Good resolution for printing 5x7s

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Chip Payet
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p.1 #1 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

We're wanting to upload a bunch of pictures (about 110) from our recent Alaskan honeymoon, and a bunch more from other events in past years, to an online printing service so we can get 4x6s and 5x7s printed for photos albums.

I shoot in RAW, process in CS3 in ProPhotoRGB, 16-bit TIFFs and save them that way, so they're big files and would take an eternity to upload.

At what resolution should I compress them to JPEGs (I use Lightroom 2) to upload and have printed for excellent results but without taking hours and hours to upload?

Or is it better to keep full-res JPEGs and just let them upload overnight?

Aug 24, 2008 at 12:47 AM

Peano
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p.1 #2 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

You should check with whatever print lab you're going to use. Most prefer resolution between 250 and 300 ppi. You should also note what format and color profile they accept. Not many are likely to take ProPhoto RGB

Aug 24, 2008 at 01:31 AM

Chip Payet
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p.1 #3 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

Hmmmmm, maybe I should rephrase (sorry, I did a bad job of expressing what I want):

What pixel dimensions/file size are required (at a minimum) for nice-looking 4x6s or 5x7s?

For example, if the original is 3612 x 2512, how far down can I downsize it and still get an attractive print?

Aug 24, 2008 at 01:41 AM

colinm
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p.1 #4 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

7 inches * 300 ppi = 2100 pixels in the long dimension. That would be your safe lowest number unless you know lower will work with the service you're using.

As for the JPEG, level 10 (if you're saving using Photoshop) will create relatively small files while retaining an excellent level of detail. Lightroom's disappeared from this computer, and I can't recall which JPEG quality numbering system it uses. If it's the 0-100% scale, somewhere around 90% should work.

Edited on Aug 24, 2008 at 02:35 AM

Aug 24, 2008 at 02:34 AM

Peano
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p.1 #5 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

Chip Payet wrote:
Hmmmmm, maybe I should rephrase (sorry, I did a bad job of expressing what I want):

What pixel dimensions/file size are required (at a minimum) for nice-looking 4x6s or 5x7s?

For example, if the original is 3612 x 2512, how far down can I downsize it and still get an attractive print?

Resolution is measured in ppi -- pixels per inch. If your image is 7 inches on the long side and your print lab asks for 300 ppi, then 7 x 300 = 2100 pixels on the long side.

If you set 3612 pixels to print 7 inches, that would give you a resolution of 3612 divided by 7 = 516 ppi. That's too much resolution for most print labs.

Edited on Aug 24, 2008 at 03:20 AM

Aug 24, 2008 at 03:19 AM

Chip Payet
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p.1 #6 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

Thank you, that definitely clarified things for me.

Aug 24, 2008 at 03:32 AM

vidoprof
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p.1 #7 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

There was a really great article written about Gary Land ( I am pretty sure) where he says that he can't tell the difference between 150 dpi and 300dpi on prints even as large as 8x10. Scott Kelby has it on his site and here is the link.

http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2007/archives/767

The original article is here
http://www.digitalphotopro.com/art/in-the-right-place.html

p.s. Let me know if this is not allowed. i will remove the link.

p.p.s. I print at 150 dpi now cause of this (my file sizes are way smaller) and i don't see a loss in quality up to 5x7. 8x10 I make them 200 dpi just in case

Ryan

Aug 25, 2008 at 09:27 AM

tomm101
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p.1 #8 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

All depends on what your printer wants. 300ppi is a safe bet, some printer software does better resizing than others, if you are not sure resize. Personally I print my own 4x6 and 5x7s and I use 600ppi for my Canon printer. This way I am closer to the native file size from my camera. I can see a slight difference between 600 and 300ppi, wouldn't be noticeable to a person just viewing the prints.
I also find my Canon printer software doesn't handle resizing well so most of what I feed it is 300ppi (except for smaller prints as mentioned).
Call the folks handling your printing they will tell you where they want the files.

Tom

Aug 25, 2008 at 05:01 PM

Alan321
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p.1 #9 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

150 ppi is generally too low. You'll get away with it quite nicely for simple photos but when it comes to showing lots of fine detail you need more than 150ppi unless your printer/paper/ink combination is substandard or your eyesight is substandard or you are viewing the prints from greater than normal distances (about 10 inches from a small print is "normal").

Plenty of people can see the difference between 150ppi and 300ppi when fine details are involved. That might be why the equivalent of 200ppi is commonly used for magazines.

- Alan

Aug 25, 2008 at 06:57 PM

vidoprof
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p.1 #10 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

Well if Gary Land AND Scott Kelby have trouble seeing the difference I find it tough to swallow that you can see much difference... maybe you can..

I can't see the difference at all.

Ryan

Aug 26, 2008 at 04:48 AM

RDKirk
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p.1 #11 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

Well if Gary Land AND Scott Kelby have trouble seeing the difference I find it tough to swallow that you can see much difference... maybe you can..

Depends on the subject. On some subjects, the difference will show up in blurred or clumped small details. It would not show up, for instance, in a headshot portrait. It would show up in a full length portrait blown up enough to give you a 3-inch headsize--where 300ppi would distinguish eyelashes, 150ppi would not.

Aug 27, 2008 at 12:39 AM

jchin
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p.1 #12 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

Doesn't this also depend on the printer used? If you use an online printing service, they use something totally different. I've printed (dotPhoto and winkFlash) 4x6s, 5x7s, and 8x10s with only about 1500 pixels on the long edge; they all came out fine (for my eyes anyway).

Aug 27, 2008 at 01:15 AM

jonk
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p.1 #13 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

Magazines use approx 200ppi because it is equivalent to just over 1.5X 133LPI(the highest any press printer can print, yes that's even coffee table type books) Depending on the printer there's an error rate, in most cases 1.5

I have a very hard time that anyone can see any difference between 180ppi and 300ppi, at least not with the quality of today's printers, but maybe I am blind?

Aug 27, 2008 at 09:19 AM

figmented
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p.1 #14 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

jonk, you are misinformed about the 133lpi, i work at a printing shop and we use 300lpi waterless printers.

also, for inkjet printers, epson for example - prints at 5640 dpi, thats 18 ink dots per pixel at 300ppi. Dont you think it'd beable to print better if there were more pixels for more accurate ink dots?

Also, our digital press is 1200dpi, and prints 1200ppi photos great.

<3 canon 7000vp

-btw, its better to let a RIP (used in printshops) resize your files rather then photoshop, because that's part of their sole duty, and what they were made to do.

Edited on Aug 27, 2008 at 08:58 PM

Aug 27, 2008 at 08:15 PM

Peter Le
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p.1 #15 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

If ou print at home your printer is going to up or down res. your picture to it`s native res no matter what you send it. But I wouldn`t send it 150 if you expect a print with fine detail........Epson prints at 360

Aug 28, 2008 at 12:44 AM

jonk
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p.1 #16 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

I am pretty sure I am not misinformed.

Seth Resnick, digital and photographer extraordinaire is pretty knowledgeable in this field.

Any printers that claim to be anything more than 133Lpi are basing those numbers on software interpolation, the physical printer itself and it's native printing resolution is no more than 133lpi.

He is highly regarded up there with the likes of Thomas Knoll, Bruce Fraser and amongst others when it comes to digital photography from capture to output.

Aug 28, 2008 at 01:55 AM

figmented
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p.1 #17 · Good resolution for printing 5x7s

I'm pretty familiar with imagesetters (press plate makers) - they expose film with a laser at 4800dpi, we regularly output at 300lpi (though I agree 120, 133 and 200 are used more with older equipment) the enemy with printing presses is dot gain, and that has to do with the substrate you are printing on, (gloss paper can hold an ink dot better then matte, it spreads) so that is where you get the lower lpi, because of ink spreading on lower end paper.

Also, most printers are switching over to stochastic dot patterns (similar to inkjet) instead of rossetes like normal CMYK process. which can yield even higher quality prints.

85 lpi is standard newspaper print, 200-300 for magazines

and then there is photo prints, where i dont know specifics, but i know its not normal dot patterns, and seems to 'run' together so you cant see dots even with a loupe (dye sublimation and/or heat)

Aug 28, 2008 at 06:12 AM


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