res up from 35 mm

[Alan Justice]

I scan my 35-mm slides at 4000 dpi and print up to 13x19" on an Epson 2200
and they look great. I got an order for a 3x4 foot print. I doubt it would
look very good if I just brought the file to a local guy to print on his
large Epson (4800 or something), although I assume the colors will be the
same ("use embedded profile"). Will Photoshop 6.0 have a res-up ability, or
the latest version? I've heard Guenuine Fractals program will increase
print size and maintain resolution, right? Is that the best solution? Do I
need a drum scan? Or should I just send the slide to Calypso Imaging in
Santa Clara and say "do it and bill me for megadollars"?

 

[Yianni]

You print on your Epson 2200 at 1"/13" * 4000 = 308 dpi.
If you print on the plotter, the resolution will be 1"/36" * 4000 = 111 dpi.
Not the best resolution, but the results would be ok. To evaluate the
results you could crop a part of the photo (about 1/3 of the original scan)
and print it on your printer.

 

[Bob Headrick]

You print on your Epson 2200 at 1"/13" * 4000 = 308 dpi.
If you print on the plotter, the resolution will be 1"/36" * 4000 = 111
dpi. Not the best resolution, but the results would be ok. To evaluate the
results you could crop a part of the photo (about 1/3 of the original
scan) and print it on your printer.

If the OP prints a cropped section on his printer keep in mind that a 3'x4'
poster will be viewed at a greater distance than a B size print. I would
expect the results to be acceptable.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Taking a 35mm film image which is about 1" x 1.5" and scanning it at
4000 dpi will supply a print without cropping of about 125 dpi at 32" x
48". That is adequate if the image will be viewed at a reasonable
distance, as it should be. For the loupe-heads, who need to scrutinize
every pixel, you will need about 200 dpi for a reasonably high res image
being looked at way too close.

With a judicious bit of upsampling and unsharp masking, the 125 ppi
image is probably OK, depending upon the subject matter.

I would suggest you try producing a small section of the image at that
resolution and view it at proper distance and see if anything more is
required.

Do keep in mind that all upsampling programs create interpolated
material to fill in the gaps, (you can't create resolution that isn't
recorded) so the accuracy of upsampling doesn't improve, while it may be
nice to add pixels which were carefully created.

More important, and more obvious, will be the exposure of the original
image, how well you have kept the film, who clean and scratch free it
can be scanned, and how grainy the image is as a result of the film
stock used. So more important to pick the correct image, and scan with
proper calibration to prevent any clipping of the black and white points.

Art

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

If the OP prints a cropped section on his printer keep in mind that a
3'x4' poster will be viewed at a greater distance than a B size print.
I would expect the results to be acceptable.

Very slick, Bob! And the truth. It might be necessary to increase the
contrast, however. In fact, I wonder if Ansel Adams boosted the contrast
of his prints when he blew them up to mural size for his client Wells
Fargo Bank; and if Kodak did the same all those years when they
displayed those enormous back-lit color murals at Grand Central Station,
in New York.

Alan, I'd like to know if you had to do this to achieve the effect of
the original.

Richard

 

[Alan Justice]

[thanks to all who responded. I also contacted Calypso, who said the best
results would be a drum scan with Lightjet print. They do 4x6 foot that
way. The Lightjet has it's own res-up (upsampling?) software that they say
is great.]


The 8x10 of a piece of the shot, printed at the final 100 dpi, looks good.
But it does not have a lot of fine detail: A coast shot that's all about
fog and the color of the water and sky. Should be fine. But one of my
sharp wildlife close-ups might not be as good when blown up that much.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Might I then suggest you do a test of your other subject matter
(wildlife closeup) and see how it looks using the same criterior
(distance viewing etc). At the end of the day, you have to decide if it
works for you or not...

Art

[thanks to all who responded. I also contacted Calypso, who said the best
results would be a drum scan with Lightjet print. They do 4x6 foot that
way. The Lightjet has it's own res-up (upsampling?) software that they say
is great.]


The 8x10 of a piece of the shot, printed at the final 100 dpi, looks good.
But it does not have a lot of fine detail: A coast shot that's all about
fog and the color of the water and sky. Should be fine. But one of my
sharp wildlife close-ups might not be as good when blown up that much.
--
- Alan Justice

Very slick, Bob! And the truth. It might be necessary to increase the
contrast, however. In fact, I wonder if Ansel Adams boosted the contrast
of his prints when he blew them up to mural size for his client Wells
Fargo Bank; and if Kodak did the same all those years when they
displayed those enormous back-lit color murals at Grand Central Station,
in New York.

Alan, I'd like to know if you had to do this to achieve the effect of
the original.

Richard

 

[Alan Justice]

Actually, I have to decide if it will work for the customer, which is tough.

--
- Alan Justice

Might I then suggest you do a test of your other subject matter
(wildlife closeup) and see how it looks using the same criterior
(distance viewing etc). At the end of the day, you have to decide if it
works for you or not...

Art

[thanks to all who responded. I also contacted Calypso, who said the best
results would be a drum scan with Lightjet print. They do 4x6 foot that
way. The Lightjet has it's own res-up (upsampling?) software that they say
is great.]


The 8x10 of a piece of the shot, printed at the final 100 dpi, looks good.
But it does not have a lot of fine detail: A coast shot that's all about
fog and the color of the water and sky. Should be fine. But one of my
sharp wildlife close-ups might not be as good when blown up that much.
--
- Alan Justice

Bob Headrick wrote:

If the OP prints a cropped section on his printer keep in mind that a
3'x4' poster will be viewed at a greater distance than a B size print.
I would expect the results to be acceptable.

Very slick, Bob! And the truth. It might be necessary to increase the
contrast, however. In fact, I wonder if Ansel Adams boosted the contrast
of his prints when he blew them up to mural size for his client Wells
Fargo Bank; and if Kodak did the same all those years when they
displayed those enormous back-lit color murals at Grand Central Station,
in New York.

Alan, I'd like to know if you had to do this to achieve the effect of
the original.

Richard

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Yeah, I understand, but if you have a sample to look at that represents
two major type of images you will be producing, then you have a much
better idea what the results will be, and that may help you to determine
what the end result will look like.

Clients can be very varied. In general, I find clients are not as aware
of issues of color balance and resolution as I am, but certainly some
are very critical.

Sorry, I am no more clairvoyant than you, and maybe less so ;-)

Art

Actually, I have to decide if it will work for the customer, which is tough.

--
- Alan Justice

Might I then suggest you do a test of your other subject matter
(wildlife closeup) and see how it looks using the same criterior
(distance viewing etc). At the end of the day, you have to decide if it
works for you or not...

Art

Alan Justice wrote:

[thanks to all who responded. I also contacted Calypso, who said the

best

results would be a drum scan with Lightjet print. They do 4x6 foot that
way. The Lightjet has it's own res-up (upsampling?) software that they

say

is great.]


The 8x10 of a piece of the shot, printed at the final 100 dpi, looks

good.

But it does not have a lot of fine detail: A coast shot that's all

about

fog and the color of the water and sky. Should be fine. But one of my
sharp wildlife close-ups might not be as good when blown up that much.
--
- Alan Justice

message

Bob Headrick wrote:


If the OP prints a cropped section on his printer keep in mind that a
3'x4' poster will be viewed at a greater distance than a B size print.
I would expect the results to be acceptable.

Very slick, Bob! And the truth. It might be necessary to increase the
contrast, however. In fact, I wonder if Ansel Adams boosted the contrast
of his prints when he blew them up to mural size for his client Wells
Fargo Bank; and if Kodak did the same all those years when they
displayed those enormous back-lit color murals at Grand Central Station,
in New York.

Alan, I'd like to know if you had to do this to achieve the effect of
the original.

Richard