Why might my print (from aldi) be blurred?

Cris_L

Cris_L

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Cris
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I had the below image printed by aldi on 12 x 8" paper and the over all image just isnt clear. I had a few others sone of smaller sizes and they seem ok,( i was just messing about trying to find out what sizes i could get away with etc.)

On the screen the image looks fairly sharp but the print definately isn't.

I used Aldi's software to upload the image and just left it the size that is was (I think the software automatically resized it?)

So is it blurry because of a focussing issue and i just didnt notice until it was enlarged, is it an error with the printing or is that size outside the capability of a 500D?

How do you know how big print you can go with your camera?

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I'm not sure but think its because Aldi's is a food shop and not a photo processing company.
 
Looking at the "Large" version on Flickr, which isn't actually all that large, there is already an indication of softness in the original image. Displayed at around twice that size I can see the potential for a disappointing print if you go too large.

If you can post a 100% crop here of the face, or part of, then I think the reality may become clear. Certainly the small image included in the first post conceals the problem well.

I don't actually print my photos, or send them for print, so I can't be sure on this point, but I think images sent for printing need to be sharpened pretty firmly because the print proess will actually add some softening through slight ink bleed. Certainly in Lightroom if you export files for print rather than online viewing the output sharpening is more aggressive, in anticipation of print softening. I would also guess that a retail print shop like Aldi is probably geared towards highly sharpened images usually produced by consumer grade cameras.

Anyway, back to your specific photo, as you have image editing allowed I have downloaded your image and applied additional sharpening. It might look a bit overdone on the screen but I should think that for print it is a step in the right direction.

20100820_213546_.JPG


Remember, if your original looks a little soft at this size it will look twice as soft when printed at double the size.
 
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As Tim says the original file doesn't look pin sharp which won't help but how did you sharpen the image for printing. Prints will stand more sharpening than web images and I use totally different settings for web images and different sizes of print
 
Jujitsu1 said:
I'm not sure but think its because Aldi's is a food shop and not a photo processing company.
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ha ha, :lol: maybe...it was actually a few people on here had recommended them as being good.

cheers
guys, so maybe it is simply a focussing issue that i didnt notice on the screen.

I'll bear in mind that prints require more sharpening.
 
paul_g said:
As Tim says the original file doesn't look pin sharp which won't help but how did you sharpen the image for printing. Prints will stand more sharpening than web images and I use totally different settings for web images and different sizes of print
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I'll be honest i didnt know that there was a specific requirement to sharpen for print. its all learning...and I've so much to learn!
 
I got some 18 x 12 inch prints of the Red Arrows from Aldi last week and they came out brilliant.

One thing I did notice in the Aldi software is you need to untick the Image Optimisation box if you have already edited your shots. My images looked terrible onscreen until I unticked it.

Paul
 
Cris_L said:
I'll be honest i didnt know that there was a specific requirement to sharpen for print. its all learning...and I've so much to learn!
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All part of life's learning curve. Here's a snip from the Lightroom export dialogue, showing options to sharpen for screen, matte or gloss paper.


20100820_221045_.JPG
 
The lightroom settings I find pretty good for images that were in focus in the first place. For 'problem' images I tend to use a mix of high pass sharpening on eyes that aren't quite pin sharp and USM used with layer masks for general salvaging ;)

With a bit of time and effort its perfectly feasible to make a good print out of a less than perfectly focussed image. I've sold a few in the past :lol:
 
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I think most processing labs use conventional silver halide based 'wet' printing paper with chemically produced dyes, exactly the same as printing from negatives - as opposed to 'dry' inkjet or dye-sub or whatever.

This has a deep multiple layer sandwich of different emulsions sensitive to red, green and blue light and there is a lot of light scatter and difusion that goes on inbetween them.
 
Cris_L said:
Cheers, I tend to sharpen in elements at the moment but will definitely give light room a go if u recommend it.
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I'm not suggesting you need Lightroom. I am simply pointing out that the Lightroom designers realise the differing sharpening needs of different output media and have conveniently made options easily available. I'm sure in Elements you can accomplish equivalent sharpening, but I have no idea what sort of settings you should be using to achieve that.

Either way, the last step in any workflow should be to sharpen the image to suit the output size and medium before converting/saving.
 
i've already got lightroom and as the weeks go on I'm getting my head around its capabilities more. I just find elements so easy to use. You know come to think of it i dont remember applying any sharpening to this image at all.....what a basic mistake to make!
 
Cris_L said:
i've already got lightroom and as the weeks go on I'm getting my head around its capabilities more. I just find elements so easy to use. You know come to think of it i dont remember applying any sharpening to this image at all.....what a basic mistake to make!
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Its an easy mistake to make Chris, and is another benefit of Lightroom. when you export the file to a folder for printing its easy to scroll down the list and make sure everything that should be ticked is.

Back in elements for printing that image try settings in USM of
amount 80%
radius 1.2
threshold 2

and see how it looks. Thats a reasonable starting point for printing an image assuming that very little sharpening has been applied at any other time, but a large print will happily stand more sharpening than that. Try to increase amount rather than radius, the image won't degrade as quickly

This compares to my web settings of

amount 80%
radius 0.3
threshold 0

Don't forget when you are viewing an image in elements to only view at 25%, 50% and 100%. Don't use settings such as 'fit on screen' because the image won't display correctly and its impossible to judge whether the sharpening is correct.
 
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