How to scale up a TIFF?

P
Posted By
pmw
Oct 25, 2006
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1027
Replies
4
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Closed
The problem is that I have a TIFF which measures a meagre 300px x 300px. I need it to print out nicely* on a sheet measuring 100cm x 100cm. Quite a predicament.

So, the question is, how do I scale my 300px x 300px image to get a 16,000px x 16,000px image (assuming 400dpi). The image itself is fairly simple – a geometric image of a hexagon, with a couple of other bits.

Can I convert it to another format which will scale (PS/EPS)? Can I change it into a vector image and save it as a vector format which works as a background for Powerpoint (how do I do that?)? Is there some other avenue of approach?

Thanks for your help.

* Nicely in this instance means fairly sharp and not pixellated.

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MT
mark.thomas.7
Oct 26, 2006
pmw wrote:
The problem is that I have a TIFF which measures a meagre 300px x 300px. I need it to print out nicely* on a sheet measuring 100cm x 100cm. Quite a predicament.

You seem to specialise in understatement.. (O:

So, the question is, how do I scale my 300px x 300px image to get a 16,000px x 16,000px image (assuming 400dpi).
That’s a 53x enlargement…..! Some programs like QImage, will do the best *possible* job of upscaling.. but.. frankly, you are asking for the ridiculous/impossible. It will look like And why do you specify 400 dpi? That is a very fine quality level, for a very large print. Assuming you weren’t restriucted by your original, at a size of 1m you could probably drop to 150-ish dpi and it would look ok. How close are the viewers going to be? Of course if the original is only 300 pixels, then dreaming about 400dpi at any size larger than about a playing card is just fantasy.

The image itself is fairly
simple – a geometric image of a hexagon, with a couple of other bits.
Ok, maybe that changes things. What exactly is it? A logo? If so, it *should* probably be vector-based, and if it is in vector form the problem will pretty much vanish.

Can I convert it to another format which will scale (PS/EPS)?
No, won’t help. If it is a bitmap, just converting it to EPS will leave it that way. …but…

Can I
change it into a vector image and save it as a vector format
Yes, probably. As long as it doesn’t contain significant ‘photographic’ content. There are various ‘vectorising’ functions in drawing/illustration programs – i’m sure someone else will chime in on that.

If it’s a simple design, maybe you could just get it re-created cheaply or even do it yourself.

which works as a background for Powerpoint (how do I do that?)?
Not quite sure what you mean..? Powerpoint can use most images, vector-based or bitmap (and certainly won’t require 16,000 pixels) so I presume this is a secondary requirement?

Is there some other
avenue of approach?

Like I said, you could simply get it re-drawn as a vector.

* Nicely in this instance means fairly sharp and not pixellated.
‘Fairly sharp’, on a print of 1m square, would probably mean somewhere about the 100-150 dpi level I referred to earlier. But if the viewers are, say, a metre away then even 50 dpi would probably look ok. Without seeing what you are talking about, or what it will be used for, I can’t really guess.
C
Cortez
Oct 26, 2006
There are no magic solutions to what you are trying to do. If you could provide a to link to the graphic in question, or even a thumbnail, that might help someone suggest the best course of action.

cTK

pmw wrote:
The problem is that I have a TIFF which measures a meagre 300px x 300px. I need it to print out nicely* on a sheet measuring 100cm x 100cm. Quite a predicament.

So, the question is, how do I scale my 300px x 300px image to get a 16,000px x 16,000px image (assuming 400dpi). The image itself is fairly simple – a geometric image of a hexagon, with a couple of other bits.
Can I convert it to another format which will scale (PS/EPS)? Can I change it into a vector image and save it as a vector format which works as a background for Powerpoint (how do I do that?)? Is there some other avenue of approach?

Thanks for your help.

* Nicely in this instance means fairly sharp and not pixellated.
T
Tacit
Oct 27, 2006
In article <ehokjf$22h$>, pmw
wrote:

So, the question is, how do I scale my 300px x 300px image to get a 16,000px x 16,000px image (assuming 400dpi). The image itself is fairly simple – a geometric image of a hexagon, with a couple of other bits.

You can’t.

It is not possible to scale up a raster (pixel) image without losing quality. No program, no algorithm, no technique can do this; it is not even theoretically possible.

Re-create the image at the proper size to begin with.


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N
nomail
Oct 27, 2006
tacit wrote:

In article <ehokjf$22h$>, pmw
wrote:

So, the question is, how do I scale my 300px x 300px image to get a 16,000px x 16,000px image (assuming 400dpi). The image itself is fairly simple – a geometric image of a hexagon, with a couple of other bits.

You can’t.

It is not possible to scale up a raster (pixel) image without losing quality. No program, no algorithm, no technique can do this; it is not even theoretically possible.

Re-create the image at the proper size to begin with.

It all depends on the image. Some vector programs such as Corel Draw, have pretty good ‘trace’ options, changing the raster image into a vector image. If the image is simple enough, this is a real option. Once the image is changed, you can resize it to any size you want.


Johan W. Elzenga johan<<at>>johanfoto.nl Editor / Photographer http://www.johanfoto.nl

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