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Thread: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

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  1. #1

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    How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    Hi guys, I've read lots of varied responses on this topic so I hoped that providing the actual file that will be printed will get more precisely tailored responses. I'm not an experienced printer, just printing one of my shots as a gift for my brother's birthday. I'll be using uprinting.com because they have the best prices and can print very large and I really want to show off the advantage of shooting LF, but since I've never used this site I'd love anybody experienced with it to give me some feedback on the site.

    What's the largest size I can print to without perceivable loss in quality? I want it to stand up to scrutiny. I was planning on doing a 40x50", how would that look?

    Anyways, here's the download link:

    http://we.tl/TqtgawEOK5

    thanks

  2. #2

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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    Do a little research on print size and viewing distance. 40"x50" is one big print and there a lot of considerations involved. Unless this print is going on a gymnasium wall, it could overwhelm the size of the room.

  3. #3
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    Big prints are very expensive to frame properly. Make sure to consider how you're going to frame it, and how expensive it'll be, before making a huge print.
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  4. #4
    Resident Heretic Bruce Watson's Avatar
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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peter J. De Smidt View Post
    Big prints are very expensive to frame properly. Make sure to consider how you're going to frame it, and how expensive it'll be, before making a huge print.
    And they are hard to move. How will you transport it back from the framer? And how will you move it to your brother's place? Get a tape measure and find the narrowest parts of the vehicle you intend to use and find out if the framed piece will actually fit -- hint, it's not going to bend, even a little.

    Bruce Watson

  5. #5

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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    The size you propose from the pixels you generated is very near what a "newspaper print" would look like: about 85 pixels per inch.

    So it would be coarse from a close examination, anyone who knew what they were looking for would see a pixelation.

    I'd recommend that you mail the original negative to Lenny Eiger who could provide a true drum scan of the negative and give you a file worthy of 40x50 printing.

    At 30 x 24 inches you are causing 120 pixels per inch. This is a normal business printing quality which would survive a close up examination. That would be the limit I would print your scan to.

  6. #6

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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Burk View Post
    The size you propose from the pixels you generated is very near what a "newspaper print" would look like: about 85 pixels per inch.
    I'm a little confused, the file image dimensions are 9262x7413. I might be mathing wrong (as an undergraduate film major, I haven't mathed in years), but if the wide side has 9262 pixels, doesn't 9262/50=185 pixels per inch? Thanks for the advice.

  7. #7

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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    Quote Originally Posted by jzakko View Post
    if the wide side has 9262 pixels, doesn't 9262/50=185 pixels per inch?
    That is correct. It's also a nicely sharp scan of a good negative, so I would be confident printing it at a large size.

  8. #8
    fishbulb's Avatar
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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    Quote Originally Posted by jzakko View Post
    I'm a little confused, the file image dimensions are 9262x7413. I might be mathing wrong (as an undergraduate film major, I haven't mathed in years), but if the wide side has 9262 pixels, doesn't 9262/50=185 pixels per inch? Thanks for the advice.
    Yes, that is correct. I frequently use this calculator when trying to calculate these things: http://www.rapidnet.com/~rernster/in...calculator.htm

    By the way, just a bit of hopefully constructive criticism - you may want to consider cropping out, or editing out, that rope tie down that is at the very bottom edge of the frame. Not really a big issue either way, but worth considering the image with/without it. Cool image though, very dramatic high contrast.

  9. #9

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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    p.s. Your image is beautiful and would look good printed large like that.

  10. #10
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: How large can I print this 4x5 scan?

    I don't know anything about printing that big, but that is a great image and to me, it would good huge, matted on white with thin black frame.

    Very good! It reminds me of this, http://cdn.omgfacts.com/2014/6/2/432...dd46f0fd9d.jpg
    Tin Can

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