What resolution should my painting be scanned at?

[Robert Montgomery]

What resolution should my painting be scanned at, using a Cruse Synchron
Table scanner?

My painting that will be scanned is 34.5 by 54 inches.

My final output size will be maximum 63 percent of that size of the
painting, on an Epson 7600 printer.

The output will be professional quality art prints.

 

[CSM1]

What resolution should my painting be scanned at, using a Cruse Synchron
Table scanner?

My painting that will be scanned is 34.5 by 54 inches.

My final output size will be maximum 63 percent of that size of the
painting, on an Epson 7600 printer.

The output will be professional quality art prints.

Just as a general rule, Art work may need as much a 1200 DPI to resolve any
fine lines.
On the other hand if the art is a water or oil painting 300 DPI may be
plenty.

It is a try it and see what your results are. You can probably view the scan
on your computer screen if you show the image on screen as actual pixels.
The Image will more that fill the computer screen, you have to scroll around
in the image to see what you have.

You should resize the image to the size you want after scanning to get the
print output that you want.
It depends mostly on what software you have at hand to do the job.

If you are not going to do any resizing in a photo editor, then to get the
300 dpi output to the printer, for a 21 x 33 inch print you would need to
have 6300 X 9,882 pixel image.

That means that the 34.5 x 54 inch print would have to be scanned at 183
DPI.
To do it right I would scan at 300 dpi and resize the image for the printer.

I use Irfanview or PhotoShop Elements 3 for my image resizing and printing.

 

[Robert Montgomery]

Just as a general rule, Art work may need as much a 1200 DPI to resolve any
fine lines.
On the other hand if the art is a water or oil painting 300 DPI may be
plenty.

When scanning from medium and large-format transparencies, I instructed
the scanning comapanies to scan at 300 dpi at the most, so 1,200 dpi
would be four times that, which seems escessive.

The painting is an oil.

It is a try it and see what your results are. You can probably view the scan
on your computer screen if you show the image on screen as actual pixels.
The Image will more that fill the computer screen, you have to scroll around
in the image to see what you have.

You should resize the image to the size you want after scanning to get the
print output that you want.
It depends mostly on what software you have at hand to do the job.

I have Photoshop CS 3.

If you are not going to do any resizing in a photo editor, then to get the
300 dpi output to the printer, for a 21 x 33 inch print you would need to
have 6300 X 9,882 pixel image.

How did you arrive at those figures?

That means that the 34.5 x 54 inch print would have to be scanned at 183
DPI.
To do it right I would scan at 300 dpi and resize the image for the printer.

Scan at 183 dpi, or 300 dpi?

Robert

 

[Barry Watzman]

300 dpi should be fine.

 

[Robert Jasiek]

How did you arrive at those figures?

He uses just basic multiplication:

300 * 21 = 6300

300 * 33 = 9900 // His 9882 is a joke with that he tests you

Insert whichever destination sizes you actually want instead of 21 and
33.

The key is to know what "dpi" does actually mean: "dots (or pixel) per
inch in one direction".

If you live in an ISO-country (i.e., outside the USA), you might also
want to know that 1 inch is 2.54 cm.

 

[CSM1]

He uses just basic multiplication:

300 * 21 = 6300

300 * 33 = 9900 // His 9882 is a joke with that he tests you

Insert whichever destination sizes you actually want instead of 21 and
33.

The key is to know what "dpi" does actually mean: "dots (or pixel) per
inch in one direction".

If you live in an ISO-country (i.e., outside the USA), you might also
want to know that 1 inch is 2.54 cm.

I came up with a figure for the long side of some 32.94 inches. Rounded it
to 33 inches.
But you are correct, it is simple math.

 

[Robert Montgomery]

I came up with a figure for the long side of some 32.94 inches. Rounded it
to 33 inches.
But you are correct, it is simple math.

Thanks, C.S.M.I.

Robert

 

[Alan Meyer]

What resolution should my painting be scanned at, using a Cruse
Synchron Table scanner?

My painting that will be scanned is 34.5 by 54 inches.

My final output size will be maximum 63 percent of that size of the
painting, on an Epson 7600 printer.

The output will be professional quality art prints.

If your access to the table scanner is limited and you need to
have all of your decisions made before you get access to it,
you might try scanning just part of the painting on your home
flatbed scanner, if you have one, and studying the results.

Then you can decide among the various resolutions.

Alan