Pixelated printing in Elements 1.0 w/Epson printer?

RF
Posted By
Russ_Fortson
Jan 19, 2004
Views
433
Replies
9
Status
Closed
Hey gang,

I have a Nikon 950 digital camera and an Epson 875DCS printer. Using another (very simple) program that was packaged with my old computer, I could print very nice prints from my Nikon. Four by six prints looked great, and I even liked the 8X10 prints (I know the experts say you can’t do this, but I liked the results just the same).

I now am using Photoshop Elements 1.0 (came with my scanner) and I’m generally happy with it, except for visible pixelation when printing 4X6 prints. I haven’t even tried 8X10’s since noticing this problem. When I set the paper size, I get a message to the effect that the image is too big for the paper size selected and I’ll get cropping if I try to print. So, I’ll resize the image to 4X6 and it fits the paper perfectly. However, I can see obvious pixelation in the prints. This never happened before with the other program, so it’s not the printer or the camera. I’m obviously doing something wrong with Elements.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Russ
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Beth_Haney
Jan 19, 2004
We’re talking resolution issues here! I don’t remember specifically about PSE 1, but I suspect that it, like PSE 2, has 72ppi as the default resolution for printing from the picture package. That’s way too low to get nice prints from an inkjet printer. A target resolution would be in the range of 150ppi to 300ppi.

Try this experiment: Open a COPY of an image that has just come out of your camera. Go to Image>Resize>Image Size and take a look at the document dimensions (which is usually set in inches) and then look at the resolution at the bottom of the page. Many cameras save at a resolution of 72ppi. If this isn’t increased to something higher, prints will appear pixelated.

Now with that window still open do this: First, look toward the bottom of the Image Resize screen and make sure there is NO checkmark in the box that says Resample. Now try changing the resolution only and watch what happens to the document size. The higher the resolution gets, the smaller the document gets.

I strongly suspect that when you chose to print an 8 X 10 image, the resolution was 72ppi and the document size was considerably larger. The automated resizing process cut down the physical dimensions of your photo but left the resolution at 72ppi. It was resampling downwards, which means it was throwing away digital information that couldn’t be utilized when printing an 8 X 10 at 72ppi. That degrades the quality of your print a whole lot.

Most of us here on the forum usually do all of our resizing manually so that we can retain control over the resolution. Generally speaking, it’s advisable to increase the size of a photo through managing the resolution without making use of resampling. There are some situations in which this can’t be done. When that happens, we resample upwards in increments of 10% using the Bicubic resampling option of Elements.

This is really a common issue for people new to using Elements. If you have more questions, please feel free to repost. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here on the forum who can help, and there are also a couple of good internet sites with information about resolution issues, printing, etc.
NS
Nancy_S
Jan 19, 2004
<http://scantips.com>
RF
Russ_Fortson
Jan 20, 2004
Excellent! Thanks for the information and link. That should fix me up. I figured I was doing something wrong.

Thanks again!

Russ
JW
John_W_Bower
Jan 26, 2004
I am new to this forum and my issue may have been discussed before. If so, I apologize.

I need to make good black and white halftone prints for reproduction from my digital camera. Via the Help system, I have looked in the Gallery Effects section at sketch, and pixelate coor halftones.

I do not want inkjet prints to LOOK like halftones; I want them to BE halftones. Because inket printers put down dots, is this a questio of printing resolution?

I am using Elements 1, but not very experiences with it.

Thanks you.

John
MM
Mac_McDougald
Jan 26, 2004
Your question is extremely unclear (at least to me), John.

Halftoning is done for offset press printing, has nothing to do with getting a good quality inkjet print from a digital file.

It seems you are interested in the latter?

And yes, if you are seeing "dots" in your inkjet prints, you are more likely actually seeing "pixellation" due to insufficent ppi being sent to it.

What ppi/physical size are the files you are trying to print? What is the maximum pixel dimensions of your digicam files (straight out of the camera)?

Apologies if I’ve not really understood your premise.

Mac
BB
brent_bertram
Jan 26, 2004
John,
You might benefit from this thread in the Color Management forum. Andrew Rodney "Good Printers for CMS?" 1/22/04 3:21pm </cgi-bin/webx?13/3> .

It sounds like you want to print halftones on an inkjet, which I believe ( I’m no expert, now ) is a function of the printer driver and is not generally found in "home" printers. I think you’d have to invest in RIP software to get what you want, perhaps not even then.

You might want to check this link for first class B&W printing.http://www.inkjetmall.com/ .

🙂

Brent
JF
Jodi_Frye
Jan 26, 2004
Is this a possibility ? I see the Epson 1270 has the halftone prining option….check out these images…scroll to bottom of page.

< http://www.computer-darkroom.com/ps7_print/ps7_print_mac_3c. htm>
BB
brent_bertram
Jan 26, 2004
Jodi,
How dare you beat me to a reference to Ian Lyons’ site. <G>

My reputation is ruined ! Good catch, but my suspicion is that inkjets can only simulate halftones ( from what I’ve read on other threads, certainly not my own meager experience ) . Really, we’re not at all sure that John’s problem printing can’t be solved some other way, besides halftones. Maybe we’ll find out.

🙂

Brent
JW
John_W_Bower
Jan 27, 2004
Thanks, Everyone. I followed the links suggested by Brent and Jodi, and I see how I confused Mac. I was confused myself. The link to the Epson screen shots enabled me to see how my Canon photo printer—I now find!—will make the halftone prints I need for the commercial printing of a journal containing photographs.

Thanks again.

John

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