For printing 5x7 digital images at 300 DPI, is there any advantage or disadvantage in using larger files than necessary? Will photos print better is they are the exact size? (i.e. For 5x7 print, 300 DPI; 1500x2100 pixels.)
Printing a 5x7 image on a 5x7 photo paper will not print at 5x7 ....
There will be a small white internal border of about 1/8th inch ...
or the image will be enlarged about 1/8th in all 4 directions if printing Borderless ...
... to account for printer paper mis-alignment.
The end result is no longer 5x7 image or a 5x7 aspect ratio.
There have been times where I've changed the canvas size to 4.75x6.75 just to force a 1/8 border.
The printer routine should resize as needed and I would avoid as many re-sizings as possible.
Each time you resize the image it will be revised ... and maybe re-compresed.
How many before it turns into a Rumor of the Original ???
I use Irfanview for all my Print jobs even my Photoshop work
Thanks, but my question is, is there any advantage or disadvantage to using larger file than necessary?
I was thinking perhaps there is a disadvantage in that since the computer has to calculate the larger-than-necessary image to make it smaller, to fit the smaller size, it might be better to use the exact pixels-per-inch needed. Does this thought have any validity?
My Personal Rules :
The best image you'll ever have is the original ... Whatever size it is.
1: It's always best to use more pixels than the end result.
2: The printer routine will always recalculate ...
because it's probably not really printing "exactly" 5x7.
We don't know how much the printer (or print routine) over-sizes for borderless ...
or under-sizes for borders.
But how did you re-frame to get the aspect ratio of 5x7 and what size was the original ?
At your suggested 300dpi (or greater) ... I doubt that you'll ever see any print degradation.
At 5x7-300dpi- What you see on the computer is real close to what you get on Paper.
I save/archive all photos as original OFF THE COMPUTER, no matter what size or how many pixels. (2 digital cameras, 1 android phone and 3 android tablets). I do that before I do any manipulation like emailing or printing out. At least if I'm not happy with the end result, I can always copy over the original to the computer and play with it again.
If you save the originals off the computer, you don't have to worry about the size and taking up data space on any device.
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