Image resolution of stock photos

[beverly_1130]

I am trying to make a wallpaper mural with a stock photo. The resolution is 5242 x 2949px and 6318 kb. The mural needs to be 10 x 14 ft. But the printing software says that resolution is too low. Do stock photos ever come with higher resolution? Is there any way to buy a higher resolution of this photo? 

[beverly_1130]

Wanted to add that it needs to be 300 dpi in order to work. Do any of these stock photos come with that high of dpi? 

[Jill_C]

The image isn't offered in different resolutions; however, you can use the Search filters to locate larger files if that would be helpful...

[daniellei4510]

All large displays that I've ever made for a client, the printer asked for a minimum resolution of 150 ppi. Wall murals are most normally going to be viewed from a distance, so they don't require the same amount of detail as a standard sized photo or image.

[Abambo]

I am trying to make a wallpaper mural with a stock photo. The resolution is 5242 x 2949px and 6318 kb. The mural needs to be 10 x 14 ft. But the printing software says that resolution is too low. Do stock photos ever come with higher resolution? Is there any way to buy a higher resolution of this photo? 

By @beverly_1130

Stock assets come with the highest resolution available. An asset of 5k × 3k pixels is OK, even on the high-resolution side, if the asset has not been scaled.

Wanted to add that it needs to be 300 dpi in order to work. Do any of these stock photos come with that high of dpi?

By @beverly_1130

So at the end, you want to have an asset of 36,000×50,400px. That is 1,814.4 Megapixels. Adobe allows for contributions of maximal 100 Megapixels.

Good luck finding a picture of that size. If it should be a photograph, I can confirm you that the highest-resolution cameras that you can buy are coming with sensors of around 100 M pixels.

As @daniellei4510 said, you won't need 300dpi. You should ask your printer what exactly his required resolution is for a print at your size. My guess is that anything around 50 dpi is still high-resolution. If you are with your nose before your print, you will see pixels, but if you are at a distance where you see most of the artwork, you will see a sharp artwork.

As you have selected your photo, it would be good if we could get the asset ID so that we may be able to help further.

[daniellei4510]

I can't guarantee its accuracy, but this chart might help. Though I would tend to go a little higher in most cases. Your printer should be able to guide you. If they are requesting 300 dpi regardless, I'd find a new printer.

https://resources.printhandbook.com/pages/viewing-distance-dpi.php

[Jill_C]

That's interesting. Just out of curiousity I queried "what dpi for billboards" and the first answer I saw is 72 dpi. Others said 30 dpi. 

[Abambo]

@Jill_C,

The viewing distance is important. The further away one is, the less resolution is required. I even had assets with quite a low resolution, and when “standard” users looked at the poster, they did not even notice the low resolution, even though I saw immediately that the resolution was at its visual limit. 30 dpi would probably work for the OP. But you can enhance the printing experience by upscaling the assets a bit in Photoshop, or with @daniellei4510's magic programs. 

[beverly_1130]

Where can I find her magic programs? 

[daniellei4510]

@Abambo was exaggerating a bit. 🙂 My "magic" program for your purposes might be Topaz Gigapixel AI. I think it runs around $99, but they often have sales. It does a better job of upscaling images compared to Adobe Photoshop's basic enlarge feature. If you can't afford it, Adobe Photoshop's Zoom feature under Filters > Neural Filters might work for you.

[daniellei4510]

And it's a he, but that's OK. I can understand the confusion. 🙂

[Abambo]

I can't guarantee its accuracy, but this chart might help.

By @daniellei4510

I could underwrite these data.