How good will a 6mp print look blown-up to a 30x20 print?

Question

I want to blow-up and print one of my 6 mega-pixels pictures to the very large 30x20 size, and have it framed. Its rather expensive to do obviously - so I was just curious - for those that have witnessed it first hand, how are the results on a 6mp (or less) blown-up to such a large print?

Any noticable atrifacting, or duplicate pixels, that sort of thing.

Answer 1

This is might be pushing the envelope and you'd better have a great image to start with. Do not expect to crop your original other than what is needed to make it fit the 30 x 20 format. Curious gave you a good suggestion. If you know how to do this stuff at home, just "resize" an image to 100 pixels per inch, crop out a random area without specifying any dimensions (so yuo maintain the 100 ppi density) and do a test print. The enlargement you are seeking will be about 100 pixels per inch. This will definitely be visible when you look at the print. The thing is, you are not likely to stand close enough to a 30x20 print to notice the pixelation, so you might get away with it. If you were about a foot away, you might notice some pixelation, but if you are 3 or 4 feet away, I doubt you'd see it. I have never done a 30x20 print from a digital camera, so I am not speaking from experience. I just did a couple of 100 pixel per inch tests right now and that's where I got my estimated viewing distances. I also did one from a Pentax using their 72 ppi and I would not accept this as far as picture degradation in a 30 x 20 print. The pixelation is easily visible from 3-4 feet away.

I just read Carnaby Fudge's answer about shooting RAW and all that, but I imagine you already have an image that you like so much you want to blow it up. (What happens if you try to blow up a picture of a suicide bomber?) RAW would be the way to go, if you are able to process the image. I think you could do okay if you are shooting in the highest resolution, largest file available on your camera.

As far as sensor size, we had a discussion on that a couple of days ago and it seems the consensus is that it doesn't really matter when you come right down to it. My Nikons are all 300 ppi. Canons seem to be 180 ppi. Pentax chose 72 ppi. The 6 MP, 300 ppi full format Nikon image will be about a 10 x 6.7 inch image. If this was converted to 100 ppi, it would be 30 x 20. The 6 MP Pentax with 72 dpi would produce a 39 x 29.3 inch print. If this was converted to 100 ppi, the print would become 28 x 21 inch print.

Anyhow, the 6 MP file size is supposed to make it to a 30 x 20 print, so if you are using a Nikon or Canon, I say go for it. If the original file is at anything lower than 100 pixels per inch, I'd say it's likely that you will not be happy.

Answer 2

The answer is simple - take it to a reputable printer and they will make it look great! Notice I said "reputable printer" not photo lab. There is a big difference. The printer will have software and hardware to make prints of very large proportions, the quality of which have little to do with the original image other than that the original would make an excellent 4x6 print. Most photo labs don't have this equipment, especially the specialized printers.

Our local printer can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear at up to 72" wide by however long you want. He's scanned some real garbage for people and produced life size prints that are awesome. But that's what we pay him to do, isn't it.

If you don't know who's reputable, just drop by their store and see the results of their craft. Their ability to produce results has little to do with the Mp in your image.

Life is not all about PhotoShop.

Answer 3

The print should look great when viewed from a few feet. If you don't edit the file however, you will notice pixellation up close. 6MP at the recommended 300dpi print quality will only cover an area of 66.7 square inches - with a 20x30 print, you're aiming for 600 square inches!
To prevent pixellation, you (or the print studio) should first up-rez the image with Genuine Fractals or similar software. This process calculates rows and columns of in-between pixels, so that the final print continues to look smooth, albeit slightly soft when you press your nose to the glass.

Answer 4

a 6mp image is designed to print at about 20x30--which is the exact size you're looking for. the only thing i'd be careful of is your file format. if your camera saves the images as jpegs then you're probably going to run into major pixelation problems. most digi cams save images as a 72 dpi jpeg. that's some major compression of a 6mp file.
if you can save the image as a raw file that would be ideal. raw is an archival, non-destructive format. it's what pros use when shooting but the file sizes are massive so you need a very big memory card if you want to shoot more than a few pics. usually a 2 gig card works great.

Answer 5

Select (crop) a small section of the image that you can fit on a regular sheet of paper in your printer that would be the size it would be if printed 30x20 and see how that looks.

Answer 6

yeah it should look pretty decent from some distance away. remember that big prints are made to be viewed at a distance, not from very near so that you can scrutinize the mosaic that made up the prints

Answer 7

Hi, I recommand you to try google picasa.

picasa is a Google's photo software. It's what should've come with your camera.

it can upload/download your camera to your PC.

It can Edit , organise and Share you picture and small video clips.

you can make your ablum with picasa very easy.

It's very easy to use and is free, just like Google

Download it free in here:

http://www.adcenter.net.cn/google-picasa/

Good Luck!

Answer 8

It will be blurry. Maybe you can do a 16 x 20.

Answer 9

wat?