resizing images for printing

[mjs1973]

I have yet to turn any of my digital images into prints, other than useing my HP deskjet printer. I want to get some of my pictures printed so I can frame them, and hang them up in my house. When I open the original photo in PS, shot in fine .jpg mode, the image size is 42.667"x28.444". When I resize the long side to 6" keeping everything in proportiong, the shorter size goes to 4" which is all well and great for snapshot prints, but I want something in a larger, standard size such as 8"x10", 10"x13" or 11"x14". When I resize in PS so the long side is 10" I get a measurement of 6.667" for the other side, and when I go to 11" I get 7.333" for the other side. These measurements were taken with no editing or cropping done to the original image. I want to be able to buy standard size frames for my images, but I don't want to take them out of proportion to get them to fit. I have added mattes and borders to some of my images as well and this only throws the sizes off even more. So what do I need to do to get my images to fit in a standard size frame? Is it simply a matter of cropping the image to the right size? Or is it something that the printing lab will take care of? Or do I just need to print them to the closest size and then center the image in a frame and use a matte to make sure all looks good? Or am I just over thinking the whole process and it's something very simple...

Thanks in advance.
Michael

[Sebastian]

You either crop to the right proportions, or you use a mat. A mat is recommended no matter what to keep the print from touching the glass and potentially sticking to the glass.

Are you over-thinking it? Maybe just a litte... ;)

[mjs1973]

You either crop to the right proportions, or you use a mat. A mat is recommended no matter what to keep the print from touching the glass and potentially sticking to the glass.

Are you over-thinking it? Maybe just a litte... ;)

Thanks for the quick reply Seb! One more thing... Once I get the image in the right proportions, do I need to resize the image to the actual print size that I want or will the printer resize it to the final size requested?

[b_slow]

Hi Michael,

Answer to your second question: if you specify what size print you want, as long as it has the same proportions as your digital file, then everything is fine. Of course if you have a higher resolution, the printed results will look better. Ideally, you want it to be printed at 300 dpi or more. An example would be 3000x4500 pixels for a 10x15 inch print. By the way, I've done many 10 x 15 inch prints, and they fit quite nicely in the widely available 16x20 inch frames, along with a mat.

But a 3000x4500 pixel image can also be printed at 4 x 6", or any other size that has a ratio of 1.5 : 1 .

[mjs1973]

Hi Michael,

Answer to your second question: if you specify what size print you want, as long as it has the same proportions as your digital file, then everything is fine. Of course if you have a higher resolution, the printed results will look better. Ideally, you want it to be printed at 300 dpi or more. An example would be 3000x4500 pixels for a 10x15 inch print. By the way, I've done many 10 x 15 inch prints, and they fit quite nicely in the widely available 16x20 inch frames, along with a mat.

But a 3000x4500 pixel image can also be printed at 4 x 6", or any other size that has a ratio of 1.5 : 1 .

Thanks for the input! I see that you are from Madison. Do you print your own or do you have them done profesionally? There is only one photo shop that I know of in my area and from what I have heard, he farms the digital prints out to another shop. I would like to cut out the middle man when I get them printed. Can you recomend a shop in the Madison area? Preferable on the West side.

Thank
Michael

[b_slow]

No, I don't get them printed locally, but I do have them done professionally. What I do is upload them to http://www.ezprints.com and specify the sizes and finishes I want, and they send me the prints about a week later. The prices are very good, and they also have good customer service. I once had some strange line printed on one of my images, and they reprinted it and sent another to me with no questions asked. Sorry I can't recommend anything local, but I like ezprints.