If you want to remove unwanted
perimeter obstructions or reframe your
composition, use the crop feature. You
can also use the feature to fake a longer
zoom on an otherwise faraway subject if
you’ve got a very high-resolution image.
To crop an image, select the Simple
Crop tool and draw a marquee around
the area you wish to keep. Resize and
move the box as needed, and then click
Crop Now! at the bottom of the screen.Keep in mind that you can crop out as
much as 75-percent of a 3-megapixel
image and still print a photo-quality 4x
6-inch print, while a 6-megapixel image
will yield a 5x7 with the same amount
of cropping.4 ) BRIGHTEN EXPOSURE
Depending on the resolution of the origi-
nal image, you may be able to crop in
on the subject of your photo to create a
more dramatic picture.Unless you’re shooting with a high-
megapixel camera, your images most
likely have a default 72ppi (pixels per
inch) resolution—far from photo qual-
ity when printed. To get photo quality,
your image needs at least a 200ppi
resolution.
To change the resolution and resize
your image for the paper at hand,
select Image > Resolution to open awindow. Click “Calculate for Physical
Dimensions” to open another win-
dow. Then type a new width or height
number in the respective field that
corresponds with your paper—the
opposite dimension and resolution
will change accordingly to keep the
proportions. Click OK in both win-
dows to close them.1 ) RESIZE YOUR IMAGE
To print a photo quality image, a printer
must be fed a 200ppi or greater source
image! If you want your pics to look
their best, you need to up the resolution
yourself!PRINT PERFECT PICS
Printing pics may seem simple enough—heck, you just press Control-P, right? And then you blame the crappy results on the printer.
No more excuses. Here’s how to get perfect prints every time.Select File > Print (or
Control-P) and in the result-
ing Print window, click
Properties to open your
printer driver dialog. Printer
dialogs vary—we’re using
an Epson; if you’re using
something else, apply our
instructions to your printer.
Click the Main tab and
choose your paper type
from the Media Type list—be
sure to use high-quality
photo paper, preferably
from the same manufacturer
as your printer. Under Ink,
choose Color. Under Mode,
choose Custom, and then
click Advanced. In the result-
ing window, select your
printer’s highest resolution
from the Print Quality drop-down menu. If you’re using
an Epson, choose No Color
Adjustment under Color
Management. Then click OK.2 ) COMMAND THE HIGHEST RESOLUTION
Using your printer’s highest
resolution may take slightly
more ink, but your images will
be indistinguishable from pho-
tomat prints.Click the Paper tab
and select your
paper size from the
Paper Size drop-
down menu. Under
Orientation, choose
Portrait (for a verti-
cally-oriented image)
or Landscape (for a
horizontal one).
Most photo printers
vary the amount of
ink used on normal
paper and photo
stock. Once you’ve
done that, click OK
to close the printer
dialog, and then click
OK in the Print win-
dow to print. n3 ) ALERT THE MEDIA
We’re on the home stretch now!
Make sure you choose the proper
paper size and type before you
press OK on that final print dialog.78 MA XIMUMPC DECEMBER 2004
How-to