Digital Photos and Photo Enlargement - How To Get The Best Results

As I travel around the Web reading various information on the correct methods for enlarging digital photos, I am amazed at the variety of advise that is out there. Although the best methods for digital photo enlargement can greatly depend on the types of software used in processing the original photo and the printer, and printer software, there are a few basics that should be followed no matter what system is used. The main issue with maintaining original image quality when enlarging digital photos is to resample or interpolate the original image only when absolutely necessary. I know that common knowledge says that you need an input file resolution of 300dpi for quality prints, but this is just not necessarily so. When you resample a digital photo to artificially boost file resolution, the image pixels are rebuilt, averaging the image data between pixels to produce the new image file. The resulting image file is degraded in the process. The greater the parameters of the resampling, the greater the degrading of the image. If you are using an image editor program like Photoshop to size your digital photo, first resize the photo to the target print size with the "resample" box unchecked. Using the original image resolution from the camera, this may or may not drop the image dpi below what you may consider sufficient for a good quality print. Depending on your print setup and system, I would try an input ppi of as small as 100. Print one and see what you think. The printer will reprocess the file to the resolution of the printer in most cases. The second basic for quality digital photo enlargements is do not sharpen the image file until after the file has been enlarged to the target print size. Sharpening the file has the same effect on the pixels as resampling, and will cause the image to get an "edgy" or very slightly pixelated look if done before the photo is at the target size. Always use the "unsharp mask" method of sharpening and experiment a bit with settings while watching the actual effect on the photo elements. Oversharpening will also create an "edgy" image. Photo enlargement of digital photos can be a somewhat complicated thing if you are using very advanced softwares and image processing programs. Of couse utilizing these programs will yield results that are unmatched by the average digital imager. You can get very good digital photo enlargements using your image editing software and desktop or medium format printer. Just be careful not to "overproduce" the input file. For complete detailed information on photo enlargement: Photo Enlargement Digital Photo Enlargement If you have any questions concerning this article, please feel free to respond to: PhotoArt Imaging