Everyone needs a little learning once in a while. So, here’s a quick video tutorial on how to size and crop your images properly when ordering your 1.5″ Gallery Wrap canvas with an Image Border from Canvas Press.
Feel free to post your questions in the Comments section below. Thanks!
It’s a question we get asked all the time. People want to know how large they can print their image, taken from their camera. The terminology can be confusing but we’ve prepared this chart to serve as a guideline. The MegaPixels in your digital camera translate into pixel dimensions, which tell us how large an image can be printed. All cameras have different settings (read our previous blog post to see just what can happen if you don’t know your settings) but the dimensions listed here are for the maximum available for the respective megapixels listed.To determine the pixel dimensions of your image, find the file on your computer and right click (control + click on a mac) and select “properties” (or “get info” on a mac).
This is just a rule of thumb, depending on the clarity of the image, any enhancements added and the finished look you are going for, some images may not work at these sizes and some can be done even larger. If you have your hopes on something bigger than what is recommended here please use our image consultation form online.
Many at home all-in-one printers have great scanning capabilities, so you may be able to scan your own prints in order to send them to us for printing on canvas. However, not just any scan will do. It is important to make sure the settings are correct to ensure a quality digital copy of your original.
Depending on how large the print is and how large you want to go you will need to adjust the resolution (DPI or PPI) setting to a higher number, the default is typically 200. It is ideal to scan at a resolution of between 800 and 2400 dpi. You will also want to select the area just around the image, so that the scanner surface is not included.
Some brands of scanners include software to remove dust and scratches automatically, and this can work great but it can also create some strange effects on the digital file. You can choose to scan without that adjustment if you aren’t happy with the results and select “Minor Retouching” on your order and we will be sure to touch up all those flaws.
Finally, make sure to save as a high quality file. JPEG is fine but make sure it is the Maximum Quality level to avoid compression artifacts and pixilation. Our website can accept files up to 100MB in size in .JPG, .PNG and .PSD file formats.
If you don’t have access to a scanner or you aren’t confident in getting a high quality scan from your equipment feel free to mail it to us for complementary scanning and we will return the original with your finished canvas. We recommend securing the photo inside a plastic bag between two pieces of cardboard and mailing using a service that provides you with a tracking number to make sure it does not get lost in the mail. If the print is a unique, one of a kind photograph and you are uncomfortable mailing it, or if it is larger than a letter size sheet of paper you can take it to a local print shop and request a high resolution scan.
| Megapixels, Resolution and DPI by Kyle McKee  |
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| “How many megapixels?” It still seems to be the million dollar question for most people when it comes to digital cameras, from point and shoots, to digital SLRs, to even your camera phone. Why just yesterday I had a friend flaunting a new phone sporting a hefty 2 megapixels. Yes, these little, seemingly microscopic, pixels are reproducing at alarming levels even in our phones. In less than 10 years we’ve seen the number of pixels explode with most camera manufactures now offering over 10 megapixels. Do we really need 10, if so, why not 20? Is more really better? And if they’re so “mega” why the heck wouldn’t a single megapixel suffice? Why do we consistently want more of these pixels? And, more importantly, how many do we need to print out something worthy of hanging on the wall? Let’s first quickly define a megapixel. The word megapixel can be broken up into two words Mega, in this case meaning 1 million, and pixel, an abbreviation for picture element. The “pix” portion arises from the common abbreviation for picture. A pixel is basically a little dot that when combined with a bunch of other little dots, one million in the case of 1 megapixel, produces what our eyes recognize as an image. Obviously it takes a lot of these little dots to produce a sizable image. The first thought that comes to mind for many when the word megapixel is mentioned is image quality. Image quality might also be translated to image resolution. Cameras differ when it comes to how many megapixels it takes to give a certain resolution. In other words, a 4 megapixel photo taken by a Canon camera will more than likely not have the same resolution as a 4 megapixel photo taken by a Sony camera. This is due primarily because the image capturing sensor within each of the cameras differs between manufactures. You can usually determine your camera’s megapixel to resolution ratio by looking in your owner’s manual or visiting your camera manufacture’s website. We do know that the number of pixels present directly corresponds to an image’s maximum resolution at different sizes. As you increase the size of the photo you actually magnify, or zoom in on, the pixels. Thus, theoretically, the more pixels you have the better the image will look at higher resolutions. When printing your image, a printer attempts to recreate it on paper by translating megapixels or image resolution to dpi (dots per inch). Dpi is the printer’s measure of printing resolution; in particular the number of individual dots of ink a printer can produce. At around 250 dpi and above the human eye has trouble seeing these individual dots of ink and the printed picture appears as one large image. At Canvas Press we print the majority of our images at a minimum of 240 dpi.
And we know that the images are then printed at 16 x 24. To calculate the dpi of each photo we divide image resolution by the print size.
So, 7 megapixel images on the Canon-1Ds Mark II have a maximum resolution of 3072 x 2048. Using this let us calculate the highest dpi that we can print this image at without modifying or enhancing it.
A 7 megapixel image at a size of 16 x 24 has a max dpi of 192 x 85 and by adding vertical and horizontal dpi we get a total of 277 dpi. A 10 megapixel image with a resolution of 3600 x 2400:
Theses calculations show that the 10 megapixel image maxes out at 325 dpi. A 16.7 megapixel image with a 4992 x 3328 resolution:
So, taking in mind that the human eye can only detect color squares at around 250 dpi and lower, you can see how Pogue’s test subjects might have had troubles differentiating between the different images. However, if we were to print these images at a size lager that 16 x 24, maybe something like a 30 x 40, you would probably be able to tell the difference between a 7 megapixel and a 16.7 megapixel image. But these larger sized images are usually not designed to be viewed close up but rather at a distance of at least a few feet or so. And, at that distance you would probably have problems differentiating between them. I think Pogue’s experiment helps to clarify the point that regardless of how many megapixels are used in capturing an image or the resulting image resolution, the human eye has problems discerning any enhances in quality over about 250 dpi. Any printed image that meets or exceeds this standard dpi will appear sharp and clear. Now that you can fairly quickly determine the probable dpi that an image will print at, let us suppose that one of your favorite shots was taken at only 4 megapixels, a 2946 x 1664 resolution, and that you would like to see it on a beautiful 30 x 40 canvas gallery wrap. A 2946 x 1664 resolution image could normally only print out at a maximum of 140 dpi at 30 x 40. At that dpi the printed result will more than likely not meet your expectations and may even appear blurry or pixilated.
Fortunately, digital images can be enhanced and at Canvas Press we have the ability to take lower resolution images and resize them to a quality capable of printing at over 250 dpi and at sizes much larger than even 30 x 40. That 4 megapixel photo might even be billboard material after we work our magic on it. Let us help you worry less about megapixels, resolution, and dpi and concentrate rather on getting that memorable photo focused in and framed correctly. From digital photo enhancements to large format printing, we specialize in ensuring your photos come out looking spectacular on canvas. |
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Built with style, the new Apple iPhone is a very functional device. I recently purchased the new phone and I’ve been excited daily to keep playing with it. There are a few quirks with the iPhone, but overall I’m impressed and I can’t wait to see what the next generation iPhone will bring.
One of the features of the new iPhone is that like most other mobile phones today, it has a built-in camera for those of us that can’t live without a camera. The camera is not the best camera found on mobile devices; however, I was surprised to discover that you can create a quality image from the iPhone to have printed as a canvas, so let’s get into the details. (more…)
Forget MEGApixels and start taking GIGApixel images with your digital camera. That’s right, with your tiny, point-and-shoot digital camera. New technology from Carnegie Mellon University in collaboration with NASA’s Ames Research Center, Google and local Austin company, Charmed Labs now brings consumers the ability to create and share multibillion-pixel panoramas.
They are called “GigaPans.” Carnegie Mellon and Ames developed software that could digitally stitch together hundreds of overlapping images to create one large, extremely high resolution picture. Charmed Labs is an electronics company from Austin, Texas that has worked with Carnegie Mellon on past projects. For this endeavor, they were able to create a low-cost robotic device in which a point-and-shoot digital camera can be mounted to take the necessary pictures. (more…)
