photoshop sizing incorrectly

[katia]

Howcome when I go File>New

in Photoshop, and input my document size, it isn't actually that size? The only way I can get it to actually be the size I inputted is by opening up the image in MS Paint, going to Page Setup, and selecting "Adjust to 100% Normal Size" and THEN when I print it, it's spot-on the size I want it to be.

[katia]

actually if I print it through Photoshop it prints the correct size, but when I open it in photoshop it's MUCH too large and completely covers the canvas. I am trying to get 4x6 prints done with 3 one-sided business car designs on each, but they need to be a precise size so as not to pixellate the small text, and when I go to move each separate file onto the 4x6 canvas in photoshop, they show up much larger and then I have to use the Transform tool, and then I'm not sure if they are the appropriate size or not.

so frustrated and I know this is probably something painfully simple

[thatBilly]

When you create a new file, it's generally going to default to 300ppi (a good density for printing). When you display that on your screen at 100% it should appear over 3x the size because a monitor is usually around 96dpi.

Every image in Photoshop has an actual resolution and then a physical size.

I personally don't bother even looking at the pixels per inch unless I've had to do some serious cropping. Photoshop can resize anything to a preferred print size and if it's reducing the document to fit on your paper then even better. Without an understanding of the physical size (ppi) and how it relates to your image, you could be deteriorating your image with that transform tool.

Check this Adobe KB.

[autofocus]

When your new image screen opens in PS, why not change your width and height to inches instead of the default pixels, and just make it 4 x 6?

[Jim Bryant]

In the CS tool bar a top the page, click on crop tool there's two boxes, one named width and the other height. Just put your desired dimentations in those boxes and use the crop tool to crop.

[katia]

Originally Posted by dehaani

When you create a new file, it's generally going to default to 300ppi (a good density for printing). When you display that on your screen at 100% it should appear over 3x the size because a monitor is usually around 96dpi.

Every image in Photoshop has an actual resolution and then a physical size.

I personally don't bother even looking at the pixels per inch unless I've had to do some serious cropping. Photoshop can resize anything to a preferred print size and if it's reducing the document to fit on your paper then even better. Without an understanding of the physical size (ppi) and how it relates to your image, you could be deteriorating your image with that transform tool.

Check this Adobe KB.

from my understanding if you hold down Shift while using the transform tool it "scales proportionately." so far i don't see any deterioration in the image at all.

Originally Posted by autofocus

When your new image screen opens in PS, why not change your width and height to inches instead of the default pixels, and just make it 4 x 6?

yeah, that's what i did when i began.

basically what i did was create the business card template over top of a photo, then for each separate photo card i wanted i just deleted the image from the "Photo" layer and replaced with with another, and saved each one individually as .psd in case i needed to make any changes, and as .jpeg for future use. i uploaded the jpegs to photobucket, which you can see here:

Business Cards

as you can see at 100% they are much bigger than 3.5" x 2," even though that is the size (in inches) that i created the new document with in photoshop.

also when i actually print it through photoshop, it does come out the correct size, but ONLY if i chose to print it on a sheet of 8.5x11. when i changed it to a 4x6 glossy photo page, it widened the image.

i really don't understand the whole "physical size" thing (which photoshop apparently only recognizes when i print through photoshop).

hopefully i can get this figured out, before i go mad :P

[thatBilly]

Originally Posted by katia

from my understanding if you hold down Shift while using the transform tool it "scales proportionately." so far i don't see any deterioration in the image at all.

Using the transform tool always causes image deterioration, often minimal but it's easy to cause much more deterioration if you aren't completely familiar with ppi, dpi and how pixels are mapped, interpolated and displayed.

Scaling an image (up or down) means Photoshop has to remap all the pixels in the image; locking the proportion does not limit the loss of data, it just means the resulting image won't be flattened or stretched.

[katia]

Originally Posted by dehaani

Using the transform tool always causes image deterioration, often minimal but it's easy to cause much more deterioration if you aren't completely familiar with ppi, dpi and how pixels are mapped, interpolated and displayed.

Scaling an image (up or down) means Photoshop has to remap all the pixels in the image; locking the proportion does not limit the loss of data, it just means the resulting image won't be flattened or stretched.

oh okay, i see what you mean, it just keeps it proportional, locks aspect ratio or whatever.

what is the best way resize an image to fit into the "canvas area" of a layer?

i mean when i open the "New" document i want to work on, i size it to 3.5x2. then i open the image i want as the background of my card. copy and paste, and it automatically creates a new layer. but when i go Image>Image Size it says it's already 3.5x2.

and for some reason when i use "Place" it places in greyscale? is there a way to reset all the photoshop tools to default?

[thatBilly]

Originally Posted by katia

as you can see at 100% they are much bigger than 3.5" x 2," even though that is the size (in inches) that i created the new document with in photoshop.



i really don't understand the whole "physical size" thing (which photoshop apparently only recognizes when i print through photoshop).

When you say "at 100%", do you mean when you are zoomed to 100% in Photoshop?

If so, you should check the page I linked in my first reply.

On your screen, the monitor will display around a maximum of 100 pixels per inch.
With a printout, on paper it takes about 300 pixels per inch to ensure the image is crisp and detailed.

So take a document that has an intended print size of 3" x 3", and Photoshop indicates the image to have a density of 300dpi (dots pet inch). That document is 900 x 900 pixels.

Now the same document displayed on screen at 100% zoom will show all 900 pixels width and height, remember the monitor can only display 100 of those pixels in an inch (not the 300 it takes to make a good print). That means your 3" x 3" image looks to be 9" x 9" on screen, to allow you to view each and every pixel (100% zoom).

[katia]

Originally Posted by dehaani

When you say "at 100%", do you mean when you are zoomed to 100% in Photoshop?

If so, you should check the page I linked in my first reply.

On your screen, the monitor will display around a maximum of 100 pixels per inch.
With a printout, on paper it takes about 300 pixels per inch to ensure the image is crisp and detailed.

So take a document that has an intended print size of 3" x 3", and Photoshop indicates the image to have a density of 300dpi (dots pet inch). That document is 900 x 900 pixels.

Now the same document displayed on screen at 100% zoom will show all 900 pixels width and height, remember the monitor can only display 100 of those pixels in an inch (not the 300 it takes to make a good print). That means your 3" x 3" image looks to be 9" x 9" on screen, to allow you to view each and every pixel (100% zoom).

ooooooh i didn't see that link, stupid iPhone.

i'll give it a read though now that i'm on my computer. and yes zoomed into 100% in the navigator is what i mean. i think my problem was when i made the 4x6 to paste the smaller images into the DPI was defaulting to something smaller. i'm going to work on it again in a little bit, thanks everybody.