Ok could use some help

[CBass]

Me and the fiance both love this shot and so do a lot of people on this site. Now i have been tossing around having it printed, framed and hanging at my place. The problem is im not sure what size to print it up at. I shot it in standard jpeg format and large, and was wondering how big could i go before it looks crappy? Also what dpi i would need to resize it to also i heard if your going for a large print you should use 300 - 360 dpi any truth? Last question promise lol is there a place localy you would recommend or is there a better place online to do it at? I am on printroom.com and i am happy with smaller prints that i have gotten. Im just a little shy when it comes to spending a lot of money on a print yet i tell myself if im offering it to customers i should know what it looks like.

Anyway thanks for any and all help sorry if its not in the right section or been asked before i tried to use the search thing but it confused me im not to good when it comes to computers and such.

[Roy]

Can you define large? I'm running out of wall space here so large is not as large as it used to be.

[Jake]

I would just send the full size file to the lab that you plan on using the most and order the size you need. I wouldn't re-size it before I sent it, just send the full size one. The lab should do the re-size. Just make sure the ratio is right.

As far as how big before it looks crappy? Depends on the camera and lens.
I've printed 16"x24" from my 20D that I think looks great. I've printed bigger then that from my 5D that I think look outstanding.
How big are you wanting to go with it?

[riteflyt]

More to the point, what camera did you shoot it with... IE how many MP is it?

[CaptainTom]

Do what Jake says.

Take a look here and try them out. I've gotten some great 20X30's .

http://www.elcocolor.com/poster_special.htm

[ChuckW]

I'll agree with Tom that the simple and practical thing to do is to just do what Jake says. You don't say what size your original is or how large you want to go, but 300 to 360 ppi is way more resolution than you need for a very large print. Note I am talking pixels per inch here, not dots (ppi not dpi). 240 ppi is more than enough and 180 ppi is often enough for a large print.

[CaptainTom]

Reprinted from El-Co FAQ page.

Q: Resing up your file
Should I upsize or res up my image?

A: No, we know there are a lot of stair/step interpolation actions and software out there and they may work great for making prints on your inkjet printer, but from our extensive testing, they are not better than our RIP. Save yourself the time, and allow our RIP to do the upsizing.




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Q: Required file size
What size image do you require?

A: We do not really require any specific size, some small files do produce nice large prints, and other do not. It all depends on the subject matter and the overall quality of the file. If you crop your image to the size you are ordering, and then go to "View" in the menu bar in Photoshop, and then down to "Print Size", this will give you a good idea of what you can expect from you file when printed.




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Q: Camera Size
What size MP camera is acceptable for poster size prints?

A: This is a gray area, but in general we have found that a 4MP camera shooting on the highest resolution and quality setting is the minimum we recommend.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by ChuckW

I'll agree with Tom that the simple and practical thing to do is to just do what Jake says........

That may be the best advice I've heard in a long time!
And it applies to all things in life!

[J Eddington]

I have successfully printed up to 5 x 3 ft prints with my 4 mp camera.

[CBass]

First thanks for the responses and second the camera and lens was Sony A100 with the Sony f8 500mm reflect lens. It was shot image size was large and quality was standard. The image has already been resized so i could work on it in photoshop, could i copy the size from another shot that i havent touched yet? size wise i was thinking 20x30or 24x36 not to sure yet. Any suggestion on places that do a good job with frames?

[hhscr]

As the print gets larger the dpi required gets lower. Since the viewing will be done from a farther distance the print still looks great.

Not sure if the copying the size from another picture will give the same results as starting with the original photo. If it has already been sized some interpolation of the data has already occured and the more you manipulate the file the greater the chance of adding noise and the photo degrading. I would think you could try it and see how it looks when you view it at print size and if you like it save it as a diffrent name, if you don't like it undo it.

I think what would look awsome with this print is to use a gallery or museum wrap and no frame at all, but that is just me. I have used Canvas on Demand in a 16x20 with the 1 1/2 inch museum wrap and it came back looking great.

One thing I did learn about the wraps is that you need to be sure and size it correctly to make up for the amount of the print that gets wrapped around the frame or you will lose some of the print on the edges.

In the photo you posted with such a tight crop on the nose at the bottom of the frame this could wind up folded onto the bottom edge of the frame, so a wrap with a border might be in order if you decide on a wrap print. If you use a border, size the print for the correct size you want the finished print to be and tell the printer to add the border and what color you want it to be to makeup for the wrap.

[CBass]

Cool thanks for all the info i will look into those. I guess in PS i could add a 1 inch border to make up for the wrap part. I will check into that place and see how it goes again thanks to everyone for all their info.