Just a quick note to respond to some of the details that are coming up
here... I think the quality of an inkjet image depends a lot on the printer
you're using and on the size of the output, paper type, etc. In your
situation, it sounds like you may be producing small prints on an office
type ink jet. In that case, I agree with the statements of print output
quality that have already been made. But for large prints, with a high end
printer, I think you can get good results.

Regarding the scan resolution, I agree with 300dpi as a good general rule of
thumb. But, again, it really depends on the output size, etc. What I wanted
to point out is some interesting software called "Genuine Fractals" that
runs inside Adobe Photoshop. Genuine Fractals allows you to resize images
and change their resolution without much (any?) loss of image quality. This
means that you can store images in a database at a manageable size, then
resize them as needed for various purposes. So, you can archive images at a
medium resolution size (300dpi) and then resize that image as needed for
your webpage or your wall mural.

Hope this helps!

- John Moser
Moser Productions
Richmond, Va.

----- Original Message -----
From: "George Garner" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 10:30 AM
Subject: Re: reproduction quality of digital images - was schedule of fees


> I've always heard 300dpi as the "magic number" of digital reproduction at
an
> exhibition design firm I used to work for. A finer resolution certainly
> won't hurt, but 300 allows for good reproductions without eating away too
> much memory space. The size of the original and final copies should
dictate
> what resolution you are using, but a good sized original (i.e. anything
> larger than a 3x5 photo print) at 300dpi can let you print pretty big
> without looking too grainy.
>
> Sorry, I lost the original post so I'm not sure what your particular
> situation is. If you're looking to digitize an entire collection for
future
> use, 300dpi is a safe number. If you just need to do a "one-off" print,
> start at 300, make the scan, blow it up on screen and see what it looks
> like. If you think it's too grainy then go to 450 or 600 and check it
again.
> There is a point where the resolution is so fine that increasing the
> resolution will make no noticeable change.
>
> Unfortunately, Kathy is correct about ink-jet printers. They have their
> places, but good quality image reproduction is not one of them. Make sure
> you play with the printer's settings to get the best quality print, or use
a
> different color profile besides the default/automatic setting. There is a
> LOT of trial and error involved, so be prepared to spend a lot of time and
> waste a lot of ink and paper before you get a copy you're happy with. Once
> you do get that copy, make a log of the printer's settings - you can refer
> to it next time you have to do a similar job.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> George Garner
>
>
>
> |-----Original Message-----
> |From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> |Behalf Of <Kathy Rapp>
> |Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 10:13 AM
> |To: [log in to unmask]
> |Subject: Re: reproduction quality of digital images - was schedule of
> |fees
> |
> |
> |Greetings all,
> |
> |In a message dated 9/24/02 8:45:24 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:
> |
> |<< using an inkjet printer.  What dpi isconsidered optimal for
> |scanning >>
> |
> |I use 600 dpi, and this lets me print very good quality pictures.
> |
> |An inkjet will NOT reproduce as high a quality a print as a
> |laser printer
> |will. It will also, not reproduce all the colors correctly. I
> |am having a
> |very hard time getting mine to reproduce a very light shade of
> |brown. It ends
> |up blueish.
> |
> |I look forward to hearing what others say.
> |
> |Kathy.
> |OCR Specialist
> |Don't retype it, OCR it!
> |Taking the printed word and placing it into an editable format.
> |http://www.katscan-ocr.com
> |
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