Image quality from intranet

PH
Posted By
Patrick_Hield
Jul 8, 2004
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477
Replies
15
Status
Closed
Wondering if anyone can offer some help with an image quality problem that I am having (using Photoshop 7 and Windows XP).

I have been asked to pull head shots (JPGs) of employees off of my company’s intranet and use them in PowerPoint presentations, as well as in print. Problem is, these images are small (passport size), low-resolution and low-quality. To add to the problem, I am asked to make the photos larger, sometimes by as much as 200%. As you can imagine, the quality of these images when enlarged is pretty bad: they contain large artifacts and general blotches. Can anyone recommend a good method of fixing low-res images from an intranet/the web, especially when enlarged, that reduces the appearance of the blotches, and makes the image look better and smoother?

Thanks!
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JB
Jonathan_Balza
Jul 8, 2004
The Image Doctor plug-in from Alien Skin is really good, if only for the JPG repair function, which does an admirable job of getting rid of the artifacts, even if the image will still have some of that "jpg blur" associated with it. You can find it here. <http://www.alienskin.com/idoc/idoc_main.html>

There isn’t really a good solution for resizing images, especially when they are that small. GIGO, as they say. You can try some of the fancy resizing programs like Genuine Fractals or S-Spline Pro, but they work best on large images being made larger. Or you could upgrade to CS to get access to Photoshop’s "Bicubic Smoother" interpolation algorithim.

Either way, good luck, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do.
AM
Aaron_Martone
Jul 8, 2004
What I would recommend is to use a high quality scanner to get a better capture. You COULD upsample the image, but pixelation and other artifacting can occur.

Get a scanner that can do 2820ppi and it should be able to maintain the "quality" of the picture, but provide you with a larger image of it, which could be then sampled down to the size you’d like.

For me, if the image is too low-res or small for a 1:1 resolution scan, it requires a rescan in order to maintain image integrity.
JH
Jake_Hannam
Jul 8, 2004
Patrick,

Chances are you will be very unhappy with the quality of anything you get off the net. The compression involved in saving for the web will probably destroy any useability of the photos for anything other than their original use, the web.

Since this is your company, presumably someone (e.g. the webmaster) has the original photos or at least decent scans of them. See if you can track him or her down to get access to the originals.

Another alternative, if feasible, would be to use a digital camera to retake the photos unless the people are spread all over the country or world.

Otherwise, neither you nor your bosses will be happy …

Jake
I
ID._Awe
Jul 8, 2004
Rescanning the images at a higher resolution won’t help, you now just has X amount of extra pixels making up the original large pixel, the original pixel still exists.
MM
Mac_McDougald
Jul 8, 2004
Surely the poster meant scan the original images that the web images were made from?

M
AM
Aaron_Martone
Jul 8, 2004
Rescanning an image at higher resolutions is a much better idea than altering the image via an increase of it’s original dimensions at original resolution. I’m not sure I’m following what rescanning an image at that resolution would prove to be bad.

You’re scanning a photo right? Photos don’t have pixels. Only when digitized, do they. So once it is scanned in, and massive in size, many pixels will represent 1 "speck" visible to the eye. But we’re going from Optical to Digital here, so there’s no correlation that I can think of.
DN
DS_Nelson
Jul 8, 2004
As I understand the original poster, he’s not talking photos, he’s trying to use crappy jpg images from a website. No way that the best scanner in the free world can improve those.
PH
Patrick_Hield
Jul 8, 2004
Hi there —

Thanks for the replies. All I really have access to is the images on the intranet site. Unfortunately, I cannot get my hands on the original photos, so all I have to work with is the low-quality images that I can download or copy. Thought perhaps some amount of blurring might help smooth out some of the worst artifacts but, as you can imagine, that is just making matters worse.

Patrick
P
Phosphor
Jul 8, 2004
Tell the powers that be that they have asked you to do something that is impossible.

Then walk away.

They will follow you.

Bring them to your desk and open this thread.

Let them read it.
AM
Aaron_Martone
Jul 8, 2004
Ah. My bad. You only have the low-res digital image to start with; no original work. Yeah, scanning that won’t work here. When you print it, it won’t be anywhere near the quality that the original photo is.
JB
Jonathan_Balza
Jul 8, 2004
Does anyone ever read the first post? 😉
P
Phosphor
Jul 8, 2004
Me, Dave Milbut, and now, you, Jon.

I think we got the makin’s of a reevo-looshun!
CK
Christine_Krof_Shock
Jul 8, 2004
You could try the fredmiranda action…basically increase the resolution by 5% in image size over 3 passes using bicubic smoother then USM on the 3rd increase. keep doing this until you have the resolution/size you need (use image size with resample turned off to swap resolution for size…not great but it sometimes works.. You can turn this process into an action…

Or pay the $15.00 us for the action at www.fredmiranda.com
P
Phosphor
Jul 8, 2004
Still doesn’t beat the C.S.I. zoom and enhance plugin.

And that’s what the original poster needs.

Even The Mighty Ferd Miranda can’t polish a turd.
DM
dave_milbut
Jul 8, 2004
Unfortunately, I cannot get my hands on the original photos, so all I have to work with is the low-quality images that I can download or copy.

I second the suggestion for Alien Skin’s jpg repair tool in Image Doctor. Get a fully working, free 30 day demo at <http://www.alienskin.com/idoc/idoc_main.html>

select the demo link. i’m not affiliated with them, i just like their products.

dave

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