How big can I print my pix?

[termite]

I have some pictures that I have taken and was thinking of getting big prints made. How can I tell how big to print them without losing details. For instance, I have a beautiful picture of a golden eagle that I would love to blow up but i'm not sure how big I can get it. the pixel size according to Adobe/Lightroom is 2304X3456.
I know that there are programs that will let me blow them up bigger but I would like to know how big they can be made as they are.

[OsmosisStudios]

As big as you want to, or as big as your photo will allow. It depends less on resolution and more on the quality of the photo.

[gtpete]

Check this out. It has all the answers you are looking for & more!
How Big Can I Print by Thom Hogan

cheers

Peter

[teaking]

OS is talking sense resolution on a good quality printer in a modern LAB can print low resolution images well as long as the quality is good. Pixel resolution is not a direct comparrison to ink dots on paper, older inkjet printer wont handle lower resolutions well so if it is home printing be wary.

As for enlarging there are as many ways as loafs of bread

One I hear a lot is the 10% rule you enlarge by 10% each time untill you get to where you want to be.

But If possible print what you have in the best quality you have.

[Krusty79]

I used to work at a digital printing company that used a pro lab in Dallas called BWC. As a general rule, for prints 11x14 and smaller, we would recommend printing with an image that could give us 300 pixels per inch. So, if your image has 3000 pixels on the long side, it would give a good print of about 10" on the long side. If the short side is 2000 pixels, that equates to about 6.7". Unfortunately, 8x10s are very common, so you might have to sacrifice a bit of quality to print an 8x10 with a 2000x3000 image. It's going to have to be cropped on the long side because the aspect ratios are different. A 6x9 print would not require cropping, but who has 6x9 frames?

For larger prints, we only asked for an image that would give us 100-150 pixels per inch, the theory being that people don't look at large prints as closely and will not notice the pixelization as much.

That being said, there is another variable. I don't know all the factors that go into it, but my manager also said the quailty of the pixels is important also. I would imagine a high end body correctly exposed is going to produce better pixels than an entry-level body shot on full auto.

Greg