Printing Photos

[Gen.Libeb]

I went to the Photo lab around & I found they don't print in 16:9 aspect ratio. Most of the photos I took were in that ratio.
So I settled on 5 * 7''. I thought I'd re-size the photos myself rather than them cropping to what they like. The guy there told me to keep it 5 * 7 in & a certain dpi (forgot the number).

I didn't really figure the dpi thing. (You guys know what it is or how it affects ? ). So I just got back & resized my images to 2800 * 2000 or 3500 * 2500 pixels (which comes down to 7 * 5). Today I took the images back & he says they are not 5 * 7 & there will be a black border on the photos or some cropping.

Now I get the part that 2800 * 2000 pixels may not be equal to 7 * 5 inches. But why the black border or cropping ?

Any one here printed before ? What ratio you prefer or matte or glossy is better (I chose matt this time )?

 

[nac]

You ask them to print the way you want. Trim the excess or leave it, that you can decide it later.

By default mine is 180dpi. Your's likely to be higher than mine (may be around 240dpi).

If you print 16:9 resolution on 7x5 paper, it would look like this.
*img6.imageshack.us/img6/4650/mjmk.jpg

Photograph by rhitwick

 

[sujoyp]

Its a common problem...either u will get white strips on top and bottom or they will crop ur pic sidewise..

 

[Gen.Libeb]

Its a common problem...either u will get white strips on top and bottom or they will crop ur pic sidewise..

I understand the strips when the photos were at 16:9 But I have resized them to 2800 * 2000 which is actually 7:5. Why the white strips now

I still don't get the dpi part. Mine's 180 too, If I increase it , the pixel size increases too. I tried creating a new file with 300 dpi & pasted a pic over it & it stays the same. Shouldn't it be something that's fixed for that photo ?

 

[sujoyp]

dpi part??? dpi is dot per inch ...and what I know its just the clarity of pic needed to print a photo clearly ....photo studio recommends 300dpi ...

if u have resized it to 7x5 (7 width and 5 height) thats 3500x2500 is fine ...then there will be no cropping for sure ....tell them u want borderless printing

 

[Gen.Libeb]

I got the printed photos & they came out fine (no cropping).


Didn't change the dpi values, the photos are looking look as sharp on print as they look on screen. (Not sure if those guys did anything). I'm guessing its something like megapixels or resolution, the higher it is, the more details there will be.

Thanks.

 

[sujoyp]

the megapixel effect image quality till 7-8 mp then its all same....you will need 18 mp pic for a huge poster