Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

hello,

   If I keep enlarging an image in corel or PS until It starts to look pixelated is that a good guide as to how big I can print it?
For example if I take an image and size it visually at 16x24 it looks good, if I enlarge it to 32x28, still looks great,  doesnt start to look pixelated until its up to 64x56 which is way bigger than I would actually print. Is this a good way to preview an image to see how big it will print or is there something missing about the process? thanks. have just printed a few small pix so far with qimage.

Msongs
Riverside CA 

Hi Msongs,
Not really; I assume you are doing this on-screen which will show the pixels as you zoom in.
One "rule" for using Qimage is that you don't re-size (increase or reduce the pixel size) an image in other software.
Qimage has advanced algorithms for doing this automatically, as it sends the image to the printer, which are better than anything other software has.
I doubt if there are any serious limitations as to what Qimage can do with normal images, a good print can be obtained with a print resolution as low as 100 pixels per inch.
Tell us the pixel size of you image and what size you want to print and we can comment.
Terry

The "Test strip" function in Qimage will tell you a lot in a hurry.  Printing test strips is practically the only time I use the photo tray (a dedicated tray for 4x6 and 5x7 paper) in my HP B8550.  Before I print on 13x19 paper, for example, I can print a 4x6 section to confirm the quality of the image before I print it large.  It works the same way if I'm preparing a file to be printed by an outside vendor.

thanks, tried the test strip function and figured it our enough to use. the final test image looked a bit pixelated on the screen but printed fine.

Glad to hear it.  For the first several years I used Qimage, I never printed larger than 8x10, and frankly had overlooked the test strip function.  Since I now have a 13x19 printer, and sometimes order larger prints. I use the test strip function regularly.

That's probably the best way to determine how large you can go with your prints.  Search for "digital camera resolution print size" and you'll find tons of recommendations, most of which in my experience aren't worth much.  As I'm sure you know, it's not just megapixels, it's sensor size, lens quality, viewing distance, and probably a dozen other factors which will affect how large you can go and still get a "good" print.

And Qimage is a major factor all by itself.  I routinely printed 8x10s from my 4 mp Canon G2 on a Deskjet 9650.  Most people said, "That can't be digital."  I moved up to an 8 mp Canon Powershot Pro1 and had no problem going to 12x18 and 16x20 prints, and even 18x24, just by using Qimage's "print to file" function and carrying the file to a local supplier.

Only test prints will tell you exactly what you can expect to get from your camera and printer, and test strips will save you some paper.  Welcome to Qimage.  Write anytime.  Much good advice available on these forums.

thanks for the welcome! sort of a slash n burn printer here, just drag the images until they reach the size I want and print in PS or corel. using big files usually so results are generally just fine. I'm sizing for final image and framing usually. looking forward to my first big print with qimage as soon as a I can accurately dictate final printed image size.

hmm just wondering since there is no cropping tool like PS where u just make the little box the size u want an click crop.....if I make the image full size in PS and crop down to say a 4x4 piece and print that, will it be equivalent to the same size crop in the qimage scissors method? trying to make a test strip of a panorama and it will only make a test in the same width/length proportion of the panorama (hope that is a clear description)

+

Why do you say there is no place where you make a little box and crop?
You can do that in the Image editor. Draw you crop with or without aspect ratio constraints.

It sounds though, that you want to test a portion of your print at teh same ppi as the big print.
This is all set up for you in Qimage.
It is called TEST STRIP, and requires no more than going to the Fill Page Editor screen, and clicking the Test strip icon a few times (stopping at the size you want), and moving the image around in in the little crop window to get the part you want to test.

Mike has it pretty well documented in the Help File, but, I'll paste it here for you.

Test Strips - Before printing large prints and committing large amounts of paper, printing a small section of the large print can be helpful for the purpose of judging detail, sharpness, and color.  There is a "Test strip" function on the full page editor that will allow you to create a small, proportional print that contains a piece of the larger print.  From the main window in Qimage, start by adding the photo you wish to print at the desired final size (20x30 inches for example).  Then click the "Edit Page" button below the preview page, select the print on the page, click the "Cropping" button on the right and the "Test strip" button will be visible under the small crop window.  The test strip button can be used in any of the following ways:

You may repeatedly click the test strip button to make your test strip progressively smaller until you have a size as small as you like.
You may click the test strip button once and then change the size of the print manually using the sizing functions on the main window.  Once the test strip button is clicked, that print remains a test strip which will conform to a piece of the original size print until you remove the print crop or manually move the crop zoom lever in the page editor.  You could, for example, start with a 20x30 inch print, click the test strip button, and then choose a new size of 4x6.  Since the print has been identified as a test strip, the 4x6 print will be a 4x6 portion of the 20x30 print!  The area of the 20x30 print shown in the 4x6 can be adjusted by simply dragging the crop in the page editor or using the high precision cropping tool in the page editor.
You may select a smaller paper size (4x6 for example) and add your large print to the queue, specifying that it is OK to create a poster larger than one page.  Then simply click the test strip button in the page editor once and the test strip will automatically be resized to the size of your (smaller) paper.  The crop can then be moved manually to any part of the print using the cropping tool in the page editor.
Note that while left clicking on the test strip button will make the test strip smaller, right clicking or Ctrl-clicking on the test strip button will make the test strip larger.

Fred