Resize/downscale image for print by increasing dpi.

Question

I am wondering?

If you have an image you want to print in its full size without any cropping or resampling of the image. Let’s say I have an image which is 50x50cm at 300dpi but the final print has to be no more than 25x25cm. Instead of cropping or resampling the image to fit 25x25 at 300dpi and loose part of the full image by cropping or making Photoshop throw away pixels by resampling. Can you uncheck the resample box inside "image size" and resize the image by doubling the dpi to 600dpi instead? which in theory would give me a print at 25x25cm fitting the full amount of original pixels = the full image, just smaller - printet with higher resolution?

Or am I missing some understanding on the subject here? I dont see anyone talk about this kind of solution to downscaling images for prints?

D Fosse · Answer

That's exactly how it works. Resolution = pixels/inches. Pixels per inch, ppi. One goes up, the other goes down.

That said, increased resolution may not always give you a visible improvement. Above a certain point (depending on the actual process), it's just wasted.

A familiar example is the 300 ppi specification for book and magazine offset print. People think it's a minimum spec, but in reality it's a theoretical maximum. Anything over 300 will not give any improvement.

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