Digital Photo size for 4X6 prints?

Question

When changing the size of my digital photo's, what resolution size or pixel size should they be to print well on 4X6 paper? After cropping or resizing.. they are always either too wide or too long. If I print them like they come from the camera they are about 8.5" X 11".

Answer 1

A lot of digital cameras don't photograph in a 4x6 ratio. From the sounds of it, your camera doesn't. Which means, changing the resolution or file size won't make any difference.

The best be is to open the image in an image editing software and using a crop tool to crop the image at a 4x6 ratio (4x6, 5x7, 8x10, etc). If you crop it specifically at 4x6 (and not resize it) you will have no problem. However, bear in mind that if you resize the image, the software will by default, keep porportions which means you will be able to print an 8.5x11, 5.5x8, 2x5x3...

Answer 2

you're going to run into a problem trying to fit the paper exactly. the problem is that digital camera file sizes do not match up exactly with common paper sizes. the issues is actually the same with film. the dimension ratios of film/digital files is not the same as dimension ratios for common paper. but it's really, really close. the ideal resolution for a 4"x6" print is 1600"x1200". that will get you a print about 5.33"x4". to get it exactly 4"x6" your resolution needs to be 1800x1200 but your digital camera will not do this. your only option is to stretch the photo so it fits the 4"x6" or reduce it from the larger size if that's what you are shooting at. although if you do the latter it's really kind of pointless. shooting at a higher resolution than is needed for printing is unnecessary. if you have photoshop or gimp you can check and adjust the pixel size very easily. simpler programs like the ones that come with digi cams usually will not let you do this. gimp is a free program and it's for windows and mac.
cropping photos is very haphazard. it's difficult to get it exactly right and you're cutting out parts of the photo. i'd set your camera at 1600x1200 to print on 4"x6" paper. and if you don't have photoshop or gimp crop the extraneous portion after you print the photo.