Downsizing Image Recommended: To Resample or Not Before Sharpening????

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Posted By
xtx99
Nov 1, 2005
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288
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I’m a newbie with a workflow question. I shoot in RAW with a D70 and am using Photoshop CS2 to create TIFFs for printing on a HiTouch Photoshuttle Printer (a dye-sub 6"x4" printer purporting to be 310 dpi)

In September 2005s Popular Photography, writer Debbie Grossman in her article "Resize Matters" states:

"If you’re resizing for print, this is the box to visit. You can use the Image Size box to determine just how big you can print your image without upsizing. For print, a resolution of at least 200 ppi is good for super large prints, and 300 ppi is ideal for 8x10s and smaller. Uncheck Resample Image so you’re not adding pixels, and type in the height or width of your desired print. The resolution will shift accordingly. Don’t worry if the resolution expands beyond 300ppi if you’re shrinking your shot; the printer will ignore date it can’t process. The biggest bonus of leaving Resample off? You never touch the original pixels, and you’ll always have the information you need if you want to crop or print big."

Before sharpening, my workflow has been to resize the image to 310ppi and then use CS2’s Unsharp Mask in Luminosity Mode. My first question,….is my printers purported 310dpi the same as resizing for a setting of 310ppi? If ppi is really different than dpi perhaps she is right….I wouldn’t want to be resampling twice (once when I resize and again when I’m printing). I’m sure there is a concrete objective answer on whether I should or should not downsize prior to sharpening. Thanks in advance for your replies to this post.

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J
Jim
Nov 1, 2005
wrote in message
I’m a newbie with a workflow question. I shoot in RAW with a D70 and am using Photoshop CS2 to create TIFFs for printing on a HiTouch Photoshuttle Printer (a dye-sub 6"x4" printer purporting to be 310 dpi)
In September 2005s Popular Photography, writer Debbie Grossman in her article "Resize Matters" states:

"If you’re resizing for print, this is the box to visit. You can use the Image Size box to determine just how big you can print your image without upsizing. For print, a resolution of at least 200 ppi is good for super large prints, and 300 ppi is ideal for 8x10s and smaller. Uncheck Resample Image so you’re not adding pixels, and type in the height or width of your desired print. The resolution will shift accordingly. Don’t worry if the resolution expands beyond 300ppi if you’re shrinking your shot; the printer will ignore date it can’t process. The biggest bonus of leaving Resample off? You never touch the original pixels, and you’ll always have the information you need if you want to crop or print big."

Before sharpening, my workflow has been to resize the image to 310ppi and then use CS2’s Unsharp Mask in Luminosity Mode. My first question,….is my printers purported 310dpi the same as resizing for a setting of 310ppi? If ppi is really different than dpi perhaps she is right….I wouldn’t want to be resampling twice (once when I resize and again when I’m printing). I’m sure there is a concrete objective answer on whether I should or should not downsize prior to sharpening. Thanks in advance for your replies to this post.
In this context, ppi means the same thing as dpi. I do all changes before sharpening.
Jim
BH
Bill Hilton
Nov 2, 2005
I’m sure there is a concrete objective answer on
whether I should or should not downsize prior to sharpening.

For single-pass sharpening you should always resize a copy and then sharpen at the final print size. This helps avoid unnecessary artifacts.

Some digital camera workflows (like that suggested by Canon for their professional bodies) use two passes of USM, the first a relatively light pass (Canon recommends 300%, 0.3 amt, 0 threshold if you’ve turned off sharpening in your RAW converter) and then a more aggressive sharpening at final print size. In this case you’d run the first pass on the un-resized file. Not sure if Nikon suggests doing this with the D70.

Bill

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