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Taking the plunge!
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im going take the plunge and get my first digital camera soon,a nikon d80
i know very little of photoshop and nothing of printing, but this site has got me
buzzing about photography again, cheers gang :)just wondering what max. size print can i expect from a sharp low iso image
before the quality drops ?also should i be thinking on buying a printer or using a pro lab,
is there much of a difference these days ?thats it,for now at least! any feedback would be great
Hey Thomas,
I’ve recently printed to a little over A3 size and was extremely happy with the outcome.
I was using a D200 which is also 10mp, so I’d expect that you’d at least get A3 out of it
and much much more.I think someone was telling me, might have been Ali, that they got a 30”x30” print from one
of their photos on their Nikon.Shoot in RAW format though so as to maintain as much detailed information as you can
on the image.On using a printer or a pro lab. I tend to only print b+w and use peak imaging in the UK and their
online service. Bit pricier than others but the quality of the paper and b+w print is very good.
No colour cast on the b+w images which is important to me.I’ve use photobox.ie (actually printed in the UK) for colour print. They’ve got a good service and
I’ve always been happy with the colour work. B+W prints, well there is a pale browny colour cast
which shows up.Some of the members are printing their own, especially b+w and love it. Can’t comment myself though.
Mark
Hi Thomas-
I don’t have time to answer fully just now,
Mark’s answers cover most of it anyway.You probably will end up getting your big prints made elsewhere,
but there is a good choice of printers up to 13″ x 19 “-I’m expecting this one
https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=2068
back today or tomorrow, and its been printed at 900x1350mm,
the largest I’ve had from a single exposure on the D200.I would have gone larger on paper,
but its been printed on canvas,
and material needs to be left around the edges
to allow the canvas to be stretched on a frame.I might post a picture of it when I get it back,
even if I commit the cardinal sin of bumping the therad-j
thanks for the help guys
a 30” print is impressive
if people keep building these mansions
there gonna be needing big pictures to look at
me thinks..me hopes !ill try peak imaging when i get sorted,thanks Mark
J,
how did the canvas workout ?Hi Thomas,
in my days as a graphic designer I initially worked on the basis of native resoloution as listed below. I knew that I was very safe within these parameters. Over the years I discovered a ‘safe’ zone when enlarging images in Quark Xpress (simple enlarging without any sharpening) and was able to work within a 15-20% enlargement range without any noticeable effect in quality. On the basis of a 10 megapixel camera such as the D80 I think the following would apply:
For use in printed material such as brochures, cataloques etc 300dpi:-
Native resolution: A4 plus bleed – 12.9in x 8.6in (eg Cover of Vogue!)
Leeway for approx 20% increase: Near A3 – 15.4in x 10.3inOn an inkjet/lab printer 150pdpi:
Native resolution: A2 plus bleed – 25.8in x 17.2in (eg printing around the sides of a Canvas Print)
Leeway for approx 20% increase: near A1 – 31in x 21inIf you have Photoshop (any version) you can check these dimensions in “Image Size” and clicking on ‘Resample Image’
These are approximate sizes only. I also found that I could increase an image up to 200% in Photoshop with the use of ‘Unsharp Mask’, though with some noticable loss in quality.
Hope this helps.
Dave
PS If anyone else wants a ready reckoner such as above for their megapixels just send me a PM
I got my print back-
I’m off now to bump the thread, and show you a picture of it hanging on a wall-
gimme a couple of minutes…https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=2068
I’ve printed A1 from my 20D (8.2Mp) no problem – looks great on the wall.
You can print billboards using a 1DmkII 16mp (no i’m not kidding – I know pros that do), so I’d expect to be able to print A0 from a decent 10Mp DSLR no problem. Keep in mind you’re not likely to be looking at it 10mm from your face…
Tim
7m high banners shot using a Canon EOS 10D (6MP camera!) in JPEG – more at http://www.cps.canon-europe.com/articles/article.jsp?article.articleId=100300
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