Technical Library: Resizing Photos in Photoshop

It is best to scan an image that is the size that you want to engrave it. Scanning a 2 x 2 inch image and then expanding it to an 10 x 10 inch image will usually produce a very ragged, or "blocky" looking image. Scanning an 10 x 10 inch image and shrinking it will produce the same results, but the effect is usually not as noticeable. Photoshop provides a convenient way of resizing a photograph or other image while retaining the images original quality. The secret to resizing is to maintain the same file size by adjusting the resolution of your image.

1)

Open your photograph in Photoshop and go to Image, Image Size. Notice that the file size of the Legend photo in the example (Pixel Dimensions) is 3.32M (megabytes), the photo is a 3 x 3.213 inch photo, and the resolution is 300 PPI (pixels per inch).

2)

Increasing the image size to 20 x 21.4 inches without changing the resolution produces a file that is 147 megabytes in size. When we look at the image by viewing it at actual pixels, we can see that it has become blurry because the software is adding 143.8 megabytes worth of random information to the file.

3)

By taking the check mark out of the Resample Image box, you can use the resolution to change the size of the picture you are printing. By changing the Resolution to 160, we can increase the size of the photo to 5.6 x 6.0 inches without changing the pixel dimensions of the file or losing any image quality. This is a view of the Legend at actual pixels.