a 4x6 and an 8x10 printed of the same image i would need o crop to those two sizes and would essentially upload the two separate filed to the printer. Is this correct.

Yes, otherwise your 8x10 would be shrunken down to fit the paper -- it would not be an 8x10. Think about it -- your picture has an "aspect ratio", meaning relative dimension, of 2:3 (or 1:1.5) so that it would properly print out a 4x6 or an 8x12, but not an 8x10. If you do the math to multiply your dimensions out you can see what sizes you can print without either cropping on the long ends or shrinking on the short ends.

If you're printing a 1200 x 1200 image, thats not the standard dimension of prints, (4x6, 5x7, 8x10). So either you'll have a big border around your images or you are trusting the printing company to crop and make your image fit the size you want.

If you want the printer to do as little to your print and have the optimum resolution, send the proper dimension for the print you want, i.e., for an 8x10 send a 2400 x 3000 px image; for 5x7, send a 1500 x 2100px. Not saying you HAVE to match the sizes, but its best.

(1200px x 1200px is a 4 x 4 image)

EDIT: My post is taking into account a 300 ppi/dpi image. So multiply 300 by the print image you want as the output. 5x7 * 300... 1500px by 2100px

Thanks

Mudhog79 wrote in post #11687620
When i upload a file to an online printing company do i make the file size he size picture i want or do i just leave it the full size out of the camera.

Different vendors have different 'requirements'.

As stated yy several, when the aspect ratio of the print (vs. your file) do not match, if you want full control of the crop location you should crop the file as you want it, rather than leave it to the photo printer to crop how they see fit.

As for size, generally the pixel count does not matter as long as it meets certain minimums. For example, 3888 pixels easily fills 6" or 12" with more than 300 pixels per inch (some printers would call that 300 'dpi' -- to the confusion of the world!) but if you wanted a 24 inch print you would need to send them a file resized to 7200 pixels (not 3888 pixels) in order to meet their minimum pixel density of 300 ppi/dpi.