Minimum resolution to allow 5x7 print

FlyTVR

FlyTVR

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Anyone got an idea of what image resolution would be required to produce a decent 5x7" print?

Might sound like a silly question, but I am shooting portraits at a charity do in a few weeks time and will be giving one free image to each subject. Idea is that they can print from this image. I don't want to give them a full res JPEG so that they can go off and print 10x8, 10x15 etc
 
Joe Public doesn't care about resolution and will put up with any old rubbish if the alternative is having to pay for something he's already got for nowt.
 
I'd hazard a guess that you could get away with around as little as 1200 x 1600 - and still have a half decent ink jet print at 5x7.
 
photon said:
Joe Public doesn't care about resolution and will put up with any old rubbish if the alternative is having to pay for something he's already got for nowt.
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Not really helping to answer the question, even if you are right about Joe Public putting up with whatever he can get for nought.

I'd hazard a guess at 1,000 1,200 pixels on the longest edge for a 5"x7" but more than anything lower the DPI to 72 ;)
 
Kodak, for example, suggests these resolution/file sizes:
For a 4" x 6" print, the image resolution should be 640 x 480 pixels minimum.
For a 5" x 7" print, the image resolution should be 1024 x 768 pixels minimum.
For an 8" x 10" print, the image resolution should be 1536 x 1024 pixels minimum.
For a 16" x 20" print, the image resolution should be 1600 x 1200 pixels minimum.
For a 20" x 30" print, the image resolution should be 1600 x 1200 pixels minimum.
For a Wallet-size print, the image resolution should be 320 x 240 pixels minimum.
Click to expand...

So that's about 150dpi?

I think.
 
150 dpi is would be perfect for 5x7 so the customer is limited to make a good enlargement. 300 dpi would be better though however you can get good enlargements prints from that.
 
Difficult question. As another poster said, people will put up with anything just to avoid having to pay.

You either have to make the images low quality, which will then mean a low res print, or higher quality means they could be printing them larger.

I'm not sure this is a particualy good way to go for business if you are worried about people printing them.

How about a compromise? Issue each image with a licence forbidding people to print, but allowing them to use them on the facebook etc? Because I bet thats where a lot of them will go.

Paul
www.photographybyriddell.co.uk
 
If you've got an inkjet at home, run off a few prints at low resolutions to see which is the lowest you'ld be happy to go. 300dpi is often quoted as the best option but IIRC, that's for magazine reproduction more than home printing. 150 should be OK and you might even be able to go lower. I would have suggested giving people a 6x4 print instead of a file but people can (and do) scan good small prints and get decent larger prints from the resulting scans.
 
What are you frightened of with giving them Hi Res stuff ?

If you give away 7x5 do you really think they'll come back to buy a 'decent' 10x8 ?, I think not.

If you give away a low res file and thy print it larger and it looks crap then you get labelled 'crap' photographer, if you give them away my advice is give the best quality you can but make sure your signature/logo is embedded in the bottom right corner.
 
KIPAX said:
cant people just alter the dpi at home to what they want?
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Yes, they could. However, the software can only make a guess as to what values the new pixels should be, so it's not always that successful.
 
I have stated before that I have seen a 20"x16" canvas made from a 600x400 pixel image. Not perfect but certainly good enough from the customers point of view.

How is the subject being presented with the image because for the cost of a CD you could have a 6"x4" print made.

Why noy just resize to to 300x200 place your logo over the top and add to an album on facebook.

Mike
 
If you want to give your customers a free print without the risk of them then going away to make their own enlargements, surely the only way you can do that is to make the free prints yourself. That way the customer isn't getting a file that they can then do what they please with.
 
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