Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Leica & Alternative Gear | Join Upload & Sell

  

Archive 2014 · Pixel peeping and print size

  
 
adamfuji
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Pixel peeping and print size


Hi ,

Am I correct in assuming that viewing an image in LR or any other Raw developer at say 50% , gives you an idea of what a printed image would like at approximately 24" x "16 ?

If this is the case , does viewing an image at 100% , gives you an idea of what a printed image may look like at 48" x 30" ?

Thank you.

Adam.



May 07, 2014 at 09:59 AM
Tariq Gibran
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Pixel peeping and print size


There are a lot of variables. Some of the more important ones are monitor pixel pitch/ resolution, interpolation quality, input resolution for print size and, of course, paper type/ printer.

So, the 50% does not apply if, for instance, you are viewing the image on a Retina Macbook Pro screen (or other similar, high density display that is about twice the resolution of traditional screens). On these screens, it's more like 100% view at printed size (and resolution) is a better indication. For larger sizes, you should interpolate the image up first to print size and resolution and then use the 50% or 100% (per above) to soft proof. All of this assumes you would be printing on glossy, luster or a very smooth matte that will show fine detail. Canvas and watercolor paper with a heavy texture will not show as much detail and will not require as much scrutiny. At larger sizes with Epson or Canon Inkjet, I usually judge larger prints at 240ppi at print size on screen using 50% with traditional density screens (iMac 27", NEC 27" and so forth).



May 07, 2014 at 10:26 AM
JonPB
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Pixel peeping and print size


There are a lot of variables here, but with a typical computer monitor at ~120-140 ppi and a typical high resolution print at 250-300 dpi (or about a 15x10" print from 16 megapixels), viewing the file at 50% will get you close to approximating the actual print size. Look up your own monitor's pixel density and compare that to your target print resolution to get an exact figure. Keep in mind that a print will generally have a different gamut, lower contrast at all levels of resolution, higher maximum resolution, and more gradual shading between pixels than a monitor is capable of.

Yes, it does scale linearly, so if 50% resembles a 24x16 then 100% will resemble 48x32.

Hope this helps,
Jon



May 07, 2014 at 10:35 AM
plubbry
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Pixel peeping and print size


It depends on your monitor resolution (pixels/inch), your intended print resolution, and the pixel dimentions of your image.

Many lcd monitors are around 96 pixels/inch. Resonable print resolution would range from 200-300+ pixels/inch. Viewing an image at 1:2 (50%) will give you an estimate on the size/magnification of printing at 192 pixels/inch (2x96). Viewing at 1:3 (33%) gives a good estimate of printing at 288 pixels/inch (3x96).

Divide your image pixel dimention by your intended print resolution and you'll get your print dimention in inches.

For example: a 24MP image at 4000 x 6000 pixels, printed at 192 pixels/inch would be approximately 20.8in x 31.3in in size. Printing at 288 pixels/inch would result in an image size of approx. 13.9in x 20.8in. If you print at 96 pixels/inch which would correspond to 100% view on your monitor then the image would print out at 41.7in x 62.5in.

You could also work backwards. If you want a 32in x 48in print. I would divide my long pixel dimention of 6000 pixels by 48in. This would give me a print resolution of 125 pixels/inch. If my monitor is 96 pixels/inch, I could simulate my desired print size by zooming to 77% (96/125). This isn't easy to do in Lightroom since you'd want to zoom about halfway between 1:1 and 1:2.



May 07, 2014 at 10:46 AM
douglasf13
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Pixel peeping and print size


Agreed with the above. With a "normal" ppi monitor, viewing your X100s files at 50% will be in the same ballpark as printing 11"x15" at 300ppi, and 100% would be in the 20"x 30" range-ish, I believe.


May 07, 2014 at 10:50 AM
Tariq Gibran
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Pixel peeping and print size


Trivial, but most of the common pro/ semi-pro 27" LCD screens are 2560 x1440 and are going to be around 109 pixels per inch. There are lower resolution screens of course but that size and resolution is the most common for Photo editing (Eizo, NEC, iMac, higher end Dell and so forth).


May 07, 2014 at 11:07 AM
Healey
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Pixel peeping and print size


There are two ways to look at the phrase "what a printed image will look like" on a screen.

So there is the size of the image, which is relatively easy math. Look up the resolution of your monitor and the size of your monitor and calculate your monitor ppi and what the ppi of your desired print is. Do the math and you get the percentage.

But the other issue is how effective the sharpening, noise reduction or other effects are. When you print you do not get square pixels, like you will see on your screen. The ink will bleed and spread into the paper on the softer more porous media, so you will not see much crunchiness even if you sharpen to an extreme. For a glossy type paper you will see over sharpening clearly but not in the form of bitmapping as you would see on the screen. So anyway depending on the media the resolution you look at the image with to imagine what the final print will look like will differ. But to keep it simple rule of thumb, when in doubt go to 50%.



May 08, 2014 at 09:34 AM





FM Forums | Leica & Alternative Gear | Join Upload & Sell

    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.