Instruction manual

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9.3 Resizing
Getting an image to the right size and with the appropriate resolution (dpi)
before you print it is an important step. Resizing and setting to the correct
resolution within your photo editing program before printing the photo must be
done for each photo that is printed. This is an important step before printing on
inkjet printers and when using online photo print services. When you use a digital
camera you will notice that all of your photos will come from your camera set at 72
dpi at a large print size. This relationship between print size and resolution (dpi)
must be set correctly.
As an example, the following shows how to resize an image using Photoshop
Elements.
Select Image > Resize > Image Size to make changes. When images come
directly out of a digital camera the image will appear as a 72 dpi file (see the left
figure, below). In order to print the image on paper clearly, you will need to resize
the image so that you have between 200 and 300 dpi (the closer to 300 dpi the
better the quality of the print; see the right figure, below).
When the ‘Image Size’ dialog appears, uncheck the “Resample Image” box;
this will prevent the image from being scaled or interpolated, and will keep all of
the image information (the details captured by the camera) just as they were when
taken by the camera.
To resize the image, set either the width or height to the print dimensions you
would like. Once you set one dimension, the other will adjust proportionally. You
will notice that the document size will change and become smaller and the
resolution will increase if you began with a 72 dpi file. To ensure that you have
sufficient resolution, select between 200 and 300 pixels per inch (you have to
experiment to determine your printer’s best settings).
If you know what image resolution is best for your printer, you can enter this
into the ‘Resolution’ field and press the Tab key. The program will then calculate
an image size. You can use this feature to ascertain if the image has too much or
too little data to print at a particular resolution.