Prepping an M8 file for a 24 X 36 print

[philipotto]

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I am preparing to order a 24X36 from AdoramaPix and would love your advice for getting the best results.

 

The photo is processed in Capture One with Jamie's chrome profile (thank you Jamie!). I have white balanced it, and thats it. Are there any other settings I should apply? Sharpening?

 

At 24X36 the photo is at 109DPI, and 35MB exported as a 8bit TIFF. Adorama has a maximum file size of 40MB. Would you recommend submitting the TIFF, or upsampleing, and submitting a JPEG with a higher DPI?

And if you would go this route, to what DPI? And would you do this within C1, or after the export, in CS3?

 

Thanks for your help!

[Englander]

Phil-

Skipping the question whether AdoramaPix will provide the best prints for your needs as opposed to working with a lab in LA where you may learn some tricks of the trade, there are several things that I suggest you do:

1. Convert (not apply) the file in CS3 to the profiles Adorama supplies for whatever paper you are going to select

2. Up-res to at least 180 ppi using the CS3 up-rez which is more sophisticated than simple bicubic of lesser software. I think 240 ppi is a good compromise between too many artifacts and not enough dpi. Other up-rez specific software may provide better results but it is frequently difficult to see at the size you are printing.

2a. Some people apply grain or noise to hide any artifacts generated by up-rezing, but this is a matter of taste and requires a bit of experience.

3. Apply unsharp masking. How much is a matter of taste. I examine the effects of the mask, searching for tale-tell halos at 100% but judge the overall affect/effect at 50%.

 

As far as printing--as opposed to editing--is concerned, it makes no difference whether you supply in JPEG or TIFF. The file sizes of TIFF are usually bloated for the amount of data they are actually supplying to the printer.

 

Finally, keep in mind that a reflective print is NEVER going to look exactly like a transmissive image on a computer screen. This is not a question of calibration but a question of media transfer. You can get enjoyably close, though.

 

Joe

[zeitz]

I'ld really be surprised if you can get a satifactory print using Adorama. Nothing against their printer, but you rmonitor and their printer are not calibrated to work together. You'ld be much better off going to what must be many places in LA to do this print. You can see it their screen, you can adjust it, and you can print from many hundred Mbit files. No 40 Mb limit.

[BerndReini]

A&I has a fantastic price on 30x40 proofs meaning that you download their profile from the website, softproof in photoshop, resize the image to the exact dpi and dimensions you want the print to be, save it to a disc, and take it over to A&I. They will not make any adjustments whatsoever to your file but they will print "as is" a beautiful lightjet print.

 

Keep your money in town.

[philipotto]

Joe, Zeitz, and Bernd,

 

Thank you for your helpful comments.

I would much to print locally, and will do so. I don't know why I didn't think about A & I's direct to print service.

I guess thats why I asked you guys.

[Guest jimmy pro]

2. Up-res to at least 180 ppi using the CS3 up-rez which is more sophisticated than simple bicubic of lesser software. I think 240 ppi is a good compromise between too many artifacts and not enough dpi. Other up-rez specific software may provide better results but it is frequently difficult to see at the size you are printing.

2a. Some people apply grain or noise to hide any artifacts generated by up-rezing, but this is a matter of taste and requires a bit of experience.

3. Apply unsharp masking. How much is a matter of taste. I examine the effects of the mask, searching for tale-tell halos at 100% but judge the overall affect/effect at 50%.

 

I find that uprezzing is uneccessary even at 24x36", and unsharp mask actually screws up the M8 quality more than help's it. I leave the rezzing to the printer software and turn sharpening all the way off up to 11x14 and then leave it at the C1 default from there up to 24x36. I got that tip from a professional printer who showed me on my M8 files how much better it looks like that then by uprezzing and unsharp masking. YMMV of course.

[Englander]

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I find that uprezzing is uneccessary even at 24x36", and unsharp mask actually screws up the M8 quality more than help's it. I leave the rezzing to the printer software and turn sharpening all the way off up to 11x14 and then leave it at the C1 default from there up to 24x36. I got that tip from a professional printer who showed me on my M8 files how much better it looks like that then by uprezzing and unsharp masking. YMMV of course.

 

Jimmypro,

That is EXACTLY the reason I suggest working with a local printer or at least being able to talk to the guy doing the production! Not only can you learn something but each producer's printer-software may be set differently and getting the best results depends on being able to set your files to what the producer needs to do the best work for you. Your producer is applying some kind of up-rezing algorithm to get the number of dots needed for output and probably also applying some sharpening, too; my guy does neither, he only prints the pixels that are there and applies no sharpening. Who knows what will be done for Phil? It is always easy to blame the producer for poor prints, but most of the blame usually rests with the guy providing the file and we know who that is.

 

In my initial reply to Phil, I was suggesting ways to work with his chosen vendor, Adorama, based on their own instructions. If he has been asking about what to do in general then my reply would have been different. It would have been something like: it depends on who is doing the printing and you should ask them directly. If he provided 100 ppi file to my guy, the image would be very blurry and suitable for viewing at billboard-like distances; it sounds like your guy would kindly fill in the gaps and make a great print. I think if Phil works with A&I and talks with them first, he will get a very good print.

 

Joe

 

Joe

[likea]

Yeah, add an apostrophe to "thats"

[c6gowin]

Philip,

 

Have you resolved your question yet? I find myself in a similar situation.

 

Regards,

Mark

[philipotto]

Mark,

 

Yes, and thanks for bringing it to the top, as I had forgotten to write back.

 

According to the person I talked to at A&I, their lightjet will upres the file to 300dpi regardless, but in her experience better results can be achieved by resampleing to 300 in Photoshop.

 

I was also in charge of printing a Nikon D80 shot (not one of my photos) for display next to mine. They wanted both photos printed the same size, and as the D80 shot needed to be cropped, I chose to print them both at 20" X 24". This way the Nikon shot would hold up better, and the print ration would match the crop. I then cropped my shot to match the 5:6 format. I resampled both files to 300dpi at 20"x24" using the Bicubic Smoother in PS CS3.

 

In the end both photos looked great, though I'm partial to the M8 shot.

[c6gowin]

Philip,

 

Thank you for the quick reply. I will be printing 20x30 and will have to figure out how to get that size image down to 40 mb. I am not sure if I will be better off with a 20x30 size with lower resolution or higher resolution (e.g. 300 dpi) at whatever size ends up at 40 mb.

 

Mark

[philipotto]

Mark,

 

I would reccomend paying the premium and support a local printer, who will have no max file size limit.