Picture size and DPI

[vikingforlife44]

The company I work for is having a contest to submit pictures to print on next years calendars they print. But in the rules they state that the pictures must be 300DPI and 4500 X 3500 pixels. I have not been able to figure out how to get that done. If I set the size, then the DPI goes way down. I up that and then the size goes down. I'm working with raw images taken with a 10.2 MP camera. Any ideas would be appreciated. I have Photoshop elements 7.0.

[Jim Bryant]

In photoshop you set the longest side length to the 4500 and then set DPI last. make sure in the image size box that there's a check mark in Scale Styles, constrain proportions and resample image.

Originally Posted by vikingforlife44

The company I work for is having a contest to submit pictures to print on next years calendars they print. But in the rules they state that the pictures must be 300DPI and 4500 X 3500 pixels. I have not been able to figure out how to get that done. If I set the size, then the DPI goes way down. I up that and then the size goes down. I'm working with raw images taken with a 10.2 MP camera. Any ideas would be appreciated. I have Photoshop elements 7.0.

[dcclark]

I'd say those are really annoying instructions! Setting DPI is useless for images that will be displayed on a monitor, and it is also useless for images to be printed at a specified size -- because the printer will determine the DPI from the pixel count and the desired print size.

Anyhow, that's just a rant. Setting the DPI is nothing more than changing a value in the EXIF data (essentially) that tells programs how big you want the image to display. Higher DPI = smaller image onscreen.

[Jim Bryant]

You should read his posts!!! It's for a calender, not a desktop. Besides..most printers will default back at 300 dpi, which is standard for most printers.

Originally Posted by dcclark

I'd say those are really annoying instructions! Setting DPI is useless for images that will be displayed on a monitor, and it is also useless for images to be printed at a specified size -- because the printer will determine the DPI from the pixel count and the desired print size.

Anyhow, that's just a rant. Setting the DPI is nothing more than changing a value in the EXIF data (essentially) that tells programs how big you want the image to display. Higher DPI = smaller image onscreen.

[dcclark]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

You should read his posts!!! It's for a calender, not a desktop. Besides..most printers will default back at 300 dpi, which is standard for most printers.

Sorry, I don't understand what you're telling me here. He's submitting to a contest for a calendar, which means that the photo will be printed at a specific size in the calendar. So, the most important issue is whether his photo can be printed at at least 300 dpi at the necessary size. In other words, setting the photo to 300 dpi is going to be kind of pointless, because the calendar printers will scale the photo to whatever size they want anyhow, as long as the photo isn't too small (in pixel sizes). So, what I said makes sense and actually is relevant here.

Most printers (regardless of whether you mean professional printing services, or desktop inkjets) do not default to any resolution with photos. Professional printers print at whatever dpi is induced by your photo's pixel count and your choice of printed dimensions. Desktop printers print whatever the computer sends to them, at whatever resolution the computer asks for. If you're talking about a desktop printer's maximum resolution, that's a separate question entirely, since it is simply an upper limit on the quality a printer can produce, given an image of a high enough quality to begin with. I can still use a printer capable of 600 dpi to print a craptacular 72dpi image, if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing on the computer.

[OsmosisStudios]

When you export the RAW file from your camera, your editor should have the option to set the resolution and DPI. Just check the resolution for your camera (10.2) and 300dpi.

Theyre never gonna get 4500x3500. That's like 15mp.

[vikingforlife44]

Thank you all for your input. I was able to finally get the file to be saved at the specified sizes. Only problem is that it changed the way it looked. Looks like I am going to have to crop the image a little to get the heigth, width ratio first and then resize it. These are going to be printed on commercial printing presses. I work for a printing company so they have the huge presses for doing all this. Hopefully I'lll have to chance to see one of my shots make it. Thanks again everyone.