I am trying to get things set up for printing my first image a 16x20 and am looking for some insight on the setting for USM. I currently do all my sharpening for the web with an amount of 150-200%, Radius 0.3, and a threshold of 0 but I assume these setting will not work for prints.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Aaron.
Sharpening for printing is one of the most difficult concepts to visualize because the results you see on screen are not the results you get on the paper. Matte prints require one amount, glossy another. I've found that Pixel Genius' Photokit Sharpener is the best approach. at least for me. It takes the guesswork out of the equation.
I use Nik Sharpener Pro for my output sharpening - can't be happier.
Sorry I can't recommend USM setting since I don't use that at all, but one thing - you will probably need to sharpen till your image looks oversharpened on the screen and it should come out nicely on paper.
The biggest difference using USM is that although the Amount goes down to 75-100 the radius increases from 1(soft) to 4(harder) since you need to effect more pixels for an effect to show up on a print. The threshold works in the opposite direction but works the same on screen and print. I usually start at 4 and work down as I need more sharpness.
A lot depends on the subject. Portraits need to be softer and birds need to be razor sharp.
Scott Kelby recomends:
75/2/3 for portraits
65/4/3 for max sharpness but I find myself increasing to 83/4/2 for bird shots. It's very personal.
Good Luck
