Resizing / Printing Photos

[davidI]

I've just started shooting in Raw format with my 300D and enjoy how easy it is to adjust contrast, white balance etc. The thing I'm still not sure how to do well in Photoshop is resize for printing and for the web. I wanted to print some 8 x 12's at Costco and they allow for a maximum file size of 6mb. Right now I have been using Raw Essentials to do the basic adjustments of my photo, save it as a .tiff into Photoshop, make my other more specific adjustments and then saving as a .jpeg. Is this the best way?

I've also tried scaling some photos down and saving them as smaller .jpegs (~250kb file size) and I notice a substantial decrease in the quality. I'm wondering what some of the photographers on here do (Ben, Graham, Melinda etc.) as far as resizing and saving for the web. Do you initially save as .tiff and then scale down and save as .jpeg or what is your process from Raw -> Web?

Thanks in advance!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by davidI
I'm wondering what some of the photographers on here do (Ben, Graham, Melinda etc.) as far as resizing and saving for the web.

Sorry for not being one of them, but... ;)

For printing at 8X12 (largest I've had done so far), I went to Photo Experts in TD Square. Pricey, but they do a great job. No max filesize, they were totally willing to print my 30MB .psd files if I wanted.

If you really want to use Costco, then your filesize does come into play. To be honest, the 6MB limit is silly. Is that the limit for uploads from the Web, or the limit for files on memory cards that are taken to the store? I'd suspect that if you put the .tiff files on a memory card and take them to the store directly, filesize wouldn't be an issue. Considering you probably want the best quality out of your prints, I'd take the extra time to take the full-quality images to them directly.

Now, when you convert to Jpeg from Raw, the Jpeg file should be much smaller. When I save a full-size Jpeg at Q. level 10 in Photoshop, the file is around 2MB, which is easily under the 6MB limit. I'm not too familiar with .tiff format, but I'm not convinced you'll see a marked improvement on an 8X12 print with a tiff file instead of a jpeg.


As far as saving for the Web goes, I just edit as Jpeg, resize to whatever size (usually 900Xwhatever) and save as a regular Jpeg. (I don't use Save for Web, since that strips EXIF data.) Upload to Photobucket, job done.

[soupey]

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat

...I don't use Save for Web, since that strips EXIF data.) Upload to Photobucket, job done.

EXIF...is that the information about what camera took the picture...etc?..or something else?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Yep, EXIF lists camera model, shutter speed, etc.

If you use Firefox, get a program called Opanda IExif, which allows you to get full EXIF data by right-clicking images.

[davidI]

Thanks for the info Berserker.

I plan on doing a lot of printing and as a follow up question I want to learn more about monitor calibration and using ICC printing profiles. I like Costco because an 8x12 is only $1.50 so I was going to use their printers profiles. I haven't calibrated a monitor before though - any advice on how to do this?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

The Pantone Huey and Colorvision Spyder2 are a couple of monitor calibrators you can buy, I can't say I've used either.

[turboMiata]

Originally posted by davidI
Thanks for the info Berserker.

I plan on doing a lot of printing and as a follow up question I want to learn more about monitor calibration and using ICC printing profiles. I like Costco because an 8x12 is only $1.50 so I was going to use their printers profiles. I haven't calibrated a monitor before though - any advice on how to do this?

i use a fully managed colour workflow. this is what i do.

- calibrate with spyder2 and generate monitor profile (1 for each monitor)
- configure windows to use new monitor profile using the windows xp colour utility
- for each image, i load the colour profile for the destination printer i'm going to use and soft proof it in photoshop. typically i use preceptual rendering intent as this gives the best results.
- with soft proof on, adjust colour "to taste".

i used to do all my printing at one-hour labs but i found out the hard way that if you want the best results, you got to do it yourself. now i do all my printing myself using a large format printer with custom paper profiles. it's much more money but clients can see the difference in quality. on top, my prints are all archival quality.

hope this info helps.

[clem24]

Quite honestly, Costco's machine does a remarkable job of blowing up a shot. I printed a 6mpix pic off my D70, edited in Picasa no less, and the 12x18 was razor sharp. I didn't even bother resizing it to 12x18 300dpi or whatever. I just uploaded it as a 2.5MB file.

Needless to say, I am very impressed with the quality and the price. Of course, pros can be more picky, but they more than satisfy my needs. Turnaround time is very fast too. I uploaded shots at midnight and get emails by 10am the next morning saying they were done. I mean its so cheap that you can just trash the pic if you don't like it. :thumbsup:

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat
Yep, EXIF lists camera model, shutter speed, etc.

If you use Firefox, get a program called Opanda IExif, which allows you to get full EXIF data by right-clicking images.

Seems to work with Slimbrowser too, its an awesome program. Sometimes the exif isn't available though but for most forum pics and such it is.

[lint]

Originally posted by turboMiata


i use a fully managed colour workflow. this is what i do.

- calibrate with spyder2 and generate monitor profile (1 for each monitor)
- configure windows to use new monitor profile using the windows xp colour utility
- for each image, i load the colour profile for the destination printer i'm going to use and soft proof it in photoshop. typically i use preceptual rendering intent as this gives the best results.
- with soft proof on, adjust colour "to taste".

i used to do all my printing at one-hour labs but i found out the hard way that if you want the best results, you got to do it yourself. now i do all my printing myself using a large format printer with custom paper profiles. it's much more money but clients can see the difference in quality. on top, my prints are all archival quality.

hope this info helps.

Whick large format printer are you using? A friend of mine has been looking for a large format printer that can do borderless 11x14 or larger.

[Pihsiak]

Best Buy online store, http://imagelab.bestbuy.ca/en/ is haveing a promotional price for enlargements until Dec 21


Save 25% off
6 bucks for a 11x14 doesn't sound too bad.

Just ordered a 5 prints. Gonna see how it looks like.

If you havn't made an account yet, all new accounts get 10 free 4x6, usually 19 cents a print
I've personally found the quality to be better than costco's 18 cents

[turboMiata]

Originally posted by lint


Whick large format printer are you using? A friend of mine has been looking for a large format printer that can do borderless 11x14 or larger.

epson R1800. i can do 13X19 borderless. it was a very hard choice between that and the R2400. I finally went with it because i wanted to print CDs and i liked the idea of the glop cartridge. i also have access to a 4800 as well.

[lint]

Originally posted by turboMiata


epson R1800. i can do 13X19 borderless. it was a very hard choice between that and the R2400. I finally went with it because i wanted to print CDs and i liked the idea of the glop cartridge. i also have access to a 4800 as well.

epson seems to be the choice for large scale prints. I'll let him know.

[turboMiata]

what kind of printing does he do?

the canon does pretty well too but they use dye inks. epson uses pigment which is much more fade resistant but the colours aren't as vibrant. i'd recommend your friend hold out for the epson 3800 which is under 2K but it kicks ass over the 2400 (unfortunately it still won't take roll paper or print CDs).

i can also show him some of my prints on different paper if interested.

[Melinda]

I print my own photos so image size isn't a huge deal to me. But I've actually been pleasantly surprised with costco quality (color especially) in the past.

Not too sure if I read your original post wrong, but you mentioned saving for the web to send to the costco website. For the love of all that is good, don't save photos for the web if you plan on printing them. Just size and save them like you normally would and send them that way. Before they're opened, most file sizes compress down small enough to be sent to any photo printer without much of a problem.

[lint]

Originally posted by turboMiata
what kind of printing does he do?

the canon does pretty well too but they use dye inks. epson uses pigment which is much more fade resistant but the colours aren't as vibrant. i'd recommend your friend hold out for the epson 3800 which is under 2K but it kicks ass over the 2400 (unfortunately it still won't take roll paper or print CDs).

i can also show him some of my prints on different paper if interested.

He likes taking landscape photos, but he's just printing them for his own pleasure. His gripe with the canon is that it can't do large broderless prints, so he's looking at upgrading, maybe to a roll system. He's also really nitpicky.

I don't know if he'll have time to take advantage of your offer. He lives in the states and is back visiting for christmas. But if he does, I'll let you know.

[turboMiata]

yeah, if he does black and white landscapes, i'd recommend the 2400 as it takes roll paper. i suggest the 2400 because it has the K3 inkset which uses extra gray cartridges.

the K3 inkset makes a world of difference and i curse Epson everytime i print BW on my R1800. i'd suggest going to The Camera Store to look at their samples. The 3800 is an improvement over the 2400 because it eliminates the need to swap between the matt and gloss black carts which saves alot of money. However, it does not take roll. this will be my next printer.

lmk if your friend is interested in meeting when he comes up for christmas. i can also arrange to meet with a friend of mine who is the president of the calgary photographic society. he might also have more insights.

[davidI]

Originally posted by Melinda
I print my own photos so image size isn't a huge deal to me. But I've actually been pleasantly surprised with costco quality (color especially) in the past.

Not too sure if I read your original post wrong, but you mentioned saving for the web to send to the costco website. For the love of all that is good, don't save photos for the web if you plan on printing them. Just size and save them like you normally would and send them that way. Before they're opened, most file sizes compress down small enough to be sent to any photo printer without much of a problem.

Thanks Melinda. Perhaps I was unclear in my first post but I was actually asking 2 seperate questions. One was regarding the printing of images and I thank everyone for their excellent responses.

My other question was about saving for the web. Obviously I'm not going to upload the 6mb photos that I'm printing to the web at that size...so I was curious as to what size or compression people use when they put their photos online. I've been compressing my .jpegs down to around 200kb and they look ok, but there still is a lot of detail lost. I usually scale my photos down under 800x600 and then save them as .jpegs for ~200kb. Is this the best way to do it or should I be compressing less?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by davidI


Thanks Melinda. Perhaps I was unclear in my first post but I was actually asking 2 seperate questions. One was regarding the printing of images and I thank everyone for their excellent responses.

My other question was about saving for the web. Obviously I'm not going to upload the 6mb photos that I'm printing to the web at that size...so I was curious as to what size or compression people use when they put their photos online. I've been compressing my .jpegs down to around 200kb and they look ok, but there still is a lot of detail lost. I usually scale my photos down under 800x600 and then save them as .jpegs for ~200kb. Is this the best way to do it or should I be compressing less?


Get Photoshop CS2 9.0.2 (if you don't already have it) and when you save jpegs, you can pick the size/quality and just pick the maximum the website will allow. Also, they have a save for web menu that allows you to do similar things. If the website has a max size, there isn't much you can do.

Another option is using a site like photobucket or similar, and you can upload some pretty big jpegs onto that and link them to whatever forum/website you want to post them on so they show up in the thread as if you had pasted in the picture.

[clem24]

Uh, just go out and buy a $1000 piece of software just so he can save a jpeg? :confused: You are talking legit right? :rofl: Just get Picasa2. It's free, quick, and easy to use.

[davidI]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt



Get Photoshop CS2 9.0.2 (if you don't already have it) and when you save jpegs, you can pick the size/quality and just pick the maximum the website will allow. Also, they have a save for web menu that allows you to do similar things. If the website has a max size, there isn't much you can do.

Another option is using a site like photobucket or similar, and you can upload some pretty big jpegs onto that and link them to whatever forum/website you want to post them on so they show up in the thread as if you had pasted in the picture.

My problem isn't getting them down to the size a website will accept (I use Photoshop 6.0) - it is trying to balance download time and picture quality. I was just wondering how people on here manage to get their photos to both load reasonably quickly and look good.

[TurboMedic]

For resizing for uploading to the web I use photoworks (discussed many times on beyond). Retains all the EXIF, and file sizes aren't too bad, quality is nearly original though, thats what I like....