Scanning printed photos: What format: bmp vs jpeg vs ??

ircoha

Have a bundle of very good quality color photos [6by4] to scan and am looking for advice on what format to save them in for having additional prints made in a photo shop.
The max dpi allowed is 2400 and the bmp files are enormous vs jpeg.

Any advice please
Thank you

DotOrg

what size do you want to get them printed?

if it's just 6"x4" then you should scan them so their final size is 1200 pixels x 1800 pixels

this will give you an image which when printed will have 300pixels per inch, the max necessary for that size

highest quality jpg is enough quality for printing once you don't plan on editing each one several times before printing

whilst your scanner says it will scan at 2400, it probably isn't actually scanning at that resolution. 300 dots per inch at 6" x 4" is all you need


if you have any doubts about what i say, scan one at 2400dpi at 6" x 4" and save it as bmp and scan another at 300dpi at 6" x 4" and get both printed out and you'll see there's no difference

ircoha

DotOrg wrote:

what size do you want to get them printed?

if it's just 6"x4" then you should scan them so their final size is 1200 pixels x 1800 pixels

this will give you an image which when printed will have 300pixels per inch, the max necessary for that size

highest quality jpg is enough quality for printing once you don't plan on editing each one several times before printing

whilst your scanner says it will scan at 2400, it probably isn't actually scanning at that resolution. 300 dots per inch at 6" x 4" is all you need


if you have any doubts about what i say, scan one at 2400dpi at 6" x 4" and save it as bmp and scan another at 300dpi at 6" x 4" and get both printed out and you'll see there's no difference

Thanks

the print size will be 6by4 again
no editing on route.
Should I save as bmp or jpeg please?

Zillah

Jpg all the way. Bmp is archaic

joolsveer

If you want to edit them it is best to scan as TIFF files.

Zillah

joolsveer wrote:

If you want to edit them it is best to scan as TIFF files.

Why? I know jpg don't handle repeated editings/saves well but its works perfectly for the majority of uses.

ircoha

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Much appreciated, particularly this late on a Sat night.
Missing Pat Kenny are we:eek: :eek: :eek:
Keep well

joolsveer

Zillah wrote:

Why? I know jpg don't handle repeated editings/saves well but its works perfectly for the majority of uses.

I use TIFFs for scanned images for the reason you outline - that JPEG is a lossy format and should only be used when you are finished your editing.

CiaranC

Make sure you choose a lossless format like TIFF

ircoha

I scanned the 6*4's as discussed earlier and sent them to be printed in McCabes Pharmacy: they came out darker than the originals, Any thoughts please, Thank you

Valentia

Not an answer to your last question but a general response to your original post. It seems to me that by scanning at the highest resolution as a TIFF it gives you more opportunities in the future if you decide to do something else. You can use that as a master and archive. Any adjustments like size, dpi, etc can be done from there without having to scan again.

Zombrex

ircoha wrote:

I scanned the 6*4's as discussed earlier and sent them to be printed in McCabes Pharmacy: they came out darker than the originals, Any thoughts please, Thank you

That seems to be a common problem with these digital photo lab systems they have in all the chemists and photo labs these days

Jessops beside Trinity are always making my digital prints too dark, and I had some from the pharamacy in the St. Stephens Green centre (is that McCabes) come out too dark as well.

Don't know what is causing it, I would say they just haven't bothered to calibrate the machines properly. I would suggest you got to a photo lab with a good repuation, like Gunns on Wexford st.

DotOrg

Wicknight wrote:

Don't know what is causing it, I would say they just haven't bothered to calibrate the machines properly.

an uncalibrated photo lab will generally give colour casts not affect darkness so much. far more likely is an uncalibrated monitor on the pc that you prepared the images on

if they are all dark and you suspect it's the lab, go show them your pictures and they'll explain why if they have somebody working there who knows what they're talking about.

one thing i can't stand in my lab is when customers dislike their prints and come back to me angry at me when it's 99% of the time their fault for not having the prints come out the way they want