Enlarging a teeny image

[monocron]

I have a very small (40kb.) image, and want to enlarge it a lot, prinitng it , if possible, a couple feet wide. it is already grainy and I dont mind that, but want to avoid any pixelation. I have already tried enlarging,slight blur, adding more monochrome grain to it. not quite what i'm after, any additional suggestions appreciated. thank you.

[jeaniesa]

Hello Monocron,
Is there any chance you can attach a copy of your image here? (There is an "attach file" section under where you type your post.) It would help us immensely if we can see what you're referring to.
Thanks, Jeanie

[DJ Dubovsky]

Monocron
Welcome to Retouch Pro.
Of course I haven't seen the image you are talking about so I can't say for sure, but in some cases small images won't enlarge past a certain point. A small image of a person, for instance, will seem as though it has features such as eyes or a mouth. This is because your mind accepts that they are there and fills in the details even though you can't really see the details. However, when you blow that image up you find that the details in the eyes and mouth are nothing but dark shapes with no visual detail at all. This is because the camera never catured it to begin with and the more you inlarge it the less detail you will have.

If you are getting grain and have a long way to go yet, I would say that that is not a good sign.
DJ

[Ed_L]

Welcome aboard! I'm quite limited in expertise, but I doubt very much that you could get the image to the size you're looking for and be satisfied. Bad quality images only get worse when enlarging, unless you can find a magic software program (Genuine Fractals?) somewhere. If you have any success at all, please let us know. I'm sure we'd all be interested in it. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Ed

[G. Couch]

What are you using this for? If it's to be viewed from 15-20 feet you will be ok... If it's for up close....pray for a fractal miracle!

[Chris W.]

Just an idea Monocron,

But is there a chance you could take a picture of that small picture with a digital camera and work from there?

At least you'll be working with a larger image to enlarge and maybe it might even eliminate some of that grain problem.

Don't know if this will work but it's the only thing I can think of to try.

[Ed_L]

Something like that has been mentioned before. If you try it, be sure the camera is perfectly lined up (square to the photo). Otherwise you'll get noticeable distortion when you blow it up. I doubt if that would work well because you're just copying the information that's already there. But I've been wrong before!

Ed

[thomasgeorge]

If the image is grainy already enlarging it with Fractals or any other method currently known will simply enlarge the grain and imperfections as well. Viewing from a distance, as GC pointed out helps but in the end the enlargement will simply be a copy...complete with "warts etc.". However, that being said you might try this: (1) to remove the "grain" , go to the Software section, the thread " What Plugins impress you most" and go to the NeatImage site and download the demo for that program...there is good documentation there about this noise/grain removal program. If you have questions about it, just start a thread under software and we'll jump in with some pointers...
(2) Here there are two options... (A) Using the Genuine Fractals program to enlarge ( a spendy program but worth it if you do alot of this type thing) or (B) again, over in the Software section there is a thread about enlarging which mentions a Spline program which is capable of enlargement without undue artifact production.
I am assuming you dont have a hard copy of the photo...if you do, scanning at a very high res/ hi bit setting would give you more data to work with, or Chris W.'s suggestion is worth trying as well...I do something similar when faced with requests to enlarge a portion of a small photo by taking a photo of the area in question through a low power stereo microscope at 20-30x then enlarging that.... Good luck, Tom

[monocron]

wow thanx

Many interesting ideas to try in your replies, thanks, I'll be busy.
You might see that I've attached a sample cropped off the original and enlarged 200% so you see the pixelation happening already. Since it is an abstract design, and not necessary to have the kind of detail that allows eyes and noses to show, the soft, yet grainy blend is going to be acceptable as long as the pixelating patterns dont show.
What is the difference between geuine fractals print pro and short cut's s-spline which I have tried. is GF better for this sort of thing?

[thomasgeorge]

Fractals is reported to be better. I have not tried S-spline so cant really say how they compare. Fractals Pro is designed mainly for those who outsource work for printing on the Scitex and other hideously expensive and complicated presses. GF2.0 or the upgraded version is more suited for the desktop type applications. You might give NeatImage a try...it does allow for selection of what type of noise to modify and in which channel(s) to apply it...It would probably soften the pixelation and with the sharpening routine it might be possible to keep undue blurring out, but its a matter of intense experimentation and trial/error. That program is very powerful but has a steep learning curve..on the other hand the demo is free, full featured but allows for saving only in one format...It is discussed more fully in the aforementioned Software thread....Hope this helps...good luck, Tom

[Gerry Monaghan]

Resourcing Up

I have had some success from making a good quality print and then doing a high res scan from that piece of flat art. It doesn't always work but it can lead to some fun results.