Giclee Printing Methodology

It is a fact of life at this point in time: many digital cameras do not produce enough native (true) resolution to print large format giclee.

It is possible to increase the file size of an image by interpolating. Interpolation can be done in many imaging programs and it increase the file size by adding pixels to make up for the lack of resolution.

Many will ask: "Great! I don't have to go out and spend my money on that 8MP digital camera any more!". Not so fast! There is a catch....

The way interpolation works is by averaging adjacent pixels in the file and "guessing" what values to put in. By doing so, the image will soften a bit and detail is not really gained. What is gained though is the chance to reduce or eliminate pixelation (providing the interpolation is performed correctly and within limits). Photoshop has 3 ways to interpolate: Nearest neighbor, Bilinear and Bicubic. For most purposes the latter two are fine. Nearest neighbor is better used for line work.

Megapixel rating is not the whole story

A picture taken with a pro level camera will interpolate better that one taken with a point and shoot camera even if the two have the same resolution. This is because a high quality file can hold better when inflated. It is a good idea to do an unsharp mask after interpolating to reduce the softening.

We have seen 5MP cameras that produce good large format prints. This is because the photos were taken with quality cameras and skill.

We do not generally recommend to increase file size more than 200%. It is unrealistic to expect to see a 2 or 3MP producing an acceptable 30X40 giclee.

Some images will also interpolate better than others. A very sharp image with a good histogram without any clipping in highlights and shadows is a good candidate.

If you have doubts about the quality of your file, please have us take a look at it. At no cost to you, we will analyze it and provide advice.

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