jpclicks Project 365-2022

terse said:
Have a couple printed for you first, either by a local shop or an online service like Bay Photo, etc. Then you can see whether the printed version does something for you or not. For some people, it doesn't do anything special and is just a less vibrant version of the screen image. For others, a print is something a little different than the screen version and worth having for that reason. (I'm obviously in the latter group.)

If it turns out you do like having prints of your work, the sensible way to go is to try some different print services to find one that suits your work and is consistent. The less-than-sensible way to go is to buy your own printer, paper, and ink and spend part of your life learning how to make it all work (which is what I do because I enjoy the process... when it's not driving me crazy).
Click to expand...
Thanks Ted. Sound advice. Would a photo of about 1-2mb print OK or do you shoot in Raw?
 
jpclicks said:
Thanks Ted. Sound advice. Would a photo of about 1-2mb print OK or do you shoot in Raw?
Click to expand...
Sometimes I shoot raw, sometimes straight JPG, but the raws end up as JPGs anyway for viewing and printing, so it doesn't matter much where it starts. The size of the print you want combined with the size of image in pixels (e.g., 4032 x 3024) are what matters when printing rather than the size in megabytes.

The rule of thumb for good prints is 300 pixels per inch for Canon and most other printers but 360 pixels per inch for Epson printers. So if you want to print an image at 4x6 inches on 5x7 paper (which leaves a 1/2 border all around) on a Canon printer, you'd want an image that was 1200 x 1800 pixels. Or you work the other way around, dividing the pixel size of the image by 300 (or 360 for Epson) to get the length and width you can print.

For some images, you can get away with a lower pixel density, down to 200 pixels per inch maybe, depending on what the image is like. Plus you can resize the image up or down to get the size you need. The upsizing software has gotten much better recently. On an iPad or iPhone, my current favorite is Pixelmator Photo. On computers, there are a bunch of choices, including some single-purpose programs. AI is the frequent buzzword, of course.

If you're sending the image off to a print service, they'll have some info on how it should be prepared (sizes, formats, etc.). If a service doesn't offer that info, you should probably go somewhere else.

To print my own images, I send the files to my desktop computer and print from there because printing from iOS (don't know about Android) is pretty weak. It doesn't give you access to all of a printer's features, and it doesn't give you any color control.

The bedeviling aspect of printing digital images is color control, specifically getting the print to match what you see on your screen. (The match is never perfect because an image on a screen is light projected toward you while a print is light reflected off the particular surface of the paper. Side by side, a screen image will be brighter than a corresponding print unless the screen has been calibrated to account for this.)

The main element in color control is an ICC color profile. Each profile is specific to a particular combination of printer and paper (brand and type). With the proper ICC profile, desktop software like Photoshop and many other programs allow you to "soft proof" your image -- that is, the software will adjust the display of the image to approximate the brightness, color, etc., of the printed image. (A good print service should have ICC profiles you can download for their printer/paper combinations.)

I'm sure by now that 99% of people reading this screed have resolved never to set foot in this swamp. To the remaining 1% who are now champing at the bit... Welcome brothers and sisters!
 
One more thing, while I'm at it:

The most common complaint when people start printing is "My prints come out too dark!" The most common cause is that the monitor is too bright. (See comment above about projected vs reflected light.) The solution is either to learn to adjust the image by trial and error (easier to do if you're printing at home) or to calibrate your monitor to specs that more closely mirror prints. The calibration, though, will likely leave you with a monitor that looks dim for most purposes, so I have two monitor profiles, one to use when printing and one to use the rest of the time. That works out OK for me because I usually do my printing in batches.
 
terse said:
Sometimes I shoot raw, sometimes straight JPG, but the raws end up as JPGs anyway for viewing and printing, so it doesn't matter much where it starts. The size of the print you want combined with the size of image in pixels (e.g., 4032 x 3024) are what matters when printing rather than the size in megabytes.

The rule of thumb for good prints is 300 pixels per inch for Canon and most other printers but 360 pixels per inch for Epson printers. So if you want to print an image at 4x6 inches on 5x7 paper (which leaves a 1/2 border all around) on a Canon printer, you'd want an image that was 1200 x 1800 pixels. Or you work the other way around, dividing the pixel size of the image by 300 (or 360 for Epson) to get the length and width you can print.

For some images, you can get away with a lower pixel density, down to 200 pixels per inch maybe, depending on what the image is like. Plus you can resize the image up or down to get the size you need. The upsizing software has gotten much better recently. On an iPad or iPhone, my current favorite is Pixelmator Photo. On computers, there are a bunch of choices, including some single-purpose programs. AI is the frequent buzzword, of course.

If you're sending the image off to a print service, they'll have some info on how it should be prepared (sizes, formats, etc.). If a service doesn't offer that info, you should probably go somewhere else.

To print my own images, I send the files to my desktop computer and print from there because printing from iOS (don't know about Android) is pretty weak. It doesn't give you access to all of a printer's features, and it doesn't give you any color control.

The bedeviling aspect of printing digital images is color control, specifically getting the print to match what you see on your screen. (The match is never perfect because an image on a screen is light projected toward you while a print is light reflected off the particular surface of the paper. Side by side, a screen image will be brighter than a corresponding print unless the screen has been calibrated to account for this.)

The main element in color control is an ICC color profile. Each profile is specific to a particular combination of printer and paper (brand and type). With the proper ICC profile, desktop software like Photoshop and many other programs allow you to "soft proof" your image -- that is, the software will adjust the display of the image to approximate the brightness, color, etc., of the printed image. (A good print service should have ICC profiles you can download for their printer/paper combinations.)

I'm sure by now that 99% of people reading this screed have resolved never to set foot in this swamp. To the remaining 1% who are now champing at the bit... Welcome brothers and sisters!
Click to expand...
I used to follow all this “rules” before but nowadays I don’t care - I just hit Print at the result gets good enough for my Mum :)
 
terse said:
Sometimes I shoot raw, sometimes straight JPG, but the raws end up as JPGs anyway for viewing and printing, so it doesn't matter much where it starts. The size of the print you want combined with the size of image in pixels (e.g., 4032 x 3024) are what matters when printing rather than the size in megabytes.

The rule of thumb for good prints is 300 pixels per inch for Canon and most other printers but 360 pixels per inch for Epson printers. So if you want to print an image at 4x6 inches on 5x7 paper (which leaves a 1/2 border all around) on a Canon printer, you'd want an image that was 1200 x 1800 pixels. Or you work the other way around, dividing the pixel size of the image by 300 (or 360 for Epson) to get the length and width you can print.

For some images, you can get away with a lower pixel density, down to 200 pixels per inch maybe, depending on what the image is like. Plus you can resize the image up or down to get the size you need. The upsizing software has gotten much better recently. On an iPad or iPhone, my current favorite is Pixelmator Photo. On computers, there are a bunch of choices, including some single-purpose programs. AI is the frequent buzzword, of course.

If you're sending the image off to a print service, they'll have some info on how it should be prepared (sizes, formats, etc.). If a service doesn't offer that info, you should probably go somewhere else.

To print my own images, I send the files to my desktop computer and print from there because printing from iOS (don't know about Android) is pretty weak. It doesn't give you access to all of a printer's features, and it doesn't give you any color control.

The bedeviling aspect of printing digital images is color control, specifically getting the print to match what you see on your screen. (The match is never perfect because an image on a screen is light projected toward you while a print is light reflected off the particular surface of the paper. Side by side, a screen image will be brighter than a corresponding print unless the screen has been calibrated to account for this.)

The main element in color control is an ICC color profile. Each profile is specific to a particular combination of printer and paper (brand and type). With the proper ICC profile, desktop software like Photoshop and many other programs allow you to "soft proof" your image -- that is, the software will adjust the display of the image to approximate the brightness, color, etc., of the printed image. (A good print service should have ICC profiles you can download for their printer/paper combinations.)

I'm sure by now that 99% of people reading this screed have resolved never to set foot in this swamp. To the remaining 1% who are now champing at the bit... Welcome brothers and sisters!
Click to expand...

Ted thank you SO much for this info. It's really "the complete guide to printing your photos". After this effort of yours I promise to at least send one out to be printed. I'll probably stay out of the swamp.
 
jpclicks said:
Ted thank you SO much for this info. It's really "the complete guide to printing your photos". After this effort of yours I promise to at least send one out to be printed. I'll probably stay out of the swamp.
Click to expand...
That's the sane thing to do, and it's what many pros do. If the home printing bug bites you later, you can splash in then. Do try out some different papers to get an idea of what sort of image looks good on what sort of paper. Any decent print service should offer a selection.
 
Party Favors
83/365
A7107EBF-5788-4ED2-BA5A-9126F78109B6.jpeg

No edits. Just a border.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom