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Export setting help ASAP PLEEEEEASE!

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Danny S

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Oct 8, 2016
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Hey, first time posting.
i need to get print files ready for an Exhibition. Its all very late notice, and ive not printed before. I need to send these files tomorrow night at the latest.
Im getting confused with all the online forums, so im ironcally posting on one to get a definitive answer...
Im using Lightroom CC to export the files. Heres what i need, and what i have done. I just need to know its right.
So most of the photos are in Landscape.

quality set to 100%


dpi/ppi 300.


'resize to fit' box is UNCHECKED.


and i changed the aspect ratio in the crop tab to 2.97 x 4.2 (and for any in portrait i have reversed this)


lastly, i have checked the "sharpen for print" on glossy, at Low.


all the prints will be in A3...


PLEASE tell me this is right. Its the Aspect ratio / sizing im having the most confusion... Ive seen all different numbers etc. Somewhere wrote the aspect ration as 2.97 x 4.2 but others as 297 x 420 (no decmial point) I have no idea what im doing, so please. If what i have done is wrong, can someone just explain it in the simplist of terms. Thanks
 
Your specs look ok to me (in my experience)-
quality set to 100% - OK , jpg files will be a bit larger in physical size but have best quality. Even 80 would be ok if you are sending online to save bandwidth time.
dpi/ppi 300. - Not needed- this can be any number. (The pixel size is what's important)
'resize to fit' box is UNCHECKED. - Good. This means you pixel size is kept original.
and i changed the aspect ratio in the crop tab to 2.97 x 4.2 (and for any in portrait i have reversed this) - OK.
lastly, i have checked the "sharpen for print" on glossy, at Low. - A5 prints on glossy could use 'Standard'
all the prints will be in A3... - A3 paper is 297 x420mm ie. a ratio of 297:420 or 29.7:42 or 2.97:4.2 these are all the same ratio, just different ways of expressing the math. So a crop to 2.97:4.2 will shape your image to match the paper ratio size.
Export as JPEG sRGB
 
Why not crop the image in the develop module to the desired ratio and then not have to address this on export?

--Ken
 
Why not crop the image in the develop module to the desired ratio and then not have to address this on export?

--Ken


Well ideally i dont want to lose any of the image... But im also just confused with the difference between, adjusting the aspect ratio to fit A3, or using the "resize to fit" and entering the dimensions there...? Most places i see advise to leave "resize to fit" unchecked, but surely if i dont want to crop any of my frame, and still have it print on A3. This would be the way to go?
 
Well no....to change the aspect ratio of an image without cropping it would mean squashing the width or height into the desired ratio, i.e. distorting the image. Lightroom won't do that, as it's a non-destructive editor, so your only option to change the aspect ratio is by cropping. No other way.
 
Well no....to change the aspect ratio of an image without cropping it would mean squashing the width or height into the desired ratio, i.e. distorting the image. Lightroom won't do that, as it's a non-destructive editor, so your only option to change the aspect ratio is by cropping. No other way.
Ok, cool. So what would happen if I didn't touch the crop tool, and just entered the desired dimensions in the export window with dpi 300?
Sorry, really clueless...
 
If the aspect ratio of the image is different to the aspect ratio that you imply when setting width and height, then Lightroom will resize the image, fitting the image as best it can within the specified dimensions whilst preserving the file's original aspect ratio, i.e. one edge of the output image will match what you have set in the resize box, the other edge will be something less than you have set.

So really, if you want an exact output aspect ratio which is different to the original image's aspect ratio, you have to crop it.
 
If the aspect ratio of the image is different to the aspect ratio that you imply when setting width and height, then Lightroom will resize the image, fitting the image as best it can within the specified dimensions whilst preserving the file's original aspect ratio, i.e. one edge of the output image will match what you have set in the resize box, the other edge will be something less than you have set.

So really, if you want an exact output aspect ratio which is different to the original image's aspect ratio, you have to crop it.

Ok, i think... lol. So to help me get the best quality file for an A3 print. Can you suggest the best route to take. Leaving the aspect ratio, and adjusting the resize in export. Or adjusting the aspect ratio to A3 in the crop tool, and leaving the resize unchecked with the dpi at 300? Thanks again
 
If you want to fill the A3 completely, and not have a white border along one side, you have to crop to the exact aspect ratio....so the second option would be the normal route to take.
 
Maybe I have been doing it wrong for all these years, but I use an aspect ratio 1:1.4 (or 1.4:1) for all DIN paper. It's easier for me to remember the square root of 2 than it is to remember the exact sizes. :)
 
"...get the best quality file for an A3 print."

Crop in the Develop module to the A3 ratio. ( 1:1.4 or 297:420 or 29.7:42 or 2.97:4.2 all the 'same' ratio)
Export- Do not resize.
Again- DPI is not important- it can be any number- the printer will fit your image pixels into the A3 paper size.

"i dont want to lose any of the image"- as Jim says in Post#7 If you do not crop to the paper ratio and your image is not the same ratio, then either of two situations-
1. "Fill" will print your image and the printer will crop some away
2. "Fit" will print your entire image but leave one wider white border on the paper.
 
Hi

I have a somewhat similar question to Danny S. I wish to export my file for large printing. File size is circa 1.3GB. Pixel dimensions are circa 28800 x 8800 which would make a decent sharp big print of 80in by 30in at 300 dpi, I presume. My question is why is it then prior to export, when I zoom in at 100 percent, the picture looks pixelated. When I check back with the original file that was drum scanned from a transparency, it looks ok. Did something happen when the file was imported to light room or did something happen when I exported it? This is really puzzling. Can anyone kindly advise? Thank-you so much!!!

Marcus
 
Hi

I have a somewhat similar question to Danny S. I wish to export my file for large printing. File size is circa 1.3GB. Pixel dimensions are circa 28800 x 8800 which would make a decent sharp big print of 80in by 30in at 300 dpi, I presume. My question is why is it then prior to export, when I zoom in at 100 percent, the picture looks pixelated. When I check back with the original file that was drum scanned from a transparency, it looks ok. Did something happen when the file was imported to light room or did something happen when I exported it? This is really puzzling. Can anyone kindly advise? Thank-you so much!!

This file is so huge, that Lightroom needs a very long time to generate a 1:1 preview (assuming there is no limit to that). You probably need to have (a lot) more patience.
 
"Maybe I have been doing it wrong for all these years, but I use an aspect ratio 1:1.4 (or 1.4:1) for all DIN paper. It's easier for me to remember the square root of 2 than it is to remember the exact sizes."​

You must be an engineer, that's a terrible approximation :):)
 
Hi Johan

Thanks for responding. Is that really the case? I remembered zooming in at 1:1 and waited and waited. It's so frustrating. And I'm concerned the final file sent to print will be grainy. Would it be safe to assume that how it looks on screen will be how it looks on print? Whatever the zoom percentages; of course ignoring the colour shifts on my Mac book and printer output.

Cheers.
 
Hi Johan

Thanks for responding. Is that really the case? I remembered zooming in at 1:1 and waited and waited. It's so frustrating. And I'm concerned the final file sent to print will be grainy. Would it be safe to assume that how it looks on screen will be how it looks on print? Whatever the zoom percentages; of course ignoring the colour shifts on my Mac book and printer output.

Cheers.
When LR renders an image, it throws up an approximate to give you something to look at while the rendering engine works in the background. That "approximate" may be a low resolution thumbnail, hence the pixelation. The speed of the rendering engine is only limited by the number of cores, free space for temporary files and available RAM. As Johan counsels, "patience".

Since the file is huge, you might want to check with your print vendor to see if a file that large is acceptable.

An 80" poster size is not going to be viewed at the viewing distance as an 8X10. Large screen TVs may only have a horizontal dot pitch of 120dpi. Your print vendor may not want a 1.3GB image. Also are you rendering at 16 bit color TIFF or 8 bit compressed JPEG? This makes a difference.
 
You can indeed ask yourself if you need such a huge file to begin with. You say the image is a drum scan of a transparency. What kind of transparency? If it was a 35mm transparency, then your scan is already grossly interpolated. A 35mm transparency does not hold 28,800 x 8,800 pixels of real information. Not even close! Unless it was a large format transparency, your file size may be blown out of proportions without any real gain. You can scan as many pixels from a slide as the scanner can produce, but that doesn't give you more information than the slide contained in the first place.

Cletus is also right about the print resolution. Such a large print is not going to be viewed at 20 inches, so 300 ppi is almost certainly overkill. Check with your printer what is needed.
 
Lee, thanks for responding.

I am rendering at 16 bit colour TIFF. You are absolutely right about the print vendor accepting a file this huge. Max is 1GB. So is it your view that despite what I see on screen, the final print with the right export settings should yield a good sharp image? I certainly need loads of patience.....
 
Thanks Johan

The transparency is from a 120/220 roll film. Totally agree on viewing distance. Because the final print will be hung on a huge wall in a church. Nonetheless, there is nothing in front of the wall, the viewer can still walk up close to the photo. Granted the person should not be looking at it at such close distance. But still a little annoying if indeed pixels can be seen close up.
 
"Maybe I have been doing it wrong for all these years, but I use an aspect ratio 1:1.4 (or 1.4:1) for all DIN paper. It's easier for me to remember the square root of 2 than it is to remember the exact sizes."​

You must be an engineer, that's a terrible approximation :):)
Yes, but electrical, not mechanical. Our motto was "measure it with a micrometer, mark it with a grease pencil, and cut it with an axe." Sometimes, close is good enough. :laugh:
 
Lee, thanks for responding.

I am rendering at 16 bit colour TIFF. You are absolutely right about the print vendor accepting a file this huge. Max is 1GB. So is it your view that despite what I see on screen, the final print with the right export settings should yield a good sharp image? I certainly need loads of patience.....
Poster sized prints are not going to have the granular resolution as an 8X10. Nor will the print process likely print with a full 16 bit color spectrum or at 300dpi. The print vendor may downsample your print anyway. You need to determine their print requirements.
 
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Well ideally i dont want to lose any of the image...
As others have said, cropping or leaving a white border are the only two options if your image is not already at this (unusual) ratio. But I would suggest having a virtual copy of your image that has the crop for printing to A3 (you can name it with "A3-FILENAME" so you know what the copy is for). And that would allow you to choose where to crop rather than leaving it up to the printer. ;-)
 
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