Export Raw to Jpeg - File Size

This question is not about exporting images for social media. It is about exporting images to provide to friends and family, who may send them to Shutterfly, Walgreens or such to get prints or make a booklet. Do you send them full burn jpegs? Uncropped, mine hover around 12 mb for 240 psi. The same image exported at 75% hovers around 3 mb.

When sent to friends I send mine at 300 dpi 1150 pixels wide (for horizontal pix) or 900 pixels high (for vertical pictures). If they let me know they want to make a print I adjust according to the indicated size.

I wouldn't want to pressurise my friends and family by sending them files at 240 psi!

Find out what size they want to print and adjust accordingly. I re-sample and play with jpg compression. It's rarely necessary to send anybody a file bigger than 1 MB or so because hardly anybody makes large prints. Send only sRGB. OTOH, I just sent a 50 MB file to somebody today for a giant print, so what do I know.

This 'PSI" value is kind of worthless if you don't define the 'size' for output. 240 PSI (pixels per inch) over 5 inches, 15 inches? Makes a difference ;). Someone wants a print right? What size? Then you can easily get away with as little as 180-200 pixels per inch to a decent digital printer. More, to a point could be useful. You want a booklet that's full bleed and 13 inches wide?

JPEG compression set to what quality using what application? They differ. For example, here's a good article about settings for JPEG using Lightroom but other products will vary:

http://regex.info/blog/lightroom-goodies/jpeg-quality/full-res-examples

The output is a digital printer or an inkjet or????

The answer to the OP's question can only be at this point: It depends. We need specifics otherwise.

This 'PSI" value is kind of worthless if you don't define the 'size' for output. 240 PSI (pixels per inch) over 5 inches, 15 inches? Makes a difference ;). Someone wants a print right? What size? Then you can easily get away with as little as 180-200 pixels per inch to a decent digital printer. More, to a point could be useful. You want a booklet that's full bleed and 13 inches wide?

JPEG compression set to what quality using what application? They differ. For example, here's a good article about settings for JPEG using Lightroom but other products will vary:

Lightroom JPEG Export-Quality Settings, Full-Resolution Examples

The output is a digital printer or an inkjet or????

The answer to the OP's question can only be at this point: It depends. We need specifics otherwise.

Thanks for the link!

I usually distribute high quality JPEG files at 3600x2400 pixels, which makes a really nice 8x12" enlargement. The file size varies, but generally under 5 MP, which can fit inside a text or email message.

I meant 5 MB, not mega pixels. I also use these images in "Collections," uploaded to the cloud, which can then be displayed on a phone or tablet in LR Mobile.

I meant 5 MB, not mega pixels. I also use these images in "Collections," uploaded to the cloud, which can then be displayed on a phone or tablet in LR Mobile.

Correct. I have more to share about uploading Lightroom Collections, but I want to start a new thread, "Adobe Web Apps & Services."

My first distribution is through the cloud (OneDrive), each picture having the resolution of an iPad Air 2 (1536X2048 at 264 ppi), Lightroom limiting the size of each file at 900K.

 

I specify in my emails that these files are best viewed on a screen and offer to send a larger formats if someone has special needs, which rarely occur.

 

If I know in advance that someone will want to print these pictures, I make immediately a second set of the same files for a 4X6 prints at 300 ppi (1800X1200), with no limits to the files size, but Lightroom rarely goes beyond 1.5MB

 

Hope that helps.

I meant 5 MB, not mega pixels. I also use these images in "Collections," uploaded to the cloud, which can then be displayed on a phone or tablet in LR Mobile.

I was premature in writing that I would start a new post “Adobe Web and App Services”. I should have written it first and THEN replied to your comment regarding uploading Collections. As I was writing it I started to bury myself in words (as I am doing now), so I abandoned it. My reason for asking about jpeg file size in this thread was BECAUSE I am syncing Collections with Adobe’s web based Lightroom and Adobe Portfolio. I have, however, discovered the following. When syncing a Lightroom Collection with Adobe Portfolio, raw or dng files are automatically exported as jpegs during upload. I don’t have to concern myself with file size.

 

When Lightroom Collections are synchronized with the web based Lightroom, they obviously remain as raw/dng. In my case, with my micro four thirds, 16 megapixel camera, the dng image is 4592 x 3488, a 15.1 MB file. Those images can be shared on the web. If downloaded, they are automatically exported to jpegs, 2048 x 1537, 868.3 KB in size. Not bad!

Do you send them full burn jpegs?

Usually: "Yes, at least!" My friends & folks seem wealthier than me. For that reason on its own, it makes sense to let them face the challenge to archive the full size image. I also noticed: People tend to have communication problems. Loving my images potentials I don't want to ever see a downsized one blown up to print big from it just because somebody didn't consider that print worth asking me for a higher resolution file.

TBH: I am happiest ditching everything; 3 folders, few"Keepers I've been working on", "QCD conversions", "RAWs (just in case)".

Upon size and obstacles: If somebody is known to clumsily use hardware even worse than mine, I'll downsize, for their viewing convenience. Considering the speed of other folks' Internet connections I think it is OK to have them wire out mid sized JPEGs in the 18MP range to their printing service.

My own Internet is very unspectacular. - If I like somebody dearly, I might fill my default Drop Box a couple of times for them, but I really prefer handing files over as a chance to copy them from my USB media, assuming everybody has at least 64GB vacant disk space at home, these days.

To live with email attachment restrictions I'd Give JPEGmini a go on high resolution files.

 

I don't use Lightroom here at home. I 'd fear the worst about automatically converted RAWs. Maybe I am underestimating it's algorithms, but does it use the cameras' custom profiles created with XRite colorchecker automatically? - The LR default handling of my Samsung DSLRs' RAWs looked quite awful 2 years ago. - Yes, I know: "Who the **** shoots Samsung?"...