Problem : Solution Improve resampled images for print

Problem: Resampled low-resolution image doesn't look its best.

Solution: Use sharpening.

Resizing a low-resolution image to make it smaller is easy. Resizing a low-resolution image to make it larger is more complicated because resampling is necessary to gain enough resolution for printing. Resampling isn't a bad word, but it can lower image quality. The key is to be conservative. You can only push an image so far before it starts to look bad, so you might not be able to turn a 72 ppi image into a 300 ppi image. Instead, try to get as close as possible without affecting image quality.

Note

To resample in Photoshop is to sample existing color in an image and then add or subtract similar color pixels until you reach the desired resolution.

Give it a try!

1.	Open the image you wish to work with.
2.	Choose Image Image Size, and take a look at the Image Size dialog box. For our example image, this dialog box tells us our image is 5.653 inches wide by 8.333 inches high with a resolution of 72 ppi. Lets say we need the image to be 3 inches wide and we need to print with a resolution of 300 dpi.
3.	Enter an amount in the Width text box with the Resample Image check box deselected. We entered 3. Photoshop automatically adjusts the height and resolution. For our example, these adjustments were 4.423 inches in height and 135 ppi for resolution (roughly).

These adjustments make our image better, but not good enough. Therefore, we need to resample the image to gain the remaining resolution necessary for print. (Your other option is to rescan the image at the proper size and resolution.)

To resample the image:

1.	Select the Resample Image check box.
2.	Leave Bicubic, the default method for resampling, selected to produce the best results. The Constrain Proportions check box is also selected by default and ensures that Photoshop maintains the proportion of our image.
3.	Enter 300 in the Resolution text box. The height and width remain the same, but the increase in resolution has also greatly increased the pixel dimensions (and file size)a symptom of resampling.

View and evaluate your changes

At this point, click OK and let's view our image at 100 percent (View Actual Pixels). Were looking for excessive resampling, which often results in pixelationa showing of the actual square pixelsand blurring. If it's distracting onscreen, it's even more evident on paper. As shown in our Problem image, our image doesn't look too badnothing a few minor adjustments can't fix.

Improve upon your image

After resizing a low-resolution image, the next step is to make any image adjustments that can improve picture quality. This may include adjusting the brightness and contrast in the image, boosting saturation to compensate for any washed out colors, and using Levels to better define the tonal range of the image.

Resampled images almost always need some sort of sharpening to improve contrasts and edge details. To sharpen your image:

1.	Choose Filter Sharpen Unsharp Mask.
2.	Enter the appropriate settings in the resulting dialog box. For our example, we entered 184 for the Amount, 1.3 for the Radius, and 10 for the Threshold.
3.	Click OK. The result of our sharpening is shown in our Solution image.

Make the most of what you have

There's no magic potion to turn a low-resolution image into a high-resolution print. However, if you follow the steps we've provided and make creative attempts to improve the quality of your images, you'll make the most of what you have and put those pixels on paper with good results.