Panic about printing for my first exhibit

[montoya]

Hi guys. My university agreed to have an exhibit of my work in their gallery. The problem now is that I should print my pics in a very large size (around 20x13) but my pictures are only 12mp. According to charts I can only print 14x9 at 300dpi
What should I do? print in less than 300dpi or Just print them at 300dpi? Or print them at 14x9??
I'll be spending around 600 dollars on prints and framing (15-18 pics) and I want really want my work to look good since it is my first exhibit.

[Sterling]

I'm not a printing expert by any means. But I do understand the basic concept that the larger the print, the farther away it is normally viewed. 300dpi may be great for a 4x6 that you view at less than 12 inches away. A larger print that is normally viewed from 10 feet away will look just as sharp at a lower resolution. As an example, the billboard image that looks pretty sharp from 200 feet away is practically unrecognizeable if viewed at 3 feet because the printing resolution is so low.

I'm sure some more experienced printers will have some more concrete advice for you.

[LeeR]

I think you should have a long talk with someone at a professional printing shop. Sit down with someone who is an expert in printing images and you are likely to come away with a real education... and a bit more confidence. What you are looking for should be no problem and the printer will tell you exactly what you need to do for the best possible results. In the meantime, open those images to 100% and look for telltale signs of camera shake, noise and chromatic aberrations. They may be nearly invisible on your computer screen but be glaringly obvious when printed.

[ravncat]

I agree with LEER.

12 megapixels is more than enough - and with ink bleeding and all sorts of fun things to learn about - you don`t really need 300dpi, but you can also uprez your files too. (I`ve got excellent 12x18 prints from 6 megapixels) There are many things to learn - including a proper sharpening routine for your output. I am no expert - I`ve not had the opportunity to print in awhile, but giving proper advice really depends on the following

Printer type - Inkjet, dyesublimation...
Process used (halftone, dither ...)
Paper -
Color workflow
Image sharpness
Resolution / micro-resolution.
Viewing distance

Easily enough to fill a couple books. Going to a professional print lab will give you a crash course - and some great advice. So - there is alot to learn - but take heart in that 12 megapixels is certainly "enough" for very high quality 20x13 prints. It`s mainly a matter of how you present the printer the data and what you are printing with. A pro print lab should know all of this like the back of their hand.

Also...
If you are up for it - depending on how many and how large the mats are for your printing it could be similar price or cheaper to buy a mat cutter and make the mats yourself. If you`re good with geometry, and understanding how to use the mat cutter - it`s not too hard to learn how to make very nice mats. I suspect you might be able to get someone at your university to teach you about them. It takes practice, but making good mats is fairly straight forward.

[BCampbell]

Don't worry too much about printing at 300dpi. I've seen excellent 8x12" prints at 125dpi... do the math, that's a lot less than 12MP.

It really ends up being about the image you're printing. A high resolution will be more forgiving of errors, just like the images in your camera LCD look a lot sharper than on your display.

Talk to someone at a good printing shop. Most shops also ofer some processing services; for a few extra dollars they'll make sure your colors and levels are right, etc. They can also give you an idea of what the size limit for an individual photo might be.

Again, it's all about the photo itself. It's hard for us to tell you without looking at the images.

[montoya]

Thanks for your comments guys. I'll try to find a decent print shop and ask for advice.