What is the minimum Res. to print 4R?

defn · 26th September 2003

Pple say 1600x1200... but i print 1280x960 already damn clear leh... can anyone verify?

meng · 26th September 2003

how "...already damn clear.... "?
Standards differ for different eyes, taste and people.

Originally Posted by defn

Pple say 1600x1200... but i print 1280x960 already damn clear leh... can anyone verify?

defn · 26th September 2003

Originally Posted by meng

how "...already damn clear.... "?
Standards differ for different eyes, taste and people.

as in... i can't see any dots? just like a normal camera print lor... cos I used EOS500 to take the same shot also. Just wanna compare for fun

meng · 26th September 2003

"...can't see any dots.." does not necessarily means that it is clear and/or sharp.

Originally Posted by defn

as in... i can't see any dots? just like a normal camera print lor... cos I used EOS500 to take the same shot also. Just wanna compare for fun

Snowcrash · 26th September 2003

Originally Posted by defn

Pple say 1600x1200... but i print 1280x960 already damn clear leh... can anyone verify?

So I think you have answered your own question. To you, 1280x960 is good enough for 4R print. But learn to respect other views even when they need let say 1800x1200 for 4R etc.

defn · 26th September 2003

Originally Posted by meng

"...can't see any dots.." does not necessarily means that it is clear and/or sharp.

hehe but it looks sharp leh... i guess if the naked eye with perfect eyesight(mine

) can't see any dots, then it's ok right?

Azure · 26th September 2003

To each their own. What matters is that you had good clean shots that could go to 4R happily. Good for you. On the other hand, one'd probably find regular snappers (not necessarily CS, please) going to labs with 6Mp shots and still print blurry or bad 4Rs.

Understand also that 1800x1200, the so-called "recommended" resolution is a direct dpi X size (4"x6") definition. If you print on a Noritsu 3K-series d-lab, you do so at 400dpi, that doesn't mean you have to shoot a 2400x1600 reso pic to print.

sadness · 26th September 2003

Originally Posted by defn

hehe but it looks sharp leh... i guess if the naked eye with perfect eyesight(mine ) can't see any dots, then it's ok right?

wat have we got here?

yes mr.perfect eyesight, since ur super eyes can't see any difference, then stick to ur preferred resolution.

as for the rest who might not have perfect eyesight... we might need the extra 'power' to actually help us look at the picture clearer. heh heh

yeah babe yeah!!!

mpenza · 27th September 2003

try getting a larger size pic to print and see if there're any difference. no pixel does not mean it's the highest possible quality. it may be lacking in details.

a 1x1 pic will also print superb on 4R. you won't see any pixels too cos it's just one single block of colour.

6th October 2003

Originally Posted by defn

Pple say 1600x1200... but i print 1280x960 already damn clear leh... can anyone verify?

i used to print lots of photos at 1280x960 because i owned 2 1.3mp digicams, the sony p30 and u10. they were very clear, no doubt about that. however, my gf mistakenly printed some photos shot at 640x480. the result for indoor shots were bad, with those artifacts similar to what u see for heavy jpeg compression. however, it is more difficult to identify the difference for outdoor photos at 640x480 (but i am talking about shooting under the clear skies of japan).
in short, i totally believe that 1280x960 is enough for 4R prints. if you see a difference between 1280x960 and 1600x1200 for 4R, probably its because your camera is not good enough (ccd, jpeg compression, etc).

FLiNcHY · 6th October 2003

I just printed at 3000x2000 and 2400x 1600

not much difference for 4r i must say

Larry · 6th October 2003

Originally Posted by FLiNcHY

I just printed at 3000x2000 and 2400x 1600

not much difference for 4r i must say

erm, that's cos the pixelcount is way too high for 4R prints. the additional image info is discarded. recommended is 1800 x 1200. if you can see any difference, then there's something quite wrong with your photo lab.

FLiNcHY · 6th October 2003

Yeah i realized that. Brought it down to 1800x 1200

I'm printing using my canon i850
very nice prints i must say
but i think a photolab might definately be cheaper

showtime · 6th October 2003

Originally Posted by FLiNcHY

I just printed at 3000x2000 and 2400x 1600

not much difference for 4r i must say

this is because you have most probably exceeded the resolution of the printer.

if printing at 300dpi(fuji frontier 350, a professional printing machine used at fuji digital imaging shops), all you will need for 4r will be 1200 x 1800...
this is arrived at by multiplying the DPI by inch dimension of the print. 4R measures 4 inch by 6 inch... therefore (4 x 300) x (6 x 300) = 1200 x 1800...

just remember this and all will be fine for all you digital photographers out there...

technically, there is no need for a 6 mega pix camera when all we do is view it on the computer, print 4r and stuff like that. the resolution is absolutely necessary if one wants to do large prints... then those calculations as stated above wil come in handy.

cheers

Showtime

yowch · 7th October 2003

Well, a simple test will be to shoot an image at 6MP, then send to the lab 4 versions of the same file, a) 3000x2000, b) 1800x1200, c) 1200x800 and d) 600x400. To be fair, all should be using the same JPeg compression, 90% quality recommended, and only convert to smaller files from the original 3000x2000. I am assuming Fuji lab at 300dpi prints.

You will fine that:
There will not be visible difference between a) and b).
On c), the slanting lines will show jaggies, and details will be blur. And you will want to throw d) away, looking at a) and b).

You can also do the same for a home/ business/photo printer, and you can set the printers' resolutions at 150dpi, 300dpi, 600dpi or 1200dpi (even 2400dpi if you want!). On high quality photo paper, you'll find that 600dpi is the max that you'll be able to tell real difference in quality with lower resolutions.

I used to print 1.2MP on 4R, pretty decent, but once I have seen 1800x1200 on 4R, no more 1.2MP for me

.

Zerstorer · 7th October 2003

Sharpening settings for a image meant to be printed at 300dpi are different from that meant for a 720dpi inkjet.

A higher resolution image might actually end up seemingly less sharp if the sharpening isn't matched to the dpi of the printer.

ST1100 · 7th October 2003

Originally Posted by yowch

You can also do the same for a home/ business/photo printer, and you can set the printers' resolutions at 150dpi, 300dpi, 600dpi or 1200dpi (even 2400dpi if you want!). On high quality photo paper, you'll find that 600dpi is the max that you'll be able to tell real difference in quality with lower resolutions.

Just to clarify, the 2400dpi and 4800dpi figures on your home inkjet are inkjet dots, not pixel dots. Eg, if your inkjet is 4 colours (CMYK) and claim 1200dpi, it means 4 inkjet dots are used to print 1 true coloured dot at 1200/4 = 300dpi.

A 4800dpi on a 6 colour inkjet is 800dpi. However, the unaided human resolves around 250-300dpi max (figure plucked from memory - the actual figure is 1 minute of arc.); any improvement in sharpness (ie 600dpi being sharper than 300dpi) is perceived, not actual. You can tell the diff under a loupe though, provided your paper is able to hold 800dpi and not bleed. And if it could, you're really wasting it on 4R prints.

No offense to original poster, but i think someone should come up with a writeup on this recurrent issue. It keeps coming up now and then.

yowch · 7th October 2003

You are right, give and take different overlaps of the inkjet drops. I was just skipping some details to drive home that the point that, 300dpi on really good printers (Fuji Frontier machines) and 600dpi on inkjets should be about what we can see. Tahnks for the elaboration.

Oh, and paper size plays a deal too! We are not expected to see an 8R print at 5cm from the surface! So for myself, on 8R, I'll settle for 250dpi or even 200dpi.

HelmetBox · 8th October 2003

Originally Posted by defn

Pple say 1600x1200... but i print 1280x960 already damn clear leh... can anyone verify?

Oh damn.... need 1600x1200?

Posted the question some time ago but got no replies, so I went to shrink my photos to 1070x711. This is because I took the dimensions for a 4R picture and then input them in photoshop and got the dimensions in pixel. Damn....... now I feel stupid.

Can I expand them again? Theoratically, quality is lost once I shrink and expand the pic right?

26th September 2003	#1
defn Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 326	What is the minimum Res. to print 4R? Pple say 1600x1200... but i print 1280x960 already damn clear leh... can anyone verify?

26th September 2003	#7
Azure Deregistered Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: ClubSNAP community Posts: 2,783	To each their own. What matters is that you had good clean shots that could go to 4R happily. Good for you. On the other hand, one'd probably find regular snappers (not necessarily CS, please) going to labs with 6Mp shots and still print blurry or bad 4Rs. Understand also that 1800x1200, the so-called "recommended" resolution is a direct dpi X size (4"x6") definition. If you print on a Noritsu 3K-series d-lab, you do so at 400dpi, that doesn't mean you have to shoot a 2400x1600 reso pic to print.

27th September 2003	#9
mpenza Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 13,397	try getting a larger size pic to print and see if there're any difference. no pixel does not mean it's the highest possible quality. it may be lacking in details. a 1x1 pic will also print superb on 4R. you won't see any pixels too cos it's just one single block of colour.

6th October 2003	#11
FLiNcHY Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 621	I just printed at 3000x2000 and 2400x 1600 not much difference for 4r i must say

7th October 2003	#15
yowch Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Singapore, Redhill Posts: 1,063	Well, a simple test will be to shoot an image at 6MP, then send to the lab 4 versions of the same file, a) 3000x2000, b) 1800x1200, c) 1200x800 and d) 600x400. To be fair, all should be using the same JPeg compression, 90% quality recommended, and only convert to smaller files from the original 3000x2000. I am assuming Fuji lab at 300dpi prints. You will fine that: There will not be visible difference between a) and b). On c), the slanting lines will show jaggies, and details will be blur. And you will want to throw d) away, looking at a) and b). You can also do the same for a home/ business/photo printer, and you can set the printers' resolutions at 150dpi, 300dpi, 600dpi or 1200dpi (even 2400dpi if you want!). On high quality photo paper, you'll find that 600dpi is the max that you'll be able to tell real difference in quality with lower resolutions. I used to print 1.2MP on 4R, pretty decent, but once I have seen 1800x1200 on 4R, no more 1.2MP for me .

7th October 2003	#16
Zerstorer Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 3,610	Sharpening settings for a image meant to be printed at 300dpi are different from that meant for a 720dpi inkjet. A higher resolution image might actually end up seemingly less sharp if the sharpening isn't matched to the dpi of the printer.