# Cropping and/or resizing for printing



## Natural_Disaster (Sep 4, 2011)

I still cant get it right!
I understand images from digital cameras are odd shaped..more square than rectangle...
I understand the best image quality is 300 dpi....
What i dont understand is how to crop and image and keep 300 dpi....
Or how to crop an image to an exact print size...
When i upload an image to a printing site such as Adorama....even if its the orginal image from my camera..it crops some of the image off or adds the dreaded white borders. So i go into my PSP7 program and re-size it....say i want it resized to a 8.5 by 11...i put in 8.5 width, 11 height, 300 dpi...and upload to print again and it does the exact same thing!
Also, when i try to resize an image to a 16x20..my program will automatically change the size to 13.28x20 with 72 dpi...i can try as many ways as i can think of it and it doesnt work. And when i do get it to resize anything larger than a 8x10 it stretches the image regardless of what aspet ratio i use. 
This is really annoying. I take a tight crop pic and upload the orginal for printing and it ends up cropping off part of the image......And if i leave space at the top or side for cropping, it still crops off something important like a hand or foot!
Ive read and read all kinds of information on this and still have no clue what im doing wrong. 
Attached is a screen shot of what my resize options look like. You can see if i keep 300 dpi it says my picture can only be printed as smaller than a 6x4.... 



SCREENSHOT by reachingforthestars07, on Flickr
IF anyone has any advice at all it is greatly appreciated! Im tired of spending hours on trying to get just a few pics ready for printing!
If there is a program that is easy to use that does this...that would be helpful information as well!
Thanks!​


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## MTVision (Sep 4, 2011)

Natural_Disaster said:
			
		

> I still cant get it right!
> I understand images from digital cameras are odd shaped..more square than rectangle...
> I understand the best image quality is 300 dpi....
> What i dont understand is how to crop and image and keep 300 dpi....
> ...



Honestly - I have no idea but have you tried unchecking box that says "maintain aspect ratio?"


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## Natural_Disaster (Sep 4, 2011)

Yes ive tried that. I assumed that since it allows me to resize to a specific size that when i went to print it, it would be perfectly cropped but i guess not. 
I also assumed that since everyone seems to be able to print 16x20 and even larger from a camera like mine (so i have seen on the web) that i would be able to do the same...but i cant seem to get it sized right!


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## mwcfarms (Sep 4, 2011)

Have you tried cropping the image to your desired size and then just printing that? I too am having issues with the whole resize for print atm but have some actions for larger sizes its going smaller I am having issues with.


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## Natural_Disaster (Sep 4, 2011)

I have but when i try to resize it my program will not let me choose certain dimensions like 16x20. And when i get it somewhere close to that it drops the dpi down to like 72. If i type in a higher dpi it switches the size from what i typed in to something like a 4x5. 
I just read another thread that said the ratio for a 8x 10 or 16x20 should be 4:5 but as you can see in my screen shot...my ratio only allows me to type in the first number and the second number is automatically 1...maybe thats the problem..i dont know. 
Its very frustrating. I know my camera is capable of of a good quality 16x20 but i cant find a program that will let me put in those dimensions and actually print what i want!
I do a lot of editind, bordering, adding names, etc and i always end up with part of it cropped off once i upload to the printing site so i have to constantly go back and work with it or either just not put anything near any edges. I would love to be able to resize or crop the image to the desired print size and then add what i want to it and know its going to print it all that way!


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## 480sparky (Sep 4, 2011)

When you deselect 'Maintain aspect ratio', you need to make sure the height and width you manually enter match the aspect ration of the print.  You need to deselect the 'Maintain' thing first, then enter your h&w.  Otherwise, the software will resize it the image maintaining the existing aspect ratio, and if you don't enter any new numbers your print will be off.


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## Josh66 (Sep 4, 2011)

The pixel dimension is less important than the ratio (2:3, 4:5, 5:7, etc).

What I do:
First, _crop_ to the required ratio for the print.  Then, _scale_ the image down to the proper pixel dimension.


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## Natural_Disaster (Sep 4, 2011)

My crop tool doesnt allow me to crop to a specific ratio.. it just lets me draw a box and crop...the resizing option is what allows me to change the ratio and now im still confused. 
If i change the w&h to what i want and uncheck maintain ratio....will it automatically fix the ratio?
I just resized a 2848x4288 image to a 16x20 with maintain ratio unchecked....but it will not let me go above 72.001 ppi! If i try to go higher on the ppi it automatically brings down the numbers for the print size to smaller than a 16x20. Shouldnt i be able to get a 16x20 with at least 150 ppi? At 72 ppi the image is horrible when i just zoom in a little on my screen.


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## Natural_Disaster (Sep 4, 2011)

Also, when i open a blank image sized at 16x20 and copy my original image into the blank one, it doesnt even fill up half the canvas....Shouldnt it be larger than that?


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## table1349 (Sep 4, 2011)

What program are you using?
What OS are you using?


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## Natural_Disaster (Sep 4, 2011)

psp 7...working on trying to download a trial of something to see if that helps....
I took a digital background i bought and opened it in psp7 and it lets me do 16x20 at 300 ppi.....but when i open a photo from my camera it drops i cant go any higher 72 ppi for a 16x20...grrrr Is it my camera or the way im taking or saving the pictures?


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## Josh66 (Sep 4, 2011)

What program are you using?

Un-checking the 'maintain ratio' box will generally result in stretched images.  It needs to already be the right ratio before you crop/resize to change the pixel dimensions.


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## Natural_Disaster (Sep 4, 2011)

PSP 7 (Paint shop pro)
Just tried Coral and it doesnt have a ratio option that i can find
What program does everyone else use??


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## table1349 (Sep 4, 2011)

You won't like the answer but here it is.  Your problem is PSP 7.  PSP 7 and earlier versions did not have, as you have noted, a standard print size cropping feature.  You have a couple of options.  Upgrade to the new version of PSP or pick up another piece of software that will crop to a standard print size cropping feature.  

One other solution you might want to look at.  Do all of your color correction edits in PSP 7, save a copy of the photo and open it in what ever Nikon provided with your camera.  It should have a crop feature that will then let you crop the photo to the print size you need.


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## Natural_Disaster (Sep 5, 2011)

Ok, i also use Lightroom 3 but cant find anything on there to fix the ratio either..
What program do you suggest if i can find the stuff that came with my camera......(i have it..just packed up somewhere)


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## Josh66 (Sep 5, 2011)

LR3 has everything you need...

It's been a while since I've used it, so I don't remember all the menus and such, but it's there...

Whatever the crop tool is, it should have options...  Some of those options should be ratio and size...

edit
It may just have ratio.  Size was done on export, if I recall correctly...


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## table1349 (Sep 5, 2011)

In LR3 go to tools and choose crop.  Now in the developer tab you will see the cropping pane.  Unlock the padlock on the right side of the pane.  You will get a pull down menu that will let you crop to standard print dimensions.  It will also let you set custom dimensions such as the 16 X 20 you mentioned.


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## Natural_Disaster (Sep 5, 2011)

I got it to work in psp 7 finally....4:5 is the same as 1.25:1 and 1.25:1 is the number i had to use!

gryphonslair..imma go try that right now! Thanks so much.
And thanks to everyone else for your help!


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## Forkie (Sep 5, 2011)

Get either a demo or the Elements version of Photoshop.  Select the rectangular marquee tool and you can set either the dimensions or aspect ratio to whatever you like, then drag it out and crop.


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## table1349 (Sep 5, 2011)

Forkie said:


> Get either a demo or the Elements version of Photoshop.  Select the rectangular marquee tool and you can set either the dimensions or aspect ratio to whatever you like, then drag it out and crop.



Which is what LR3 does which the OP already owns.


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