Alrighty!
Now I’ve got the Epson 4880 which everyone here really helped with on the decision process…..great….now what? ;-)
So I guess I’ve got some decisions to make on sizing for printing and matting as well ensuring I understand how this will work.
Ha! More resolution discussion; and I see there was a whole thread on this topic and was active today. But I'll throw my own spin in here as well.....
Based on the input from “Camera to Print” video tutorial from Luminous Landscape, Jeff recommends printing in the range of 180 – 480 DPI with *native resolution* (as does Andrew Rodney). The lesson indicates that if you able to make a print within that range using the captures *native resolution* AND the output sharpening is done correctly, the print can be good (180 DPI requires 24 inch or greater viewing distance).
So; looking at my captures from my Nikon D300 in Photoshop Elements 6, I can see that my captures have an image size of 11.867 (h) x 17.867 (w) at a resolution of 240 pixels/inch.
Based on the lessons from the tutorial, I would like to leave a 1 inch margin on all sides of the actual print.
The general sizes for roll paper (if trying to obtain maximum size prints) are 16 inch rolls and 17 inch rolls.
So to give me the margins I’m looking for, for the 17 inch width paper, my actual printed surface would be 15 inches high by X wide and for the 16 inch paper my actual printed surface would be 14 inches high by X wide.
To see if I have enough native resolution; I’ve punched in the numbers in the “Resize Image/Constrain Proportions” option (not actually changing the image but just looking to see what it would generate):
15” (h) x 22.584 (w) comes out to 189.867 pixels per inch (this would be for the 17 inch paper)
14” (h) x 21.079 (w) comes out to 203.429 pixels per inch (this would be for the 16 inch paper)
This of course assumes proper crop is obtained in the original capture.
So…..I have figured this correctly thus far?
Another decision that needs to be made (one I’ve seen discussed here before) is….do you go for “standard” frame sizes or let the image size dictate frame size?
Clearly for workflow and cost effectiveness it would appear to make sense to standardize on a standard frame size. This means your backing board and mat will always be the same size, and the “cut out” in the mat would be what changes. During the “Camera to Print” video this appears to be how Michael does his prints. However, this will create uneven mat borders depending on the image; in the LLVJ 15 Bill Atkinson prefers a 5 inch even mat border around the image; a different approach which may require custom framing sizing.
So, with that in mind I was considering a 22” (h) x 28” (w) frame which would yield the following mat borders ASSUMING image sizes are as listed above:
15 inch high print would have 3.5” (h) and 2.75” (w) as mat borders (I’ll need to subtract a ¼” all around to ensure the mat covers the image)
14 inch high print would have 4” (h) and 3.5” (w) as mat borders (I’ll need to subtract a ¼” all around to ensure the mat covers the image)
Do I have all of this right? Suggestions and guidance would be welcomed and appreciated. I’ve got a 22x28 frame coming in today from Americanframe as a visual test.
I'm wondering if that will be enough mat border; I think on prints this size it may be large enough.
Cheers......and let me know your thoughts!
Todd
