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kerrib95468934
kerrib95468934
Participating Frequently
January 18, 2023
Answered

Print questions: Do I need to manually size down artwork to maintain quality?

  • January 18, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 922 views

Hi creatives

 

I am looking to print from A5, A4 , and A3. Do I need to manually save artwork to print size canvas, or can I just print from one A3-sized canvas?

All artwork is set to 300 DPI.

 

Many thanks

Kerri 

 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Conrad_C

First of all, it’s great that your original canvas is a larger size at 300 ppi and your other sizes are down from there. That avoids problems.

 

My opinion is that it can depend on the degree of the size change. If the original is A3 at 300 ppi, and somebody needs a print that’s only 10% or 25% larger or smaller, you might not notice the difference if all you do is fit the A3 to the required size. But if the print needs to be maybe 200% or 300% larger or smaller, now you want to think about at least printing a test sample at the new size and seeing if anything needs to be changed.

 

That’s true going both ways. If a print needs to be 2 or 3 times larger, it does become important to see how it looks up close and if the image is starting to fall apart, then consider things like other resampling methods in the Image Size dialog box, refining the sharpening at the larger size, or using AI upscaling methods such as Super Resolution in Adobe Camera Raw or Adobe Lightroom Classic.

 

Going the other way (down), after extreme downsampling, it’s not unusual to make additional edits at the smaller size. For example if the original is A3 at 300 ppi (3508 × 4961 px) and someone needs a high quality version for a website at like 400 pixels across (400 × 566 px), the reduction in resolution is so drastic that the small version could benefit from sharpening after resampling.

2 replies

NB, colourmanagement
Community Expert
NB, colourmanagementCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 19, 2023

@kerrib95468934 I'd recommend you keep a full-size archive master with layers if you made them (tiff or PSD)

Next make final flattened copies one for each size and then use unsharp mask on each, sharpening doesn’t take well to resizing, so resize first.

300ppi is OK for commercial print, if its an Epson you'd be n better with a PPI related to native resultions, say your printer offers 1440 - well, 360 or 240 PPI works better on those machines than 300 PPI. If your printer rez is, say 1200 or 2400, then 300 is fine because 300 x 4 = 1200 or x 8 = 2400

 

And don't make Jpegs unless you are confident the image will never be resized it cropped, Jpeg compression can get pretty visible post-crop or resize. 

 

I hope this helps
neil barstow, colourmanagement net - adobe forum volunteer - co-author: 'getting colour right'
google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management

    kerrib95468934
    kerrib95468934Author
    Participating Frequently
    January 19, 2023

    Hi Neil Thanks for the info.

     

    All artwork is made in Procreate. I always print externally with local print companies. 

    Trying to get my head around all of this. What's the best practice for maintaining quality when exporting from procreate. I usually save as PNG and then edit in photoshop. 

     

    Thanks

    Kerri

     

    NB, colourmanagement
    Community Expert
    NB, colourmanagementCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 19, 2023

    @kerrib95468934 I don't use Procreate but, I'd be using TIFF not PNG unless your image particularly suits the characteristics of PNG. 

     

     

    I hope this helps
    neil barstow, colourmanagement net - adobe forum volunteer - co-author: 'getting colour right'
    google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 18, 2023

    You’ll probably get more than one opinion, but in general it could be OK to have just one image that’s A3 at 300 ppi and fit it to the smaller sizes.

     

    For jobs requiring the highest standard of production on the best equipment, some would say the image should be scaled and resampled for each size individually. But to make it look its absolute best at each size, the image needs to be re-evaluated at each size regarding whether the level of sharpening, resampling method, etc. are all optimal for its size and the color screening method. They would also probably be hard-proofed at each size just to make sure.

     

    quote

    All artwork is set to 300 DPI.

    By @kerrib95468934

     

    Remember that resolution (pixels per inch, or PPI) only means something against specific physical dimensions. In other words, the artwork is 300 ppi at A3, A4, or A5?

     

    If the artwork is 300 ppi at A3, then when scaled down to A5 (without resampling) it becomes around 600 ppi, which is fine. But if the artwork is currently 300 ppi at A5, then scaling up to A3 without resampling would make it only 150 ppi. So if your artwork is 300 ppi at the largest size, scaling down from that is OK.

      kerrib95468934
      kerrib95468934Author
      Participating Frequently
      January 18, 2023

      Thank you for that! Sorry I should have cleared that up, I always work on larger scale canvas at 300 dpi so I have more to work with. But for just standard print, and art prints to sell, is it a good practice to just edit and save to desired print size?

       

      How are you supposed to know if it needs editing before going to print? Or is this just something that's evaluated after a sample?

       

      Many thanks!!

      Conrad_C
      Community Expert
      Conrad_CCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      January 18, 2023

      First of all, it’s great that your original canvas is a larger size at 300 ppi and your other sizes are down from there. That avoids problems.

       

      My opinion is that it can depend on the degree of the size change. If the original is A3 at 300 ppi, and somebody needs a print that’s only 10% or 25% larger or smaller, you might not notice the difference if all you do is fit the A3 to the required size. But if the print needs to be maybe 200% or 300% larger or smaller, now you want to think about at least printing a test sample at the new size and seeing if anything needs to be changed.

       

      That’s true going both ways. If a print needs to be 2 or 3 times larger, it does become important to see how it looks up close and if the image is starting to fall apart, then consider things like other resampling methods in the Image Size dialog box, refining the sharpening at the larger size, or using AI upscaling methods such as Super Resolution in Adobe Camera Raw or Adobe Lightroom Classic.

       

      Going the other way (down), after extreme downsampling, it’s not unusual to make additional edits at the smaller size. For example if the original is A3 at 300 ppi (3508 × 4961 px) and someone needs a high quality version for a website at like 400 pixels across (400 × 566 px), the reduction in resolution is so drastic that the small version could benefit from sharpening after resampling.

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