OK Photo-Paint users,
I thought of a question that has been bugging me for a while. Perhaps you could shed some light on this for me.
I am confused about checking and maintaining the dpi of a hi-res image.
Here is my usual situation:
I take a high-res image using a Canon 20D which shoots 8.2 mega-pixels.
A typical image size is 3504x2336 and it's between 3 to 5 MB depending on the image of course. The camera saves them as .jpg
I open it in PPX3 and do a few things to it and now I want to save it at the same hi-res it was in the first place.
Is it best to just do a Save-As and maybe choose the TIFF format, or choose .jpg with no added compression and a 4:4:4 sub-format?
How do I check what the dpi was in the original photo?
Should I be using Image / ReSample to save it?
Resample always defaults to 72dpi for web images. If I bump up the dpi setting to 300, does that have a bad effect on the image?
Anyway, what's the best way to maintain the highest resolution for printing large images?
Thanks in advance!
Check the maintain original size box in the re sample dialog and re sample to the resolution required for output. You will see the physical dimension change. The physical size that you can print for any image is dictated by the original pixel count, (image size in Corel PP) By following the above procedure you can set the resolution to that required for output and PP will automatically display and size the image to the maximum physical size for that resolution.
Always use TIF or CPT format for best quality.
All layered (multiple objects) files, duotones and spot colored files must be placed into Draw as CPT files. The reasons are about a 10 page dissertation on postscript output.
One piece of advice I got from a printer is to not convert your files to CMYK. Do all the work in RGB, save all your original work as TIF or CPT, then take the work to the printer and make them responsible. In my experience, that makes life easier. Another option is to save the finished file as a PDF if you're taking it to a service bureau. I've had great results with that. However, if you do use the service bureau, create a folder where you save all your file components, including any fonts you may use and your original files in case the printer needs to access them.
Cheers!
Nathan
Nathan Segal said:One piece of advice I got from a printer is to not convert your files to CMYK. Do all the work in RGB, save all your original work as TIF or CPT, then take the work to the printer and make them responsible. In my experience, that makes life easier
Nathan, this may make your life easier, and also it may work with that print shop, but reality show another story. Prepress is image editor responsibility since computer took place. In the other side, if the print shop, newspaper, etc has to adjust the image, it is going to produce an extra charge, that the client or the artist should paid for. Also, how are you going to tell to the print shop what are the colors in your image? You don't have a good printed proof, and you have not way to match your monitor with their monitor. How are you going to tell to the pressman that you and/or your client are not satisfied with what they printed, and that they should print your job again without extra cost?
I don't disagree with working in RGB or sending RGB images for expanded gamut output. But for my clients I want images as images and fonts and vectors as fonts and vectors.
If the job is for expanded gamut you can leave RGB objects and images as RGB as long as you communicate the internal RGB color space used for creating the file.
Assuming that you have a reasonable calibrated system, if your output is for CMYK press, call me and I'll tell you what TIC we support for your job. Then convert all your file content to CMYK before sending the file to me. Convert your images from their residing RGB color space to the CMYK profile you have chosen and convert all vectors to CMYK.
Since CMYK press work flows pass CMYK numbers along we can reproduce and CMYK profile that fits within the TIC.
Michael Cervantes said: Nathan, this may make your life easier, and also it may work with that print shop, but reality show another story. Prepress is image editor responsibility since computer took place. In the other side, if the print shop, newspaper, etc has to adjust the image, it is going to produce an extra charge, that the client or the artist should paid for. Also, how are you going to tell to the print shop what are the colors in your image? You don't have a good printed proof, and you have not way to match your monitor with their monitor. How are you going to tell to the pressman that you and/or your client are not satisfied with what they printed, and that they should print your job again without extra cost?
Michael. Fair enough. I realize what I said won't work for everybody, it was presented as one of many options. It's up to each user to check things out and find out what works for them.
N.
You can do fine for color copies, Nathan, in RGB, however, the reason why a printer does not want to take the responsibility for you not changing their file to CMYK is that the result may not please you. There are colors which look great on screen and are impossible to print. If job which comes in as RGB must be changed to CMYK at my company, this means the customer will pay more, I don't work for free, does anyone? Oh, yes, we can do it and we, meaning me, am better at it than most as I do it all the time, but the customer has to sign off on the job as well as agreeing to the fees. Our fees are less than the service bureaus we use by twice, so if I don't change the file or have the customer change their file, their outcome is a much greater cost than what they have budgeted. This is a very unpopular thing to tell a customer. If there are colors which are not going to look right, I let them know. However, this is part of a graphic artists job, and what they sold to their client. There is no free lunch. Printers are human beings too. Would you like to be treated that way? No skin off your nose because you do not want to risk anything? This is not nice as you well know that some colors are impossible to achieve adequately in CMYK anyway. I run color proofs at my work for the jobs I do in house we send out for CMYK. I use my ink and toner so I get good results for when my work goes out and is printed. Sometimes I must print several proofs. This is much cheaper than having a job redone. When I relanced, I printed my own proofs, no job wen to the printer that I did not have a printed proof of how it would print.
If I find a customer tries to do in a word, get something for nothing, in other words, hurt my employer, they pay up front first, they sign off on everything and I keep a paper trail on all jobs, especially on the ones where they do not care to be fair. We are in business to make money but also to give the customer a quality product at a fair price. Though I am not signing my own checks, any hope of a raise for me goes out the window for me to see it any other way.
If you drive a print shop out of business by you and others who follow your advice the net result is that you drive not only your own costs up but every other customers cost up which don't deserve it.
First thing before a person is anything else, is they should have the sort of ethics they want others to use when dealing with them. This way no one has to meet in court. But as there are many people who think so shortsightedly, is it any reason why we find a lawyers office on nearly every corner?
Be honest, then you never have anything to apologize for.
>the reason why a printer does not want to take the responsibility for you not changing their file to CMYK is that the result may not please you
What many people do not understand is that out of CMYK gamut RGB and spot colors require human intervention. Depending on color engines, rendering intents, versions of applications the resulting conversions of the same original color can result in two vastly different colors form two different workflows.
The only reason to send RGB to an output service is for photo print output and expanded gamut ink jet output. In every other case if your result has been pleasing it is only because you and the color converter have the same taste. When they get a new person doing the conversions look out.