Resolution Help

[peter_dendrinos1]

I have searched through the documentation for the Epson R2400 but

cannot find information on what the optimal resolution of the image

should be that you send to it. In PSCS2 I typically set resolution of

the image to 300, but I have no solid reason to do so.

 

How do I know what the optimal resolution should be?

 

Pete

[dennisprice]

Although the following article refers to the 2200, it may provide some guidance if you choose to make sample prints from your 2400 so you can determine for yourself what the optimal resolution might be:

 

http://www.rags-int-inc.com/PhotoTechStuff/Epson2200/

[robert x]

I'd say set it at 360.

[KenPapai]

I print 13x19 inch paper on the R2400 at 180 dpi resolution and am extremely pleased with the final print. I imagine the printer fills in the "all the holes" and generally prints in a very high resolution all of the time. In all the years I've used ink jets I still have not been let down by the Epson drivers doing 98% of the work for you. (and still do not know what the optimum setting should be!)

[sladez]

Epson's native printer resolution has been 720 but any multiple will work (360,180..etc.) HP's are 300...

[daniel_taylor]

Set your print size with interpolation off (in whatever image editor you prefer). If your resolution falls below about 250, turn interpolation on and get it at least that high.

 

Lots of people look for one magic number for color ink jet resolution. There is none for two reasons. One is that different shades require different numbers of dots to produce the shade. Pure black can be layed down at the highest resolution your printer can print because you have a pure black cartridge. An Epson photo printer can easily out perform a laser printer on B&W line art. A particular shade of orange, however, may need a 4x4 or larger grid of dots to simulate the color using the inks available in your printer.

 

Having printed many Epson prints including a number of resolution tests, I can tell you that the printers would struggle to resolve even 250 ppi with some shades. I have a series of test targets where you can see improvement up to 720 ppi, but only in one area (strands of a model's black hair against a white background), and only because the original source had that much true information to begin with (MF scan). In another area (an actual orange), there is zero improvement from 240 ppi up.

 

Which brings me to point #2: Epson's print driver is more than capable of scaling your image data before turning it into halftone patterns. You don't need to make sure you're on any multiple of 360 or 720. If you set your print size and end up at 257 ppi, or 301 ppi, or whatever, you're fine. Some really odd geometric test pattern might play with Epson's scaling and reveal a minor difference, but it's nothing you would ever see with a real photograph. The reason you want to interpolate up to 250 ppi if you fall below that is because otherwise the pattern of pixels starts to become apparent. (Actually you can get away with 200 ppi before pixels themselves become really obvious, but below about 250 you can start to see patterns in some areas of prints. Bokeh can get weird, for example.)

 

Hope this helps!

[daniel_taylor]

Oh, before someone says "bokeh is a factor of the lens", I ment to say that smooth areas like bokeh can start to get weird patterns in them below around 250 ppi.

[ted_marcus1]

I would suspect that the printer driver ignores the "resolution" setting and appropriately scales whatever pixels you send it. Remember that the "resolution" setting is nothing more than a data field in the image file header. The number of pixels in the image itself is what determines the actual resolution.

[emre]

Ted, I believe the discussion presumes that the image is resized to yield a particular resolution, therefore the pixels are affected.

[jonathan_walker]

I am new to the R2400 too but when I researched this topic, I found a very impressive piece that argued, based on tests, that 288 PPI was optimal.

[jtk]

Don't belive anything you read. Experiment.

 

Seeking maximum quality in B&W, I find 1440 distinctly better than Epson's native 720 at letter size and above, and sometimes I can wring even more out of some images (it's image-dependant) at 2880...though at 2880 there is so much ink being deposited that it can lead to surface flaws and bronzing...worth a try, sometimes.

 

Epson provides those settings for good reason.

[gary_ferguson1]

Peter, for the R2400 you've really two otions for high quality prints, 288dpi and 360dpi. For almost all shots 288dpi is fine. But there are occasions where small repeated detail, like fabric textures or a tiled roof, can produce a moire type pattern with the R2400. If you find these or other artifacts then switch to 360dpi.

[jtk]

I should have mentioned that my 1440/2880 is based on 4000ppi scans printed with 2200... maximum printer settings are overkill with lower resolution DSLRs ( D70/20D etc), contribute more with 5D/D200.

[peter_dendrinos1]

Does this advice hold true for the Epson 7800 as well? That is the advice about 360,720,1440, 2880.

 

Pete