Do I need to sharpen further my 1800x1200 pic for 4R prints?

[Clockunder]

My resized down and sharpened (thru Unsharp Mask in photoshop) pictures are now 1800x1200 and they look sharp enough on the screen. They are mostly pictures of people (portraits etc.) in wedding ceremony and in a restaurant.

I've only done online photo sharing and through other digital means but never printed out at mini photo lab (like Fujifilm outlets) before. I intend to select about 30 to send to a Fujifilm outlet to print them.

However, I'm wondering whether it's necessary to sharpen them further for 4R prints at those Fujifilm outlets because they don't look as sharp as I would like them to be when I view them at print size (6"x4" @300 pi) in photoshop although they look perfectly fine on Windows screen viewing.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Denosha]

No, you shouldn't over sharpen them even if they don't look that "sharp" on your screen. The problem is that our monitors don't display at 300DPI so it wouldn't be able to show you every pixel when u view it at print size. On the prints however, you should be able to see all the detail, etc. If you over-sharpen now ur prints will turn out worse.

 

[zac08]

Simple thing to do would be to print a set of test prints which are unsharpened (at your current level)... just print 10 pieces first (I guess that's the minimum amount for most labs)

then another 10 which has been sharpened even more.... Compare them and you'd get your answer on which is better. At current pricing, this test should only be about $5 (going at 25cts per piece)

 

[kelccm]

I don't know how true is this, but I was once advised by a photo lab owner on how to get the right sharpness for different print size. One easy way is to zoom out your photo on your computer screen till it is about the same size as the actual print size you want. If it looks sharp enough, then it should be ok when printed out. If you are going for much bigger print size like 8R or bigger, then zoom in on your computer till it is about the same size and adjust your sharpness accordingly.

 

[shocky]

agree with desosa..
however i usually, purposely oversharpen when i print 4R
that is because my pics are 5mp resolution
however ur pics are only ~2MP, be careful not to oversharpen or u might end up with pixelized pics.

 

[Clockunder]

Thanks guys for all the responses.

I know what to do now. I also called the photo lab to check with them.

Apparently, they will sharpen it if necessary and so I should avoid sharpening the pictures too much.