Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

Hello group

I would like to know if I can stretch an image in QImage, but only in one direction.
That would be only in the vertical or horizontal, but not both.

An example would be to make a 7x10 image into an 8x10, without cropping.

I can do this in photoshop, but I would rather do it in QImage but I have not figured out how.

Help?

I believe if I am understanding you, you want to stretch one side, and that would distort the image.
Qimage will not do that.

On the other hand, if you place an image into the queue after selecting the print size, and open the Full Page Editor screen, you can slide the image around including zooming in, and it will only affect the print. Your image will be unaltered.
Since there really is no such thing as a 7 x 10 image unless your resolution ratio is 7 x 10, it would be so simple to place your image into the queue after selecting 8 x 10 with crop scissors on.
That would be an undistorted 8 x 10.
Fred

If you are wanting to do things that PS/PSE do in Transform, you'll have to do it there.  QI is really for tweaking printing output.

Thanks for the replies.

I would rather use QImage's excellent hybrid interpolation routine than anything in photoshop.
Too bad it can't be applied in only one dimension.

Alp

I too would very much appreciate this capability in Qimage.  For me the benefit would be to fit an entire image within an exact size outer dimension if additional borders or various sizes are added in Qimage.  This would result in a very minor and in many cases visually unnoticeable non proportional stretch - for example for abstract images where a border is already part of the original image.

Having to create multiple original images to fit different border configurations is counter to the Qimage concept of using one source image for multiple output variations.

Alex-

You can create custom print sizes and save them.  Would that solve your problem without stretching?

Not sure.  Let me give an example for illustration purposes.  I am given an image with an embedded border that is 2:3 ratio.  I first need to print as 4x6 borderless.  It prints perfectly, no cropping, no image or border lost.  Then I also need to print same image on 4x6 card but with a 0.1" Qimage added white border around entire image.  This means I need to either crop the image if I want even borders which cuts off part of the border that is already part of the image (very noticeable and not acceptable) or I can have a 0.1" border on short side and 0.07" on the long side.  This delta in border is noticeable - it looks like a sloppy cut job.

Instead what would be nice if if Qimage allowed the image to be non-proportionally stretched to fit into the resulting 3.8x5.8 ratio needed to print with a 0.1" border.  In almost all cases this small amount of non-proportional stretch is not detectable and acceptable.

Alex-

Shouldn't be.  Adding a border (or two) at the bottom of the print section allows you to choose the size.  Also, whether border is outside (in addition to) print area B+ or within it B.  So choosing 4x6, .1 border and the border inside should give 3.8 x 5.8 with no crop.  Must be another issue.  OR, if you can stand a miniscule crop, try turning on the auto crop too.  It shows on the screen as you go.

Seth,  I unfortunately have not had time to try this yet (although in the past I have used B and B+ borders)  But logically/mathematically there is no way that using a total print size of 4x6 with a border within can be done and retain a true 2:3 ratio image unless that image is either cropped or non-proportionally resized to the new ratio that results by putting a border inside a 4x6 total print size.
If using B within print size already non-proportionally resizes the image that goes inside the border that is something I did not realize, if it doesn't then that is the exact new capability I am asking for.

That is correct, Qimage does not distort images, I would think that is the job of an image editor.
Can you imagine the problems if Q did distort images and users did it accidently? We regularly have to explain about cropping on or off for a set print size and aspect ratios.
I would be against having such a feature.  >:(
I think you need to start thinking whether you really need to stretch an image and look at your methods from the beginning.
You say,
If you are adding borders in an editor, could not 3 borders be equal and one long side be greater? After all, it is common to matte a print in that way.
Just an idea,  ::)
Terry.

There are many things to screw up in Qimage.  It would be very easy to control via a checkbox.
I am not adding borders in photoshop or the like - often they are part of the original abstract image.  Today I have two or sometimes even three .tiff versions of nearly the identical image with every so slightly different aspect ratios so I can print this series with two border types and without - such a waste of hardrive space.  Before I got into this series one thing I liked about Qimage was that I could have one source image and print it in a variety of aspect ratios by cropping in Qimage.

Anyway my reasons are not to make a noticeable artistic change to image, but to accommodate these small aspect ratio changes for very slight different fits. (don't even get me started on how to adjust for same issue for different levels of overspray depending on which printer I am using)

Quote
If you are adding borders in an editor, could not 3 borders be equal and one long side be greater? After all, it is common to matte a print in that way.
Just an idea,  Roll Eyes
Terry.

Maybe I just don't understand why anyone would want to distort an image unless you were hired by the amusement park's fun house. :-)
Using the words stretching one side is still distortion regardless of how you sugar coat it.

Please see the attached screen snap where I have the bottom border narrower than the top or sides in order to accommodate a matte or for any other aesthetic reason.
If this is suitable, then Qimage does this in 3 seconds without distortion.

Hope this helps..

Fred

At some risk I'll ask  ;D .....
Do you use Qimage to disable overspray and then tweak the page margins in Q to compensate for (consistent) alignment errors? Do this and save the print set-up for each printer/page size. Easy to recall anytime.  8)

On borders, I'm sure Fred's suggestion would work for you, look at that option and maybe compromise a little on what you think is the answer.
We are just trying to help!
Terry.

You can use the B setting in Qimage to reduce the image size before repositioning.

Fred

Yes I do that, which works for my general landscape and photographic printing, but not for other types of artistic images and applications as the resulting print space is not an exact ratio depending on for who and what I am printing for.  In one application am given geometric designs that need to have entire image printed and mounted to variety of media, but do not require zero geometric distortion.

I think some people may be set or limited in imagination in what an 'image' is and rightly can't imagine 'distorting' a portrait or carefully planned landscape for a fine art print - I wouldn't either.   But I don't see Qimage as just a tool printing fine art prints, but as a tool for printing images.  For the later options for fitting such images in a specific space are more important than zero geometrical distortion.  I also find the comparison to 'fun house' distortion overblown.  These very small proportional changes are not even noticeable without side by side comparison.

Sometimes or actually most often I do 'compromise' on borders (actually not compromise as I too prefer uneven borders for 'fine art' prints) sometimes the application requires perfectly even borders.

Right now I feel restricted by this limitation in Qimage, not enabled.   Yes, this can be done in photoshop or the like, but the resulting manual calculation to resize exactly to slight variations in print size in photoshop and bring back to Qimage to print gets very tedious, especially with modifications to sizing and borders.

I must have written a request like that more than a year ago. Signature and title space. Addition of extra border space to a selectable side (or two sides), keep the other sides at the normal border width and keep the corner marks to cut the overall size. Right now I do the Photoshop canvas edit or give all the borders an extra cm to cut off later on or do not use the corner marks and add border at that side what would have been wasted paper with corner marks.

I'm not that happy with the coloring method for corner marks. There is a risk that (small) borders on a next print get that color if one isn't alert enough. Maybe Mike could transfer the corner mark color choice to preferences and the user can save that choice as a default for all jobs. It will suit my work better.

I'm not in favor of adding aspect ratio chang in Qimage.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/

Just a comment as this inability to fit to size has impacted me again making holiday cards.

I create cards using qimage and like to use one geometric/abstract image as a background (instead of solid color with solid color qimage borders) for laying out other images and text on top of.  Unfortunately I have to create a different background image size for each crop ratio - my library of custom backgrounds it getting overwhelming due to so many different crop sizes of the same geometric images - instead of one I can crop from or fit to size to keep the pattern/border intact.

Alex

Let's back up here and address this problem from the source rather than band-aiding it after the fact.  The problem here is not that Qimage won't distort images.  The problem is that a border has been inappropriately placed on an image before print time!  Borders should be placed at print time when you know the print size!  Qimage gives many methods of applying borders including decorative borders/frames via cutouts and even placement of photos over border images using freehand placement.  The whole concept of Qimage is that you should use it to print original un-fooled-with images.  Borders should be done at print time and you wouldn't have to distort your images to counter the fact that the border was added at the wrong time in the printing workflow.

Mike