Out of Focus

[sage150]

First I wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

I have a problem understanding focus,sharpness and
printing.If I take a small photo perhaps 4x6 and try to print
it as an 8x10 it comes out blurry and out of focus.
Is there a way to make smaller photo's sharper when
printing them as larger photo?
Is there a way to cure this problem?

Below is a photo I worked on.I scanned it from a small
picture that was on a small metal backed mirror.
I've seen these types of photo/mirrors with wedding
pictures before.
I then changed the resolution on it to make it larger.
After I finished it, I printed it on my Canon i470D printer.
It looks OK when you stand a few feet away.When you
see it close up it is blurry.

Any help on understanding focus and printing is
appreciated.

Thank You,

Joseph[IMG]In Laws[/IMG]

[CJ Swartz]

Sage,

Join the club! Most of us have found out just how blurry and jagged small images can get when we've resized them bigger, and then wonder "is there any way to avoid that?"

Here's a link that contains some of the basic explanation as well as some of the things that we can sometimes do to make a larger image work. You mentioned that you had scanned the image to begin with, so re-scanning at a higher resolution is one possibility that might help. If it still seems confusing -- don't worry -- just keep reading and talking and practicing and you'll get to understand it better as you go along. For now, read the linked info and think about how something would look if you just stretched it to make it bigger -- not surprising that it wouldn't look as good as the original.



Increasing Image Resolution

[sage150]

Thank You C.J.

I really appreciate your reply.I try everything to make a
decent looking print.After all the work I do on it, I send it
to the printer and the next step is my trash can.
I was using some glossy photographic paper I bought
inexpensively off an online auction board.I scrapped that
and bought some real nice glossy photo paper with the
words professional and plus on the package and this helped
to give the pictures a more happier look to them.They had
been coming out real dull. I thought well I'll try some Satin
paper and that looks nice but the photos come out looking
blurry. I thought it might be the way I setup the printer
output or the type of mode I was using, such as instead
of RGB I'd try using CYMK and other settings.
I have to study this area a whole lot.

Thanks Again,

Joseph

[CJ Swartz]

Joseph,

I wouldn't want you to see all the paper I've wasted over the years! One good thing about the high price of good inkjet paper is that it motivates us to learn faster . Sure can't afford to waste stuff that costs that much, let alone wasting the poor trees killed to make it!

Choice of paper can make a noticeable difference in creating a good looking print -- BUT it doesn't much affect blurriness. A photo has to have the needed pixels (around 266 per inch) to look good in print -- if you have a small photo and stretch the pixels too thin over a big piece of paper -- you're going to see ugly things popping out -- jaggies, blur, etc.

Save the good paper for a print that you've already printed successfully on plain paper.

You can get a nice print off your printer without too much trouble, but learning about monitor calibration, printer profiles, paper qualities can help improve a good image. Now, don't get frustrated that there's so much to learn -- you can make nice images without learning it all, but you can do even better if you're inclined to study more. Everything takes time, and I'm a long way from understanding even the stuff I've learned to do, and I've only learned to do a bit of what I've read. That just means there's more to learn and more fun to be had when I learn it.

Enjoy the path WHILE you're walking down it, and all of this can be more fun than frustration -- but I know that making some good prints really makes it all worthwhile. Hopefully a re-scan or printing smaller or using some different software tips will get you a better print from this current image.

You can find more information from our fellow members in the Input/Output Forum --- here's a couple of links to get you started:

Digital Prints

Discussion about resolution

A bit about Genuine Fractals

Here's some scanning tips from TechTV (cable channel)
Scanning Tips and Links

Finally, one of our members has an extensive list of information and links to other informative websites relating to Photoshop. Don't be scared off if you see things you don't understand -- that's just proving that there's a lot more to learn and enjoy. This is a great resource and I'd put it in your Favorites list on your browser.
Steven Marsh's website

Feel free to ask questions about anything I've said or referred you to -- we don't always have the answers here, but someone usually knows how to find them.

Enjoy!