Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
There's a different set of rules we use for maintaining as much quality as possible
when making an image smaller, and there are a couple of different ways to do just
that (we'll cover the two main ones here). Luckily, maintaining image quality is much
easier when sizing down than when scaling up (in fact, photos often look dramatically
better—and sharper—when scaled down, especially if you follow these guidelines).
Downsizing photos where the
resolution is already 300 ppi:
Although earlier we discussed how
to change image size if your digi-
tal camera gives you 72-ppi images
with large physical dimensions (like
24x42" deep), what do you do if your
camera gives you 300-ppi images
at smaller physical dimensions (like a
10x6" at 300 ppi)? Basically, you turn
on Resample Image (in the Image Size
dialog under the Image menu), then
simply type in the desired size (in this
example, we want a 6x4" final image
size), and click OK (don't change the
Resolution setting, just click OK). The
image will be scaled down to size,
and the resolution will remain at
300 ppi.
IMPORTANT:
When you scale
down using this method, it's likely
that the image will soften a little bit,
so after scaling, you'll want to apply
the Unsharp Mask filter to bring back
any sharpness lost in the resizing (go
to Chapter 10 to see what settings
to use).
(Continued)
