The incredible shrinking Photoshop file
January 18, 2006 1:16 PM   Subscribe

I'm trying to copy/paste a 5x5 PSD file into an 8x8 CD template PSD. Every time I do so, the original 5x5 shrinks to 3.8x3.8!

Ive set both images to CMYK, Ive tried dragging the layer into the template, ive done copy, copy merged, paste, and paste into... everytime it shrinks on me -- Im an avid and long time Photoshop user -- whatsagoinon?
posted by Satapher to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)
 
Check your DPI?
posted by Aquaman at 1:19 PM on January 18, 2006


Best answer: different DPI settings for each image. Bump your 5x5 up to the same DPI as the CD template. (probably 150dpi vs. 72dpi)
posted by mathowie at 1:22 PM on January 18, 2006


Your template and picture are different resolutions. You need to resize the image with resampling so that it's 5x5 at the same resolution (dots per inch or centimeter) as the template.
posted by nowonmai at 1:23 PM on January 18, 2006


Response by poster: ah, you guys are unstoppable!
posted by Satapher at 1:27 PM on January 18, 2006


Response by poster: thank you very much; ive never done anything for print, just the web -- was still a head smacker when i read the replies
posted by Satapher at 1:34 PM on January 18, 2006


If you've never done anything for print, then I pray you are working at a resolution of at least 300dpi, otherwise you're going to get some nasty pixelly end results.
posted by Robot Johnny at 2:14 PM on January 18, 2006


Robot:

In bitmap programs like photoshop, DPI has little to nothing to do with how pixellated the results are. A 300 DPI image can be highly pixellated or barely at all. It is image resolution that matters, which has nothing to do with DPI. (DPI defines the print quality of the pixels, not their size. PPI is the size of the pixels. It takes many dots to print a pixel, since a pixel is a colour, while dots are just CMYK plus white space.)
posted by -harlequin- at 2:27 PM on January 18, 2006


Response by poster: the photo was originally at 230 dpi and the template was at 300... i bumped the photo to 300... any words of warning? bad idea to increase it? it was taken with a very very nice digital camera
posted by Satapher at 2:36 PM on January 18, 2006


Response by poster: harlequin -- is it the same idea as the misleading "cd quality" that you hear so much? anything you put onto a cd is cd quality... if i record a fart thru a handheld tape recorder and burn it to a cd, its cd quality
posted by Satapher at 2:37 PM on January 18, 2006


Satapher:

Pretty much, though I think it's more just overlooking the print mechanics and assuming that dots in DPI are equivalent to pixels, which while a pretty intuitive thing to assume, can bite you hard if you have to leave the safe-zone of doing the same thing that worked in the past.

I think that in earlier versions of photoshop, this misconception was actually built into the interface; the image resolution box incorrectly referred to DPI, and since almost everyone in print works with photoshop, photoshop pretty much defines the common knowledge. (I don't have the latest photoshop, but I can't find anything outside of print options other than pixels per inch, or pixels per cm, but the concept that this box is DPI persists).
Ie, assuming a very old version of photoshop, Robot Johnny would be correct - in that you would put the value into a box called "DPI", but that box didn't actually change the DPI, it changed the PPI, and you would select a different value of DPI in the print menu. Just to be confusing :)

Crude rule of thumb, DPI should be at least two times the PPI, though more is better if print speeds are unaffected, and PPI should be as high as needed to avoid pixellation. For print material, being a metric sort, I like 100P/cm, which is about 250PPI, which is pretty close to the number Robot Johnny suggested, once you know not to set the DPI to that :)

This is all assuming colour or greyscale image destined for a CMYK printer.

It's a simple enough distinction, but it's kind of hard to explain :-/
posted by -harlequin- at 3:27 PM on January 18, 2006


Yes, harlequin -- I know the difference. But bad habit die hard.
posted by Robot Johnny at 4:53 PM on January 18, 2006


« Older Maintaining a laptop   |   Mental Health issues Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.