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Digital Photography

Up-Rezing Your Images by Dax Borges How to get the most out of those small files. Article rating: 7.82

Everyone has encountered that small file which looks great on the computer but when sent to print it turns out to be too small in file size and the image looks terrible. Though it is always better to get a hold of a larger file it is not always possible. If you are stuck in the situation of having too small a file and are dying to get a little more out of it, then there are a couple of ways to ease your pain. The process is known as uprezing and it can be done using a number of different programs. I generally just use Photoshop but if you want the best results I suggest purchasing the program Genuine Fractals.

Up-rezing is where you get the computer to add pixels to your image. The way it works is the program looks for two pixels of equal value next to each other and adds another pixel in between the two.  For instance if you have two blue pixels next to one anther the program will make it three blue pixels.

This in turn increases your file size giving you more flexibility with your originally small image. The downside to this is because the program just adds pixels between existing pixels you begin to loose sharpness and if used too much the image will begin to look blotchy and soft. The trick is knowing when to stop. This can be figured out through simple trial and error. Though I don’t like my image going soft I am more on the lookout for Blotching in the image. I personally get nervous doing much over double the original file size and that alone is a stretch. Still the best way to know is through trial and error. I find it easier to try a larger size then what I think will work and go backwards from that.

Now that you know a little about up-rezing I will tell you how to get the program to do it.

1. Once your image that you want to up-rez is open go to Image, Image Size…
          a. Be sure that the Scale Styles, Constrain Proportions and Resample Image boxes are all checked.
          b. Next to Resolution set it to Pixels/inch
          c. Lastly, next to Resample Image select Bicubic

2.
          a. If you are happy with the size of your image, once printed, but want the “quality” of the image to increase then you should change the number next to Resolution. Generally an image off the web will be 72dpi and a professional grade image for a printer shouldn’t be more then 360dpi. This means that you want to shoot for something in between. If you start with an image at 72 dpi I wouldn’t generally go much above 180dpi, but once again this is just a matter of judgment.
          b. If you would like the image size to physically change, once printed, you should change the width and height of the image under Document Size. As long as the Constrain Proportions box is checked all you will need to do is change one dimension and the other will follow accordingly.

3. Click Ok and you will be presented with your resized image. If you would like to compare your changes onscreen save the resized image under a new name and then reopen the original image and the resized image. On both images select View, Print Size. This will display your images at the size they will be printed at and give even comparison between the two.

4. Remember that the trick to up-rezing is deciding when to stop. This means you should start by trying to up-rez greatly and work your way back. If the first attempt looks like it is too much then try half of what you just did. If that turns out to look like you could still get more then try the half way point between your first trial and your second. Repeat this process until you have found what you feel is the most you can get out of your image.

TIP: Rather then resizing an image, deciding you need more or less, then closing it just to reopen it and try again, simply use your history. This can be found under Window, History.  Anytime you do something Photoshop records it in the history and allows you to take steps back. In this case the resizing will be labeled as Image Size so you should select whatever line is just above that thus taking you back to the step just before you resized your image.

 

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informative Posted by: min chai Jan 1, 2007 @ 11:28 PM EST

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