Contrary to common belief it is not the resolution (the number of pixels per inch) which determines the size an image can be enlarged too, it is the overall number of pixels the image contains. In essence the more pixels the better.The good news is that most modern digital cameras take pictures with enough pixels in them to produce good prints. For a rough guide a 4 or 5 mega pixel camera picture can be enlarged up to at least 24 inches or 60 cm's and higher megapixels can create much bigger prints.

How can I tell how many pixels my picture has ?

Take the number of pixels in height and width your picture contains and divide by 100 this will tell you roughly how big you can print is in inches (a picture 1000 by 1000 pixel can be printed 10 inches by 10 inches). Most image editing software can provide this data for you.

Jpeg pictures are highly compressed formats and contain deceptively large amounts of pixels a 110 KB file can contain 10,000 pixels. To produce a 40 x 40 inch or 100 x 100 cm picture requires at least 4000 x 4000 pixels. As an uncompressed Tiff file this could be 50 megabytes in size as a compressed jpeg the same file could be 750kb less than 1 50th the size.

If in doubt please use our upload facility to send us your digital file and we will contact you and let you know how many pixels your picture contains and what size print can be achieved with your picture. Please type your query in the comments box and if you can leave a phone number we can reach you on.

What size print can I have ?

If your digital file is big enough we can produce pictures up to a width of forty inches or 100 centimeters so the largest square canvas or paper print we do is one meter square 100cms by 100cms which is about 40 inches. They can however be longer so we could cover an entire wall in meter wide strips. The more pixels in your photo the larger we can print it

What can I do with a small file ?

Our digital designers love a challenge and we can often find ways of working with small files. We can use software to add more pixels if the image is sharp enough . Alternatively sometimes turning the photo into vector art which uses shapes not pixels can allow a stunning piece of art to emerge from the smallest picture. If in doubt please use our upload facility to send us your digital file and we will contact you and let you know what can be achieved with your picture. Please type your query in the comments box and if you can leave a phone number we can reach you on.

What if I don't have a digital file only a paper print ?

No problem we will work to create a digital file from your picture. We have produced some very large prints from scans of original photographs. If you have access to a scanner you can create a digital file from your picture. Please see our guide to scanning your picture for information about scanning resolutions . Alternatively you can send us your picture by registered post and we will scan it for you and return it with your finished artwork. This option is built in to the ordering process.

Producing quality canvas prints requires getting a combination of factors right.You have to use the best canvas, quality stretchers great inks and professional large format printers

Canvas

Our Canvas prints are made to last. We use the finest available pure cotton Matt 340 gm's canvas for our prints considered by many to be the industry leader.This canvas allows your image to presented in the best possible way with a fine canvas texture and a full range of colour and depth of tone. It is also very strong and flexible allowing for taut stretching without the image breaking up or being distorted. Through experimenting with many different canvases we have found this works best with the widest range of images and subjects. Although the canvas is Matt in finish we can create a range of final finishes by the use of different varnishes to the print since these come in satin gloss and matt varieties. We apply a satin finish in most cases but we always check with you first

Stretcher bars

These are stretched around 3.4 cm's deep precision made pine stretchers to create a solid and lasting base.This is sustainable softwood not rainforest hardwood which is laminated and built up to ensure the wood wont warp. These stretcher bars are all adjustable so they have slots in the back to allow you to add wedges in add greater tension the canvas in future if this is required. You should not buy stretchers without this facility since without this capacity if the canvas sags there is nothing you can do with it except have it re stretched.

Colours

The ink set you use determines how fine the print will be. Epson have developed the ultrachrome ink set specifically for this type of fine art printing and it has the full gamut of colours produced from 8 inks. This has three levels of black to give depth and subtly to tones and shadows and five other colours to allow for millions of possible colours to be produced. The inks are also very durable and light fast in industry standard tests they have shown they will not fade in normal indoor lighting conditions for at least 75 years.

If you have a picture in an album or a printed photograph someone has given you this can still be used as the basis for some digital art. These will need to be scanned to create a digital file.

Scanning it yourself

How you go about this will depend on the make of you scanner and software used. The following general pointers may be useful:

• Make sure the glass bed of the scanner and your picture is clean and dust free. An imperfections and particles will show up particularly when blown up large.

• Choose a high resolution for your scan this is usually measured in dots per inch or DPI . Ideally 1200 or higher if this is available and certainly at least 600 is desirable. The larger the DPI the bigger the print we can produce from your file

• In the preview window ensure the scanner is only going to scan the picture by selecting the edges of the picture with the marquee tool. Otherwise you will create a scan of the bed of the scanner as well as your picture and create a very large file as a result.

• Save the scan as a jpeg since this will automatically compress the file to a smaller size but retain the same number of pixels

Once you have a digital file you can order your print in the usual way. The facility to either upload your image or sent it to us by e mail or on a CD is built in to the order process. Alternatively if you want us to have a look at your picture before ordering please use our upload facility to send us your digital file and a message and we will contact you and let you know what can be achieved with your picture.

Have us scan it for you

You can use the online ordering process to order a canvas or poster print the size you want in the normal way. When asked whether you want to upload your picture choose the second option and send us your image by registered post . We recommend this method to ensure your precious images get to us safely. The address is on the footer of the home page and is repeated on the confirmatory e mail you are sent after every purchase from the site.

Labels: digital printing, image size, resolution, scanning