- Fire Mountain - 3' x 4'
- Leaves in Transition 16" x 30"
Say you want to make a big statement. How big? My sample project is a highly stylized Snapseed HDR + Grunge image and any pixelization due to enlargement will not detract.
3' x 4' at Office Depot on an HP banner printer
When the print center is not too busy, takes 20 minutes to print from JPG or PDF. If you are a rewards member they send 15% discount coupons every so often. Grommets can be added to large sheets, 25¢ each.
Fire Mountain Photo Process: January 2019
Needed 150ppi image in 3:4 aspect ratio
- Edit DNG Obscura file in Snapseed to add HDR Scape and Drama effects. Export the DNG to Camera Roll (paying more attention and keeping notes slows me down).
- Use PhotoSync to move file from iPad to Mac laptop. Rename file.
- Open image in Photoshop, currently 56" x 42" at 72ppi.
- In PS - Image menu > Mode > 16 Bits
- In PS - Image menu > Image Size > 150ppi (still 56" x 42" or 4.6' x 3.5')
- Need to crop or scale image to 48" x 36"
- In PS > Image menu > Image Size > 48" x 36"
- Should the Color Profile be changed?
- In PS > File menu > Save As > 4x3.tif & 4x3.jpg (230MB & 17MB)
- Also crop to 4' x 2' and save as .tif and .jpg (155MB & 12MB)
- Copy files to USB flash drive (formatted as FAT32)
- Take coupon and flash drive to store.
Curiosities: On iPad the file is DNG and 4.6MB file size as seen by PhotoSync. After transfer the file is JPG and 4.8MB file size. When opening a DNG in Photoshop I'd expect the RAW Editor to open first. Use File > File Info > RAW Data tab to see XML (mentioned Snapseed). So try transferring the original Obscura 2 image as DNG. More research needed.
Do not submit PNG files according to the Office Depot print services operator.
New coupon for 15% off in February!
Mounting was an after thought. Oops! Need a very thin presentation that can withstand suction. Yes, "suction!" Because the poster will be mounted behind a closed Murphy Bed and when the bed is opened there is ... suction. Considered several options. Here are final specifications:
Leaves in Transition - October 2019
Practicing fitting an image to an odd aspect ratio.
Good to have this page as a starting place. However one of the discoveries for this semester is that our collages might not fit a set aspect ratio. The light-weight Expanded PVC black plastic sample sheet was pre-cut to 16 3/8" x 30 3/8" and I had not yet tried to trim it to a common size. The perfect project to force fit.
This large print will easily fit on the HP Inkjet Banner Printer at Office Depot and then I can cut the paper to fit the plastic. This will be a good troubleshooting activity for class participation!
Concern: Does the original collage of collages have enough resolution to print this big? Will I have to take the original pieces and recreate the image watching loss of detail in each step?
The Graphic application is an additional purchase on Mac computer from iPad purchase. But both use iCloud storage so a document started on iPad can be finished on Mac or vice versa. Graphic is a vector-based drawing program with layers, opacity and blending modes. The other type of drawing is called "bit-map" and is pixel-based, like Photoshop or Procreate. The "vector" is more like Adobe Illustrator. Draw a box on the screen and handles appear to change the size of the box by dragging on a point. Draw a line on the screen and using the arrow cursor change the bezier curve to fit. There are CAD features including dimensions. When several objects are on the same layer, they can be reordered, aligned, distributed, grouped and more. Exports to various file types as flattened image or including layers (for work in Photoshop on computer).
Ah Ha Moment: After moving the collage files from iPad Photos to computer, the file sizes seemed small. Going back to iPad PicCollage and the library it keeps of past collage work (unlike Diptic), at the Save/Export screen is the Share button. Use the Share Sheet to directly access PhotoSync and save to laptop. Wow! Huge file size difference: JPEG 500 KB to PNG 4.5 MB. One thing I did not expect was the change in file type to PNG. Elsewhere in the blog is a reference to the higher quality saved in PNG vs JPEG. Because this image got stretched to better fit the odd aspect ratio, using an image with more detail should show less pixelation. Pudding = Proof.
Ah Ha Reflection: Going back to PicCollage, I could have set the background color to Black and could have resized two of the images to fit the space so no brush strokes needed in Graphic stage.
Next time: Consider ways to simplify post processing and print prep.
Off to Office Depot to place the print order this morning. Kristine offered to make my poster the first print of the day - ready in 10 minutes! Another happy poster project.
Do not submit PNG files according to the Office Depot print services operator.
New coupon for 15% off in February!
Mounting was an after thought. Oops! Need a very thin presentation that can withstand suction. Yes, "suction!" Because the poster will be mounted behind a closed Murphy Bed and when the bed is opened there is ... suction. Considered several options. Here are final specifications:
- Expanded PVC white sheet, 1/8" thick 3'x4' from cut stock in the Retail Office of Interstate Plastics at 330 Commerce Circle - off Hwy 160.
- Double Tack Sheets, 2'x3' and a plastic squeegee from Blick Art Materials at 905 Howe Avenue near Northrop Avenue.
- Black duck tape, 3/4" roll from Jo-Ann Arts & Crafts (thin border around print).
- 3M Damage-Free Removable Hangers, 4 pack for 16 lb weight (6 lb final weight).
This image has also been printed using glicee process at Mpix.
Leaves in Transition - October 2019
Practicing fitting an image to an odd aspect ratio.
Good to have this page as a starting place. However one of the discoveries for this semester is that our collages might not fit a set aspect ratio. The light-weight Expanded PVC black plastic sample sheet was pre-cut to 16 3/8" x 30 3/8" and I had not yet tried to trim it to a common size. The perfect project to force fit.
This large print will easily fit on the HP Inkjet Banner Printer at Office Depot and then I can cut the paper to fit the plastic. This will be a good troubleshooting activity for class participation!
Concern: Does the original collage of collages have enough resolution to print this big? Will I have to take the original pieces and recreate the image watching loss of detail in each step?
- Move files to computer using AirDrop or PhotoSync. Check file size and reprocess as necessary.
- Create 16.375" x 30.375" layout in Graphic application on Mac laptop.
- Import file, stretch to shortest edge.
- Add outside border and inside lines using layers. Add brush stroke details in new layer.
- Export RGB color at 150 dpi as JPEG, PDF and TIFF.
- Be sure to use USB drive formatted for PCs for transport to print service, FAT32.
- At the export step the DPI can be selected, because this is a highly stylized image 150 dpi sounds right. (If printing a photo, consider 300 dpi and glossy/matte paper stock.)
- No Photoshop processing this time. No shifting from 8-bit to 16-bit.
The Graphic application is an additional purchase on Mac computer from iPad purchase. But both use iCloud storage so a document started on iPad can be finished on Mac or vice versa. Graphic is a vector-based drawing program with layers, opacity and blending modes. The other type of drawing is called "bit-map" and is pixel-based, like Photoshop or Procreate. The "vector" is more like Adobe Illustrator. Draw a box on the screen and handles appear to change the size of the box by dragging on a point. Draw a line on the screen and using the arrow cursor change the bezier curve to fit. There are CAD features including dimensions. When several objects are on the same layer, they can be reordered, aligned, distributed, grouped and more. Exports to various file types as flattened image or including layers (for work in Photoshop on computer).
Ah Ha Moment: After moving the collage files from iPad Photos to computer, the file sizes seemed small. Going back to iPad PicCollage and the library it keeps of past collage work (unlike Diptic), at the Save/Export screen is the Share button. Use the Share Sheet to directly access PhotoSync and save to laptop. Wow! Huge file size difference: JPEG 500 KB to PNG 4.5 MB. One thing I did not expect was the change in file type to PNG. Elsewhere in the blog is a reference to the higher quality saved in PNG vs JPEG. Because this image got stretched to better fit the odd aspect ratio, using an image with more detail should show less pixelation. Pudding = Proof.
Ah Ha Reflection: Going back to PicCollage, I could have set the background color to Black and could have resized two of the images to fit the space so no brush strokes needed in Graphic stage.
Next time: Consider ways to simplify post processing and print prep.
Off to Office Depot to place the print order this morning. Kristine offered to make my poster the first print of the day - ready in 10 minutes! Another happy poster project.
