Help!!!!!!

[Caserz1986]

I took some pictures for my friend and she is having trouble printing out the images I gave her on a CD.



She's at CVS and its saying if she prints out the image to even a 5x7, it will come out blurry. Why is this?

I DID custom crop a majority of them, which leads me to where the heck can she get custom print sizes?



THIS IS one of the image sizes (i have NO idea what ANY of this means):
201 KB (205,946 bytes) (i have NO idea what that means)
300 DPI
Bit Depth: 24
Heigth: 720 pixels
Width: 960 pixels




btw. I do NOT have photoshop (and don't know anything about it). I edit in Picasa.


OH, AND I TOOK THESE PICS IN JPEG FORMAT. (this was before I discovered RAW)


ANY ADVICE WILL HELP! I'm obviously a newbie, and have practically no knowledge of the printing process!

THANKS! =)

[ngoduyviet]

201Kb seems a bit low resolution for a 5x7. Post sample and we'll be able to help more.

Get GIMP, it's a photoshop like software that's free. Just take a bit of time to learn.

[Caserz1986]

Alright! Someone else said to get GIMP. Will be installing it tonight!!!
I'll upload an image.

[mmuhlenkamp]

The resolution is about half what it should be to print at that size.

300 dpi/ppi means 300 dots per inch / pixels per inch. So for every inch you want to print multiply that by 300 to get the ideal size.

I'm not sure how export in picasa, but that's basically what you need to know to figure out how big you can print a photo without it getting pixelated/blurry from being too low of resolution.

[Caserz1986]

Originally Posted by mmuhlenkamp

The resolution is about half what it should be to print at that size.

300 dpi/ppi means 300 dots per inch / pixels per inch. So for every inch you want to print multiply that by 300 to get the ideal size.

I'm not sure how export in picasa, but that's basically what you need to know to figure out how big you can print a photo without it getting pixelated/blurry from being too low of resolution.

oh man. Okay, is there any way I can avoid this in the future?
Why is the cause of the resolution being so low in the first place?


Am I supposed to save my image a certain way?
I just hit save, and move on the next image. That's probably a very stupid thing to do huh?

[mmuhlenkamp]

You'll have to check the settings you have, but if you want to print 5X7 the photo should be 2100 pixels on the long end. Fiddle around a bit, either in "save as" or "export". Good luck.

[Stefanie]

I quit using Picasa (for other reasons), but I remember that when you use the Export function (the button that says export), it will reduce the size of the image. Same thing if you email it, and I think if you burn it to a CD using Picasa.

I used to use Picasa to make minor edits, and save them, but then to email full size upload (to order prints) or to burn to a CD, I'd just use Explorer. You probably still have the full size image on your computer.

There might be a setting in Picasa for saving your images, but I never looked.

[Caserz1986]

Thanks everyone! I just installed GIMP. Hopefully I can correct this print matter sooner than later!

[hotshot38]

When you burn or 'create a gift CD' (or email), Picasa will automatically downsize your photos to a manageable size. Unless you go under Tools--->Options and reset the size (for email). Yes, you can set it to 'original' size for email, but I wouldn't recommend it.

For Gift CD's, there is a checkbox (or used to be since I haven't done it in a long time) for 'include originals'. The slideshow will show resized photos, but if you explore the disk there will also be the original edits. Picasa certainly doesn't work like any other program I've seen and you've gotta figure out it's quirks.....it's setup by default to be idiot proof, or for the lowest common denominator.

One other way to manage photo size is to:

1. Select all the photos you want
2. Choose File--->Export Picture to Folder...
3. Choose a manageable file size

Your photos will be 'exported' to a new folder under Picasa/Picasa Exports/nameofoldfolder/

Do this, because, even though you've edited your photos, they are only that way IN Picasa. If you try to export the file from any other program you will see the original, unedited photo. Until you 'Export to Folder' or 'Save a Copy' the edits are not permanent.

Regards,
Sean

[Caserz1986]

When I edit my photos in Picasa, I edit them and then "save as" them as a completely different folder such as "REDO's". (the folder is under "my documents", not under Picasa) When I do this, the edits I have done are then made permanent.

From there, I pop in a blank CD, and burn the photos straight from the "REDO" folder.


Am I doing this wrong?
Will this effect the image size and resolution?

[hotshot38]

Sorry...that's new to me. Just noticed it. They must have included that in a recent update. Picasa didn't have a 'Save as...' in earlier editions...used to drive me crazy. :)

That would probably work, save as....would probably save them as original size with the edits in place. That's just not my normal workflow. Kinda got into the habit of doing things a certain way since I was using it from Day 1. I use PS for certain things, and use Picasa for other things :)

Picasa makes it easy to email or blog photos without going through the hassle of all that resizing stuff. And when you are emailing or uploading 100 photos, that saves a lot of keystrokes, when they don't need to be Photoshop 'perfect'.

-Sean