Alt+Print Screen copies the screen image as pixels, without any PPI setting. You can then Paste that into an existing or newly created Photoshop file. Clear so far? If you want to enlarge the image, Resample using Nearest Neighbor in the Image Size dialogue. If you’re placing the image into another program, like InDesign or Illustrator, then no need to resample, as the pixels will be scaled in the destination program.
I don’t know that the printer doesn’t play a role in this equation.
You want to pull your screenshot, which is in pixels, into Photoshop by using whatever method you are using. Next, cut out whatever you don’t want to use by cropping. Now, resize that image using Image > Image Size, with Resampling checked, and "Nearest Neighbor" selected from the dropdown box as the selection method. Set the size to the size in pixels that you would want the image to be. For example, let’s say you have an image cropped to 40×100 pixels of actual screen pixels, and you want to blow this up to a screenful. Set Resampling and select Nearest neigbhor, then go to the pixel dimensions at the top, which read 40 and 100; change these to 240 and 600 (change one and the other will automaticaly change, if you have the box checked to keep aspect ratio), accept the change, and you now have an enlargement of the original pixels, instead of an interpolation.
The type of rip used to process this type of thing has everything to do with the end result.
A Creo/Scitex or Artwork Systems rip will, by default resample the rasters all to something close to 300ppi at print size, using something like bicubic scaling… so a screen grab may get mushed up a bit.
In such a case, resampling with nearest neighbor, choosing an exact multiple of your starting resolution, and ending up close to 300ppi is the way to go.
Then again even the ancient Scitex rip that I used to operate had a screen-grab setting which processed the grabs to the LW layer, but I rarely used the feature, nor did I understand how it worked.
Suffice it to say, it was not a default setting, so only a truly astute pre-press guy would know to enable the feature.
OTOH, if the rip used is like a Harlequin rip or any of several PDF based rips, then whether or not you resample would have no effect on screen grab quality, furthermore doing so (resampling) would serve only to increase the amount of data you print for the exact same result.
which read 40 and 100; change these to 240 and 600 (change one and the other will automaticaly change, if you have the box checked to keep aspect ratio), accept the change, and you now have an enlargement of the original pixels, instead of an interpolation.
It most certainly WOULD be an interpolation. In place of every original pixel you would now have 36 pixels of all the same color, masquerading as a single pixel
"Nearest Neighbor" option was the way to go! Thanks for taking the time to help.
Problem solved with re-cropping using nearest neighbor option; did it three times, finally have something that I can print. Thanks a lot for taking the time.
Resizing screen grabs or GIFs is just about all that nearest neighbor is good for.