Silly Question about Print Sizes

[wilfredo]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

This is something very basic that I should know after years of digital photography. The problem is that when I crop a picture I print it as is. If I want to make an 8X10 print of a picture that is really 8X11.8 is there a software program that will do that? In other words, something that will reduce sizes to fit the standard 4X6, 5X7 one at a time etc. Since I do all my custom framing I have never worried about this, but if I want to sell prints cheaply, I'll have to start doing this. I currently use PSCS3. I realize that doing this will cut out some of my image.

 

Thanks,

 

Wilfredo

Benitez-Rivera Photography

[thompsonkirk]

If I understand the question, you want to know if you can keep the 8" dimension the same, but reduce the image from 11.8" dimension to 10", without further cropping?

 

If that's it, then in PS under Image Size, un-check the box to Constrain Proportions; & then type in 8x10 for the print size.

 

Of course you'll get taller, thinner people this way - & they might like that. Or shorter, fatter ones if you go the other direction.

 

Or were you just trying to crop with the Crop tool, typing in 8 in x 10 in in the bar at the top of the image? This will make the cropping rectangle stick to that size & those proportions. Or you can type a fixed ratio of 4:6, 5:7, etc. in the same bar.

 

Kirk

 

PS, The New York Times reported on some forthcoming software that will let you expand/contract an image by picking our an area that you want to contract or elongate - for example, shortening the foreground without actually cropping it. I don't remember what it was called.

[jaapv]

This is something very basic that I should know after years of digital photography. The problem is that when I crop a picture I print it as is. If I want to make an 8X10 print of a picture that is really 8X11.8 is there a software program that will do that? In other words, something that will reduce sizes to fit the standard 4X6, 5X7 one at a time etc. Since I do all my custom framing I have never worried about this, but if I want to sell prints cheaply, I'll have to start doing this. I currently use PSCS3. I realize that doing this will cut out some of my image.

 

Thanks,

 

Wilfredo

Benitez-Rivera Photography

I understand the question differently :

Afaik the only way to crop to a fixed ratio, without specifying the resolution (thus size of the final print) is to crop in ACR. If you want to crop to an exact ratio in CS3 you will have to input the inch sizes and resolution individually for each print (or leave unchanged of course).

Of course I may be wrong; I'll try Kirk's trick of typing a ratio tonight

[wparsonsgisnet]

Wilfredo, I hear the question the way Kirk framed it. And, BTW, we only want silly questions; if you had a serious question, you'd have a real problem on your hands. This is much more fun.

 

I think you have to recrop. You can do this in C1 as well as CS3, by specifying crop dimensions. Then, as you "frame" the image, the sides will maintain the correct aspect ratio.

 

As far as doing this efficiently, at least in C1 where I spend most of my (color) time, it's very efficient. C1 remembers all the settings from the last access of the image, so you can do a bunch of images at 8x10, then go back and recrop them all as 5x7 and save those -- using the image size in the prefix of the name of the output image.

 

Regards,

[wda]

I now do my cropping in Lightroom which not only permits the setting of any desired ratio, but can apply it synchronously to a batch of pictures. I find this very handy when resizing images for a particular book publisher. Then you can export versions of your original pictures to your desired ratio (eg 10x8) and specify either the long or short edge sizes. I don't think CS2 allows batch processing like this. (Sorry, I don't have CS3 which might have the facility).

[Kasimir]

Open CS2 (3 should be the same)

Type "M" (I'm using a german version so I don't know what this tool is called in the english version)

The cursor becomes a cross

choose "festes Seitenverhältnis" (= fixed ratio?) 2x3 or whatever You like

draw a box in Your picture according to the chosen Seitenverhältnis

copy this as a layer

delete the background layer

make the "cropped layer" a background layer

type "C" and crop away the white background that appeared after You made Your copied layer a backgroundlayer

 

 

not very elegant, but this is how it works for me

 

 

 

but if You use the croppingtool "C" from the beginning, You'll always end up with something like pix/inch or px/cm, which means that You will probably change the native resolution of Your picture. Which You probably don't wanna do at an early stage in photoshopping. I' ve even heard that it should be best if You stay in the native resolution of Your file and leave the resizing for the print to the printerdriver.

[thompsonkirk]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

My mistake, Jaap - the fixed ratio is an option for rectangular selections, not crops.

 

(Of course you could proceed that way to a crop!)

 

Kirk

[Kasimir]

My mistake, Jaap - the fixed ratio is an option for rectangular selections, not crops.

 

(Of course you could proceed that way to a crop!)

 

Kirk

 

That's what I tried to describe

[dorman]

The answer is easy.

Switch to the European "A" size papers.

The aspect ratio of each is 1.414:1 (square root of 2:1)

It lies neatly between 4:3 (1.33:1) and 3:2 (1.5:1)

The "A" series has the unique advantage that if you cut a piece of paper in half, the two halves have the same aspect ratio as the original.

A3 size is 420 x 297mm (approx 16.5 x 11.7 in)

A4 size is 297 x 210mm (approx 11.7 x 8.25 in)

A5 size is 210 x 148mm (approx 8.25 x 5.8 in)

A6 size is 148 x 105mm (approx 5.8 x 4.1 in)

 

So you can print at any size without any cropping. And you only need to buy the largest size you use, as you can keep cutting in half for all other sizes.

One sheet of A3 will give you 2 A4, 4 A5 or 8 A6

 

If only camera manufacturers would use this aspect ratio for the sensors it would make life much easier for us all.

[SJP]

Thanks for the info an the A paper size!!!

 

Very obvious when you think about it, but somehow this factoid had never entered my mind. I think my wife may use it for a maths class as a nice test of elementary algebra:

 

A/B = B/½A => A/B = sqrt(2) indeed there is only one unique solution for the aspect ratio

 

Beats the golden ratio anytime.

[wparsonsgisnet]

Wilfredo, has any of this answered your question?

[johnwolf]

Wilfredo,

 

I think the Picture Package in Bridge does this, but it decides where to crop. Otherwise, it's hard to see how you can get around a crop tool. In PS, manually entering dimensions or using presets speeds things up for finished sizes.

 

As an aside; if I understand you, you want to standardize for efficient pricing in larger quantities. If so, I'd stick with a fixed ratio for mat openings -- 2:3, 4:5, (whatever), but have the outer mat dimensions follow standard frame sizing. That's better than cropping differently for different picture sizes. By the way, framedestination.com is a pretty good resource for pre-cut mats with various standard openings and outer dimensions.

 

John

[fotografr]

... if I want to sell prints cheaply, I'll have to start doing this.

Benitez-Rivera Photography

 

Why would you want to sell prints cheaply???? Charge what they are worth.

[mweiner]

Wilfredo, look into the modestly priced printing program Qimage. If you want to print several images on one sheet, It lets you choose the paper size and the picture size and then optimizes how to position the images on the paper. When printing one image on a sheet (and maybe when printing multiples), it shows you a preview, lets you zoom the image slightly so you can recrop it and then lets you use a 'move tool' to choose what gets cut out and what stays. Then after you click to send it to the printer, it automatically, resizes, resamples (with sophisticated algorithms you can select, automatically using different defaults depending on whether it needs to resample for bigger or smaller) to the resolution you prefer (usually 300 pix/in). The procedure is very nicely integrated into the work flow as you send the images to the printer. It's almost longer and more complicated to describe it here than to do. Others can say better than I how the print quality compares to the more expensive engines, but I sure like it.

[Shootist]

I'm not sure I totally understand your question but you really don't need to crop your images at all.

If you have a 8x11.8 image, normally M8 images @ 300 DPI are 8.75x13..06125 (8 3/4 x 13 1/16)+/-, and you want to print that whole image on any size paper, 8x10, 8.5x11, 5x7, whatever, you can do that in the print dialog window. I'm using a HP B9180 and all I have to do is select the paper size I want to print to in "Page Setup" then "Scale to Fit Media" in the print window under "Scaled Print Size".

This will put a white boarder someplace on the paper but you will get the whole image on whatever size paper you have selected also.

 

Not sure that is what you wanted but I figured I'd add my $.02.

[wilfredo]

What I want to do is very basic. I want to have the option of printing the standard 4X6, 5X7, 8X10, 11X14, etc. one at a time, even if some of my image will be automatically cropped. This is the sort of thing you do when you print pictures at K-Mart. I'm assuming there is some basic software that will do this.

 

Thanks,

Wilfredo

Benitez-Rivera Photography

[erl]

Perhaps my glasses are fogged but I can't see your problem Wilfredo. Clearly your different size requirement MUST be cropped differently. For each image, set the crop size/ratio in C1 (if that is what you start with) to the largest standard size you want and output it as a tiff or jpeg, depending on how you like to print. Then crop that output file to as many other sizes you desire and save them, each at that size.

 

Now you can multiple print from each as ordered.

 

Edit: Another option you may find useful is in PS.

From the menu select 'File/Automate/Picture package.

There you will see an option for 'layout' where you can select grouped packages at differing sizes.

[PeterP]

What I want to do is very basic. I want to have the option of printing the standard 4X6, 5X7, 8X10, 11X14, etc. one at a time, even if some of my image will be automatically cropped. This is the sort of thing you do when you print pictures at K-Mart. I'm assuming there is some basic software that will do this.

 

Thanks,

Wilfredo

Benitez-Rivera Photography

 

I think Aperture does this quite well.

 

PeterP

[jaapv]

What I want to do is very basic. I want to have the option of printing the standard 4X6, 5X7, 8X10, 11X14, etc. one at a time, even if some of my image will be automatically cropped. This is the sort of thing you do when you print pictures at K-Mart. I'm assuming there is some basic software that will do this.

 

Thanks,

Wilfredo

Benitez-Rivera Photography

 

There is. Automatic resizing and cropping to a very high standard. It is not the cheapest there is however:

 

 

Alien Skin Software: Blow Up 2 Overview Tutorial

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[Shootist]

What I want to do is very basic. I want to have the option of printing the standard 4X6, 5X7, 8X10, 11X14, etc. one at a time, even if some of my image will be automatically cropped. This is the sort of thing you do when you print pictures at K-Mart. I'm assuming there is some basic software that will do this.

 

Thanks,

Wilfredo

Benitez-Rivera Photography

What I was and am trying to point out is that PS CS3, along with the Print Driver for your printer, can do this without any other software.

There are settings in the print driver to Fill the paper with the image, that will crop it as needed (that is what the quick printers do at places like K-Mart (wherever), or to print the image in it's entirety using only part of the paper, leaving a larger white boarder at 2 edges.

And this is whether or not you print boarderless or with boarders.