How should I enlarge a processed RAW artwork photo for a 2×3 ft metal print?
Asked 3/30/2016
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I have high-quality RAW files of artwork that I’ve already processed with some cropping and basic tonal adjustments. I want to make a metal print around 2×3 feet, but at 240 ppi the current file dimensions are only about half that print size. What’s the best way to handle enlargement for this kind of print? Is specialized upscaling software or a particular algorithm necessary, or is print viewing distance more important than hitting a specific ppi number?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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I have some high-quality RAW files.
This is important. Let us move on.
I need to have them printable at about twice the size I get with the ppi set to 240.
I guess the 240 ppi is a preset of the camera... Well, you can modify that value to whatever value you need.
Normal people, won't see a difference on a 100ppi photo and a 200ppi at 30cm except in some real little-micro-tiny details or at really close range (less than a feet).
The question is how far normal viewers will be? If you double the distance you can cut in half the resolution.
(This images have an error, it says dpi instead of ppi)
Now. If we start with a 300ppi file viewed at 30 cm we can start making some numbers.
In my experience, the expected viewing distance is somehow equal to the largest size of your photo.
But let us assume that you really need to resample an image. That is a matter of taste.
This test has some time but you can compare different software. The first image is a resize without any resampling. The second one with a Lanczos algorithm, which is similar to the bicubic one. And the other two are from popular resamping software. Benvista and Reshade.
In my opinion, a simple "bicubic sharpen" on Photoshop is good enough. You can use an additional sharpening if you need.
My recommendation is that you just should use round numbers. Resample at 200%, not at 187% for example.
I would never resample anything more than 200%. For a blurred background I could go for 300%.
Originally by user37321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37321
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For a 2×3 ft print, viewing distance matters more than strictly reaching 240 ppi. Large prints are usually viewed from farther away, so a lower effective ppi can still look excellent. In practice, many viewers won’t notice much difference unless they inspect the print very closely.
Also, the ppi value itself is not a fixed limit from the camera; it’s just a print scaling setting. What matters is the image’s pixel dimensions relative to the final print size.
If you do need to upscale, the “best” approach would be an advanced super-resolution style algorithm, since simple interpolation can only estimate missing detail. These methods try to reconstruct detail by analyzing repeated structures within the image. But whether that helps visibly depends on the image content and intended viewing distance.
So the practical answer is: first evaluate the print at the expected viewing distance. You may not need to double the pixels at all. If you do enlarge, use a high-quality resampling or super-resolution tool, but don’t expect it to create truly new detail—only a better-looking estimate.
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