2560x1920 suggested deluxe resolution doesn't seem to make sense?

[mklaurence@gmail.com]

Hello all,

I am planning on ordering some deluxe photo books. The size specs on MyPublisher's website say that these are 15" x 11.5", and they also note that the suggested image resolution for a full-bleed deluxe-size image is 2560x1920.

According to some postings I've read in the forums, the printing is at 175 LPI. We would prefer our resolution to be 2x the LPI, if I'm not mistaken, so:

Width: 15" x 175 LPI x 2 = 5250 pixels
Height: 11.5" x 175 LPI x 2 = 2012.5 pixels

So theoretically, wouldn't this be the "best" resolution to use? I understand that most people don't have cameras that can reproduce at 5250 pixel width (I sure don't!)... but I wonder if upsizing from 3,872 pixels (my highest camera res) using Alien Skin Blow Up or something like that and then sharpening would produce better info for the RIP to process than shrinking the pixel data all the way down to 2560.

Anyone have any thoughts?

...maybe I should order two books, one done by each procedure and compare ;-)

[Cruiser]

What software are you using to process your pictures? My Nikon D200 has the highest resolution of 3850 x 2560 and when processed in Photoshop at 350 dpi, the pictures print just fine whether I put them in a Deluxe or Classic book full bleed or small picture mold. As long as your pictures are more than 1 mb and less than 7 mb, they should print fine. If the file is dark, it has more pixels so I might lower the resolution to 2500 x 2000 or something like that to bring the file size down to below 7 mb. Just remember file size is more important than the pixels....

I just confirmed that a 2500 x 1662, 4.49 mb picture at 350 dpi will fit fine in a Deluxe full bleed page.As long as you have a blue line around your picture when you drop it into your book, it should print fine as long as it doesn't exceed 7 mb. Larger than that, your pictures might be blurry because the software is not designed to accept files larger than that.

I play around with the dpi. If I want to use the 15" x 11.5" at 350 dpi, my file size will be too big. If I drop the dpi to 300 it might work but I would never go below 300 dpi. If you read some of the posts on this very subject, you will learn a lot. The 175 LPI is lines per inch. Another photographer on this forum said you should double the lines per inch to get your dpi...thus the 350 dpi.

[irusan]

That other person on the forum that Cruiser refers to is me :-)

I had to take a bit of a hiatus but am back...

Yes, you typically want to double (and only double) the LPI resolution. There was some confusion a while back whether the MyPublisher press was printing at 175 or 180 LPI but Susan from MyPublisher very kindly confirmed that it is 175.

[irusan]

I am starting a little project of creating video tutorials of my workflow in Photoshop. Nothing terribly fancy, just a few short demos of how I take a RAW file and prep it for use in MyPublisher. Additionally, I am going to have a few about using different fonts and layout options to create full page "images".

When I am done, I'll have them available on my web site.

Rob

[Cruiser]

Rob,

Welcome back. We missed you. I'm looking forward to your tutorials.

Cruiser

[irusan]

> Rob,
>
> Welcome back. We missed you. I
>
> Cruiser

Thanks!

[w7ptt]

So how can we have a photo that is close to the full bleed size on a 15" x 11.5" book, 300 dpi, keeping it UNDER 7 megs?

Bill