Masterclass

UNDERSTANDING HOW TO PREPARE THE

IMAGE READY FOR PRINT

W

hen editing the final image for print, the
photographermustfullyunderstandhowtheprinter
willdeciphertheinformationsenttoitinordertoproduce
thefinalpiece,usingthecorrectsizesandwithasuitable
pixel density so that the image’s quality is not
compromised in any way.

Mostcommonly,photographerswillusethetermDPI(dots
perinch)whenexplainingimagesandprints.Howeverthe
moreaccurateterm reallyis PPI(pixel perinch),as for
eachpixeltherearealready effectively 3 dots(RGB).In
printingtermsthehigherthePPIthemoreinformationis
recorded in the area, resulting in a higher density and
greater quality output.

The majority of photographic printers will print a
good-qualityimageatbetween 240 PPIand 300 PPI,and
mostwillsuggestthehighest-quality 300 PPI.Ifwetake
theexampleofa 12 × 8 imagesizedto 300 PPI (aspect
ratio 3:2) the pixel count would be 3600 px × 2400 px.

Upsizing and Downsizing Images in Photoshop

Ifpreparationoflargerorsmallerimagesisrequiredforthe
printer, the photographer will need to resize the image.

Iftheimageisto remainin thesameproportions asthe
original, then a simple upscaling or downscaling of the