Looking for Up-Rezzing suggestions and solutions for 10'x12' print.

[naturemike]

Hello,

I have a client that wants to print one of my images ten by twelve feet. ( I know, that's insanely huge!)

The image was shot on a Canon 5Dmk ii. 20MP (5616 x 3744)

I'm looking for suggestions on the best way to up rez this file.

Some ideas I've had are:

• Photoshop (Increase image size using Preserve Details 2.0 resampling)

• Print the image and scan it using a high resolution scanner

• Some kind of up-rezzing software

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, What DPI would is most suitable for an image this size?

Thanks!


- Mike

[Shadowman]

Mike,

Sounds like the client is going to do the printing so let them do the upsizing.

[Manfred M]

Mike - I had a similar issue a couple of years ago where a client wanted to take one of my panos and have it printed to ~ 9ft x 30ft, so it was a similar issue.

First question is to ask what the native resolution of the client's printer is. The printers for these huge prints tend to be specialty equipment that do not have either the colour depth or the resolution of ink-jet photo printers we tend to use. In the case of the company I was working with, they were working with a printer with a 150 ppi native resolution.

I just used Photoshop to do the upsampling; BUT I spend a number of hours doing many local adjustments (think dodging, burning and in-process sharpening) to ensure that the detail was as good as possible at the final print size / resolution. Don't worry about the pixel peepers; those tend to be photographers rather than people that will end up looking at your image.

I strongly disagree with John's comment about letting the printer do it. Your image means you should deliver the best product you can to your client. The printer has little to lose here; but your reputation as a photographer is at stake. Deliver a print-ready image to your client's specs.

[Bobobird]

There are some up-sizing apps that appear to do a reasonable job.

Topaz AI Gigapixel
Benvista Photozoom

There are others, including PS itself which does a reasonable job. That said have never tested to your gigantic dimension.

Of the 2 I prefer the BenVista app which has quite a lot of user control. The Topaz one is pretty good too but it takes a long long long time even for a 100% upsize. Lacking here is control.

Disclaimer - I have only played around with them to see what they can do and have not actually ever done an upsize for print.
Actually I never upsize (and seldom crop) so at most I will print to the dimensions of the image or smaller.

[Manfred M]

There are some up-sizing apps that appear to do a reasonable job.

Topaz AI Gigapixel
Benvista Photozoom

There are others, including PS itself which does a reasonable job. That said have never tested to your gigantic dimension.

Of the 2 I prefer the BenVista app which has quite a lot of user control. The Topaz one is pretty good too but it takes a long long long time even for a 100% upsize. Lacking here is control.

Disclaimer - I have only played around with them to see what they can do and have not actually ever done an upsize for print.
Actually I never upsize (and seldom crop) so at most I will print to the dimensions of the image or smaller.

I tested Topaz AI Gigapixel and was unimpressed with it versus the existing tools like Photoshop. The improvements are in the same order of magnitude as the new raw algorithms in Lightroom and ACR; minor differences at 400% to 800% and one could have a long debate as to which version looked better.

[Manfred M]

There are some up-sizing apps that appear to do a reasonable job.

Topaz AI Gigapixel
Benvista Photozoom

There are others, including PS itself which does a reasonable job. That said have never tested to your gigantic dimension.

Of the 2 I prefer the BenVista app which has quite a lot of user control. The Topaz one is pretty good too but it takes a long long long time even for a 100% upsize. Lacking here is control.

Disclaimer - I have only played around with them to see what they can do and have not actually ever done an upsize for print.
Actually I never upsize (and seldom crop) so at most I will print to the dimensions of the image or smaller.

I tested Topaz AI Gigapixel and was unimpressed with it versus the existing tools like Photoshop. The improvements are in the same order of magnitude as the new raw algorithms in Lightroom and ACR; minor differences at 400% to 800% and one could have a long debate as to which version looked better.

[xpatUSA]

I have a client that wants to print one of my images ten by twelve feet.

What DPI would is most suitable for an image this size?

Mike, as regards DPI, what viewing distance do you think the client had in mind?

If you have no idea about that, the ideal viewing distance is often said to be the diagonal of the print which in your case would be about 16 ft or 187 in. On the basis of normal human visual acuity, that equates to about 18 ppi based on normal vision - as in one minute of arc (0.291mrad).

Sorry for mentioning an angle, not a popular metric here ...

[george013]

Mike, as regards DPI, what viewing distance do you think the client had in mind?

If you have no idea about that, the ideal viewing distance is often said to be the diagonal of the print which in your case would be about 16 ft or 187 in. On the basis of normal human visual acuity that equates to about 18 ppi based on normal vision, as in one minute of arc (0.291mrad).

Sorry for mentioning an angle, not a popular metric here ...

I think those formula are referring to the coc.

George

[xpatUSA]

I think those formula are referring to the coc.

George

On the other hand, I know for sure that "those formula" are not referring to a Circle of Confusion.

After being criticized recently for being too technical, I left out any relevant formulae in my last post #7, which may be why you are confused.

And if I were to explain in my defense how I obtained 18 ppi, even the act of explanation could get criticized too, so please work it out for yourself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_acuity

[george013]

On the other hand, I know for sure that "those formula" are not referring to a Circle of Confusion.

After being criticized recently for being too technical, I left out any relevant formulae in my last post #7, which may be why you are confused.

And if I were to explain in my defense how I obtained 18 ppi, even the act of explanation could get criticized too, so please work it out for yourself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_acuity

I'm not going to dig through an article finding something that might explain your logic which I don't understand. You have to do it yourself, I'm sure it can be done in a simple way.

George

[xpatUSA]

I'm not going to dig through an article finding something that might explain your logic which I don't understand. You have to do it yourself, I'm sure it can be done in a simple way.

George

I don't have to do anything, George. You are the one who misunderstood my post #7 by saying that you think "those formula are referring to the coc.". It is up to YOU to provide a basis for your statement.

Your policy of turning every rebuttal around onto the respondent will not work with me, sorry. Either prove that I was talking about "coc" or publicly withdraw your comment.

I'm done.