# Print Size vs Cropped Size



## sapper6fd (Sep 12, 2012)

Hey everyone.

I have a few photos I've taken that I would like to print.  Some of them are easily done, others have been edited / cropped and wont come out properly when printed.  Is there a trick / set of rules you guys use when printing photos so they come out properly?  Should I be cropping to a certail ??? X ??? pixels for certain sized photo paper? Or do you just cut off the excess paper after the image has been printed?

Regards,

Sapper


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## pic_chick (Sep 12, 2012)

hi there you can resize your image to the print size you want then print it just check your res.  I try to crop to a print size when I am editing makes it a lot easier


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## MK3Brent (Sep 12, 2012)

It's easy to select the restraints in photoshop for your crop size.
I personally print BIG most of the time, but the same principle applies. 

Select your dimensions in the crop tool then drag the window over your image.
The more you get used to this, the more you start framing your shots differently... Remembering to give yourself some framing room to be potentially cropped.


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## sapper6fd (Sep 12, 2012)

I guess I should also mention I'm not printing these on my printer at home - I'm having them done at costco. I use LR4 for my editing, I'm going to fiddle around with it to see if there is some sort of print feature with it that assists with cropping.  I've never fooled with that portion of the program before so I'm new to this part of the system.


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## Big Mike (Sep 12, 2012)

What do you mean by "so they come out properly?"  

Like just about any print lab, costco has standard sized paper.  I'm not sure what their upload process is like, but most of them will force you to choose a standard paper size.  So if you have cropped your photo to an odd size, then the best thing to do, is probably to just put that image onto a larger print size (with space around it).  Then you can cut the print afterward (maybe ask them to do that if you don't have a paper cutter).  

Or, you could avoid the issue and just crop to a standard size in the first place.  Lightroom allows you to lock/set the ratio when you crop, so that you can set the size/shape that you want.


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## sapper6fd (Sep 12, 2012)

Big Mike said:


> What do you mean by "so they come out properly?"
> 
> Like just about any print lab, costco has standard sized paper.  I'm not sure what their upload process is like, but most of them will force you to choose a standard paper size.  So if you have cropped your photo to an odd size, then the best thing to do, is probably to just put that image onto a larger print size (with space around it).  Then you can cut the print afterward (maybe ask them to do that if you don't have a paper cutter).
> 
> Or, you could avoid the issue and just crop to a standard size in the first place.  Lightroom allows you to lock/set the ratio when you crop, so that you can set the size/shape that you want.



This is what I was looking for.  What I mean by "properly" I didnt really explain as best as I could have.  

What I meant was "Is there a pixel X pixel count or an aspect ratio for cropping and printing".  I've been doing a bit of reading on it today and have the proper teminology for what I'm trying to ask (Aspect ratio).  The previous posts and yours have put me onto the LR set / lock ratio feature which is exactly what I'm looking for.  

Unfortunatly the photo printing service at Costco doesnt allow you to do this prior to printing.  Its the entire image or nothing at all... so I need to crop the photos prior to downloading them onto my USB stick and bringing it to Costco.  

Many thinks for your assistance!


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## KmH (Sep 12, 2012)

Most DSLRs deliver photos that have a 3:2 aspect ratio

3:2 (2:3) aspect ratio prints

3x2 (2x3)
6x4 (4x6)
12x8 (8x12)
15x10 (10x15)

Some of the other popular print sizes have different aspect ratios. 8x10 is a 4:5 (5:4) aspect ratio. To make a 4:5 print from a 3:2 photo, some portion of the 3:2 photo will have to be cropped away.

For custom size crops, you can put the photo on a standard size canvas. Many online print labs will trim the excess for you as long as you order a wall size print. You'll have to ask Costco.


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## pic_chick (Sep 12, 2012)

light room 4 choose the crop tool then under the if you look below to the right ( i think you will find a drop down list that will have crop sizes that will have a fixed size it is found by the lock icon here is a how to vid from utube Lightroom 4 Crop Tool - YouTube


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