Enlarging 6.3 megapixels to 13"x19" in CS... tips??

[Sean Dempsey]

Okay, I have a dRebel, 6.3 mexapixels.

I just ordered a Epson 2200 printer... 13x19".

What is a good way to enlarge my pics to that size? I have been outputting the raws at 300dpi, which is about an 8x10, then enlarging the picture in 110% percent increments until I get it the size I want.

I tried GenuineFractals and cold tell NO difference between that and CS.

What is the "prosumer" limit that a 6.3 megapixel image can be enlarged? my friend has the 2200, and his 13x19's look great... so what is the consensus on this?

[Trevor Ash]

It all depends on a lot of things. I've found little difference between the different resizing techniques and tools. I've also found that the subject itself makes a large difference in how large things can be "upped".

For examples, people and faces can general be rezzed up pretty darn high with little "noticable" quality problems. On the other hand, landscapes that include things like trees and leaves suffer much more quickly from rezzing up.

Personally, I think you're doing the right thing by experimenting and choosing what looks/works best for you. I just suggest that you experiment with every photo you want to rez up and don't assume that the method which worked best for photo "A" works best for photo "B".

BTW, even the printer drivers that come with most printers do a good job of rezzing up the photos.....in other words, printing at a low dpi like 100 to your 300 dpi printer.

[another view]

You should be able to print at less than 300dpi. I personally use 240dpi for my large prints that are done at a lab on an Epson 9600. You might be able to go lower than that too, maybe 180dpi.

Like Trevor says, it makes a difference what the subject is, but also what your expectations are. The bigger the print, the farther the viewing distance. You'd probably stand back from a 13x19 a little to view it - and farther for a bigger print. That works to your advantage for resolution. If your expectations are that you're going to get a 30x40 that's as sharp (when viewed up close) as an 8x10 from a 6mp camera, then you will probably be disappointed.

Biggest I've done is 24x36, a nature scene. I shot it on a Fuji S2 in the 12mp interpolated jpeg mode (6mp camera). Then I up-sized it 10% several times until I got to 240dpi at that print size. At viewing distance, it looked really good.

[Sean Dempsey]

Okay I'll check it out.


Everywhere I read says the 2200 is a nightmare to get set up, so I hope I don't have a hard time, I've never owned a good printer before...