Print to scan to print => loss of Quality?

MC
Posted By
mukesh.chugh
Oct 5, 2004
Views
550
Replies
3
Status
Closed
I am a novice in manipulating images.I have a general question.

If I scan a 10×13 image using normal home scanner and then take a smaller say 8×10 print out from a digital lab then is there any loss in quality?

Basically, is there any loss in quality if I scan and get it printed. How does this vary with changing the size of picture.. from higher to smaller.. or if i retain the same size.

I have some big portraits got from the studio that I want to get in smaller sizes and am wondering the cheapest solution for them. Anybody has any experience?

Thanks,
—
Mukesh
Related Tags
loses print scan

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

T
tacitr
Oct 5, 2004
If I scan a 10×13 image using normal home scanner and then take a smaller say 8×10 print out from a digital lab then is there any loss in quality?

If you are using a consumer-grade flatbed, scanner, yes. (If you are using a high-end scanner, the answer is still "yes," but the scanner will capture a lot more information from the print, so it’s unlikely to be an issue.)

No matter how you reproduce the image, there is likely to be some loss of quality. A professional custom photo shop will probably make an internegative of the print, then print additional photographs from the interneg, which will usually give excellent results.

What do you need the duplicates for? How critical is the quality? If you’re not extremely critical, a scan and print should be fine.

—
Art, literature, shareware, polyamory, kink, and more:
http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
R
RSD99
Oct 5, 2004
"Mukesh Chugh" asked:
"…
I have some big portraits got from the studio that I want to get in
smaller sizes and am wondering the cheapest solution for them.
…."

If you are actually concerned with getting a high quality reproduction, order them from "the studio" and pay their price. Anything *you* do with re-photographing them or
scanning them will have noticeable quality degradation … unless you actually have professional level equipment and techniques.

"Mukesh Chugh" also asked:
"…
If I scan a 10×13 image using normal home scanner
…."

I don’t know of *any* "normal home scanner" that will scan an image that large.
D
Doppleganger
Oct 11, 2004
In article ,
(Mukesh Chugh) wrote:

I am a novice in manipulating images.I have a general question.
If I scan a 10×13 image using normal home scanner and then take a smaller say 8×10 print out from a digital lab then is there any loss in quality?

Yes, any generation, especially on a home scanner, will produce poor results from the original. Drum scanning would do it, but if you could afford that, you would’nt be trying to dupe the original, would you?

You need to go read the contract you agreed to when the photographer took the original shots, I believe you will find what you’re trying to do violates the photographer’s copyright, and most local labs will refuse to shoot another’s work unless you have a signed release they can verify. And they *do* watch each other’s back – especially if the studio put a watermark or logo on the shot, like a lot of them do. There’s a reason they do that, and you just discovered why.

Unless, of course, you negotiated with the photographer for the negatives…but if you had those, the lab could print you any old size, right?

Don’t rip off the photographer.

Basically, is there any loss in quality if I scan and get it printed. How does this vary with changing the size of picture.. from higher to smaller.. or if i retain the same size.

To get a scan that would print decently from a lab, you’d need to drum scan it, or get an interneg shot. A drum scan that size, at 300 dpi, will probably run you a couple hundred bucks at a decent shop. How much are smaller reprints from the photographer? Matching a photograph digitally will cost you more than just buying smaller prints of the original – and it’s ethically wrong in your circumstances.

I have some big portraits got from the studio that I want to get in smaller sizes and am wondering the cheapest solution for them. Anybody has any experience?

Yes, buy smaller sizes from the studio that shot them, don’t violate the original photographer’s copyrights. To me, as a professional designer/illustrator that works with pro photographers, what you’re proposing is the same as scanning money and printing it, or making fake IDs. The only way I’d be comfortable with you doing this is if the photographer is dead, or is allowing you to do it.

What do you do for a living? How would you feel if someone was ripping you off for your hard work?

Must-have mockup pack for every graphic designer 🔥🔥🔥

Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections