Resolution -- how many dots per inch?
Printing maxes out at about 300 dots per inch, and dotPhoto can get good photos out of about 180 dots per inch, so you can apply these multipliers to just about any image size. For instance, a great 4x6 would be (4" x 300 dots) x (6" x 300 dots) or 1200 x 1800. A larger resolution image would also make a great 4x6, but it would be no better than a 1200 x 1800.
There will also be a small "slop" area around the sides of the photo of perhaps an 1/8 of an inch because the image is exposed slightly off the sides of the photo paper to ensure that the paper is exposed from edge to edge. Therefore, photographers should not have important picture elements like a face against any edge of the photo; the face might be slightly cropped even though the image size is perfect.
What is cropping?
The images that our cameras take are almost always different shapes than the paper we choose to print on. If we were to stretch the pictures to fit the paper, our images would be distorted, so we trim the edges instead. Cropping is trimming your image so that it matches the ratio of the paper you choose to print on.
As this chart shows, paper sizes have different ratios. Since most digital cameras capture a ratio of 1.33, the industry created a "4xD" size (4-by-Digital) that does not require cropping with many but not all digital images. The 4xD is 5.33 inches on one side instead of 6 inches, but it prints the entire 1.33 ratio photo without requiring cropping.
Images that do not match the exact ratio of the size -- for example, a 2000 by 2000 dot image on 4" x 6" paper -- can be cropped or uncropped by selecting the check box in the dotPhoto cart. If uncropped, the entire image will be printed with white space on each side. In the example just given, you would see a square 4"x4" photo with an inch of white space on either side.
If you choose to crop your photos, dotPhoto crops images according to what is called "Top Medium Cropping." Since most faces appear toward the top of the photo, our cropping window captures the area half way between the top edge and the center of the photo. This ensures that more photos include the faces.
You can see how your photo will print in any size by clicking on the "See Cropping" link at the bottom right of an image, and then choosing the Print Size beneath the picture.
How can I perfectly crop my photos?
You can perfectly crop your photos to a specific size in two ways. dotPhoto's online editing tools enable you to crop by size: click on "Edit" at the top right of a photo, then click on the "Crop" tab. You can pick the size you wish to print, move the red cropping window, preview the cropped photo, and save that photo without affecting your original.
Crop before Uploading
You can also crop all your images before uploding them to dotPhoto. The new dotPhotoGo by Noromis software is a great tool that fixes red-eye, adjust color, enables cropping and uploads to dotPhoto. You can download dotPhoto Go free of charge here: www.dotphoto.com/dotphotogo
Cropping and Resolution
When cropping, remember that you still need enough resolution to print the photo. If you select a tiny piece of even a high-resolution photo, you might not have enough pixels in that tiny piece to print a good photo. However, when you save the croppred image, you can check on the resolution beneath the photo.
By considering your resolution and cropping before you print, you will have excellent photos virtually every time.
Making Great Prints
