Enlarging images

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

JPEG images are especially bad, because enlarging a JPEG exaggerates the JPEG quality degradation.

Sorry…

—
Photography, kink, polyamory, shareware, and more: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:12:30 -0500, tacit found these
unused words floating about:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

True, many years ago at the beginning of graphics manipulation … Welcome to Century 21.

OP, try Genuine Fractal’s free trial.
http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2

Here’s what Genuine Fractals software does:
After you have optimized your image file in Photoshop, establishing how the final image will appear, you save the image using the preferred Genuine Fractals file extension (FIF or STN). GF transforms the image into "resolution independent-assets" eliminating the relationship between pixels and resolution. The image becomes mathematically encoded as an algorithm and the pixels of the original raster image are replaced with a new file structure that stores the entire image and none of the pixels. When you open the image again, you can re-scale it to the desired size and the algorithm will generate new pixels while maintaining sharpness regardless of image size.

More information and procedure:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:49:25 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:12:30 -0500, tacit found these
unused words floating about:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

True, many years ago at the beginning of graphics manipulation … Welcome to Century 21.

OP, try Genuine Fractal’s free trial.
http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2

Here’s what Genuine Fractals software does:
After you have optimized your image file in Photoshop, establishing how the final image will appear, you save the image using the preferred Genuine Fractals file extension (FIF or STN). GF transforms the image into "resolution independent-assets" eliminating the relationship between pixels and resolution. The image becomes mathematically encoded as an algorithm and the pixels of the original raster image are replaced with a new file structure that stores the entire image and none of the pixels. When you open the image again, you can re-scale it to the desired size and the algorithm will generate new pixels while maintaining sharpness regardless of image size.

More information and procedure:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

Some people will believe anything…

In article ,
Sir F. A. Rien wrote:

Here

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:04:24 -0500, tacit wrote:

In article ,
Sir F. A. Rien wrote:

Here’s what Genuine Fractals software does:

Hogwash. That’s what Genuine Fractal’s hysterical marketing hype *claims* to do.

In reality, it sometimes gives results moderately better than bicubic interpolation for some images–emphasis on "sometimes," "moderately," and "some images." But nothing, and I mean nothing–not Genuine Fractals, nothing–can create detail that does not exist in the original image to begin with.

The OP asked what the best way to enlarge a small jpg would be. The replies have swung to the patently obvious that detail cannot be created. That, to me, seems to be completely ignoring the question and to be chasing a false hare.

I would ask "From what size to what size?" and "What are the expectations and use for the enlarged image?"

If a image is doubled in size, certainly there will be a loss of detail. However, the resulting image could be acceptable for the purposes of the OP. It’s not like the enlarged image will be mud.

I just randomly grabbed a 299 x 463 pixel jpg image of a dog from the web and enlarged it to 768 x 1163 pixels in PS7 using Image>Image Size, Constrain Proportions, Bicubic Resolution and Saving As at 8/baseline.

The dog was an Afghan with long, delicate hair. The larger version is certainly less detailed and sharp, but it’s a very passable image of the dog.

Back to the OP’s question…is there a way that the image can be enlarged, or a change in what is listed above, that would provide a better result? Not a result with no loss of detail, but a better result than obtained using the quick-and-dirty way?

—

Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

‘ whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc…. was his question and he get answered that nothing can do it *without* degrading it

The only people that answered the op’s question was FaRien & Tony Cooper. I am using Genuine Fractals, and it do give a very useable outcome.

Admitted, I mostly use it on digital paintings, which are much more lenient to enlargement than photos, but still, Genuine Fractals would be the answer.

Dave

"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.
Graham

small? the quality will depend on how small to how LARGE you going to enlarge, and the original quality as well. So, here is a simple trick

1. Change the JPG from 8-Bit to 16-Bit mode to reduce artifact

2. Select "Image Resize" then instead of resizing you change the "Percentage" to 200-400% depending on the original->ENLARGE size you want.

3. If you want to save to JPG then make_sure to change back to 8-bit mode else Photoshop won’t let you save (because there is no 16-bit JPG)

And because you enlarge at 16-bit mode so there is less artifact than doing in 8-bit mode. If too much artifacts then you can use some action like Mid-nite something (I don’t remember) that will soften/smooth the image (and color changing) and it will remove most if not all artifact.

The action can be downloaded free from a web site call Action Central http://atncentral.com/ And I think the below is the one but not so sure (cus there is 2 or 3 of them)

http://atncentral.com/Zip_Actions/Midnight_Action_Collection .zip

tacit wrote:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

JPEG images are especially bad, because enlarging a JPEG exaggerates the JPEG quality degradation.

Sorry…

while this is true, the OP asked "what is the BEST technique"

I would suggest (after loading the image in photoshop or photoshop elements), the following:

Image … Resize … Image size …
and a screen will come up asking you about pixel dimensions, document size, etc.

1 – Make sure the three boxes called scale styles, constrain proportions, and resample image all have a check mark in them.

2 – For the "resample image", click the dropdown amd select "bicubic smother"

3 – In the "pixel dimensions" portion of the screen, replace the number that is there (for example 640) with twice that number (in this example, 1280). Twice is about as much as you can enlarge before things really get looking terrible (but your mileage may vary). NOTE: All the dimension related boxes will automagically adjust to their corresponding new values (that is the purpose of step 1 above).

4 – Click the "OK" button.

5 – Save the modified picture under a different name. Print it out and see if it looks acceptable.

Oops – I just noticed you are using a Mac – probably a slightly different sequence of commands and clicks to get you there, but this should give you the general idea.

wrote in message

tacit wrote:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or
plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

JPEG images are especially bad, because enlarging a JPEG exaggerates the JPEG quality degradation.

Sorry…

while this is true, the OP asked "what is the BEST technique"
I would suggest (after loading the image in photoshop or photoshop elements),
the following:

Image … Resize … Image size …
and a screen will come up asking you about pixel dimensions, document size, etc.

1 – Make sure the three boxes called scale styles, constrain proportions, and
resample image all have a check mark in them.

2 – For the "resample image", click the dropdown amd select "bicubic smother"

3 – In the "pixel dimensions" portion of the screen, replace the number that is
there (for example 640) with twice that number (in this example, 1280). Twice is
about as much as you can enlarge before things really get looking terrible (but
your mileage may vary). NOTE: All the dimension related boxes will automagically
adjust to their corresponding new values (that is the purpose of step 1 above).

4 – Click the "OK" button.

5 – Save the modified picture under a different name. Print it out and see if it
looks acceptable.

Oops – I just noticed you are using a Mac – probably a slightly different sequence of commands and clicks to get you there, but this should give you the
general idea.

make an action that increases the size by 10%, even better to use 5%. Its been suggested to use CTRL F11. This works very well.

I am right now using this method to generate an image which is 600% larger than the original. This is so I can compare to the result obtained by Genuine Fractals. Very memory/ram intensive. My first scratch drive is full, the second one is filling and I still have not reached the 600% mark.

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 20:23:02 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:49:25 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:12:30 -0500, tacit found these
unused words floating about:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

True, many years ago at the beginning of graphics manipulation … Welcome to Century 21.

OP, try Genuine Fractal’s free trial.
http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2

Here’s what Genuine Fractals software does:
After you have optimized your image file in Photoshop, establishing how the final image will appear, you save the image using the preferred Genuine Fractals file extension (FIF or STN). GF transforms the image into "resolution independent-assets" eliminating the relationship between pixels and resolution. The image becomes mathematically encoded as an algorithm and the pixels of the original raster image are replaced with a new file structure that stores the entire image and none of the pixels. When you open the image again, you can re-scale it to the desired size and the algorithm will generate new pixels while maintaining sharpness regardless of image size.

More information and procedure:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

Some people will believe anything…

…. and some are afraid to learn !

In article ,
Tony Cooper wrote:

Back to the OP’s question…is there a way that the image can be enlarged, or a change in what is listed above, that would provide a better result? Not a result with no loss of detail, but a better result than obtained using the quick-and-dirty way?

You might, depending on the content of the image and the amount of JPEG degradation already present. "Step interpolation" or "stair interpolation," in which the image is enlarged in small steps of no more than 10% or so, sometimes gives better results than doing it in one fell swoop, though the new "Bicubic Smoother" interpolation option in Photoshop has arguably negated that advantage.

—
Photography, kink, polyamory, shareware, and more: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:23:56 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 20:23:02 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:49:25 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:12:30 -0500, tacit found these
unused words floating about:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

True, many years ago at the beginning of graphics manipulation … Welcome to Century 21.

OP, try Genuine Fractal’s free trial.
http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2

Here’s what Genuine Fractals software does:
After you have optimized your image file in Photoshop, establishing how the final image will appear, you save the image using the preferred Genuine Fractals file extension (FIF or STN). GF transforms the image into "resolution independent-assets" eliminating the relationship between pixels and resolution. The image becomes mathematically encoded as an algorithm and the pixels of the original raster image are replaced with a new file structure that stores the entire image and none of the pixels. When you open the image again, you can re-scale it to the desired size and the algorithm will generate new pixels while maintaining sharpness regardless of image size.

More information and procedure:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

Some people will believe anything…

… and some are afraid to learn !

Some people learn by reading the experiences of others, many (most) who’ve said Genuine Fractals is 99.9% hype and a waste of money. You on the other hand quote from their site as if it were some type of factual Bible. Guess who I’m going to believe.

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:04:09 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:23:56 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 20:23:02 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:49:25 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:12:30 -0500, tacit found these
unused words floating about:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

True, many years ago at the beginning of graphics manipulation … Welcome to Century 21.

OP, try Genuine Fractal’s free trial.
http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2

Here’s what Genuine Fractals software does:
After you have optimized your image file in Photoshop, establishing how the final image will appear, you save the image using the preferred Genuine Fractals file extension (FIF or STN). GF transforms the image into "resolution independent-assets" eliminating the relationship between pixels and resolution. The image becomes mathematically encoded as an algorithm and the pixels of the original raster image are replaced with a new file structure that stores the entire image and none of the pixels. When you open the image again, you can re-scale it to the desired size and the algorithm will generate new pixels while maintaining sharpness regardless of image size.

More information and procedure:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

Some people will believe anything…

… and some are afraid to learn !

Some people learn by reading the experiences of others, many (most) who’ve said Genuine Fractals is 99.9% hype and a waste of money. You on the other hand quote from their site as if it were some type of factual Bible. Guess who I’m going to believe.

Man in the moon – or would you dare actually -=try=- it?

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 17:28:56 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:04:09 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:23:56 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 20:23:02 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:49:25 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:12:30 -0500, tacit found these
unused words floating about:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

True, many years ago at the beginning of graphics manipulation … Welcome to Century 21.

OP, try Genuine Fractal’s free trial.
http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2

Here’s what Genuine Fractals software does:
After you have optimized your image file in Photoshop, establishing how the final image will appear, you save the image using the preferred Genuine Fractals file extension (FIF or STN). GF transforms the image into "resolution independent-assets" eliminating the relationship between pixels and resolution. The image becomes mathematically encoded as an algorithm and the pixels of the original raster image are replaced with a new file structure that stores the entire image and none of the pixels. When you open the image again, you can re-scale it to the desired size and the algorithm will generate new pixels while maintaining sharpness regardless of image size.

More information and procedure:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

Some people will believe anything…

… and some are afraid to learn !

Some people learn by reading the experiences of others, many (most) who’ve said Genuine Fractals is 99.9% hype and a waste of money. You on the other hand quote from their site as if it were some type of factual Bible. Guess who I’m going to believe.

Man in the moon – or would you dare actually -=try=- it?

I never took a test drive in a Yugo yet I’m fairly sure they were the pieces of shit people said they were. I’ve read the reviews and decided GF wasn’t worth wasting the time on. It’s hype, lies, smoke and mirrors, you seem to be the only one here who’s ever fallen for it. Other than quoting sales scripture have YOU ever tried it? Can you post any verifiable proof it can do anything near the claims it makes or are you just a shill for the company?

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:51:47 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 17:28:56 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:04:09 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:23:56 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 20:23:02 -0500, Voivod found these unused words floating about:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:49:25 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:12:30 -0500, tacit found these
unused words floating about:

In article ,
"Grey" wrote:

If I have a small jpeg and want to enlarge it, what’s the best technique or plugin to use whilst reducing distortion and artefacts etc.

Unfortunately, nothing can enlarge a pixel-based image without degrading quality. No program, no technique, nothing; it is not even theoretically possible.

True, many years ago at the beginning of graphics manipulation … Welcome to Century 21.

OP, try Genuine Fractal’s free trial.
http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2

Here’s what Genuine Fractals software does:
After you have optimized your image file in Photoshop, establishing how the final image will appear, you save the image using the preferred Genuine Fractals file extension (FIF or STN). GF transforms the image into "resolution independent-assets" eliminating the relationship between pixels and resolution. The image becomes mathematically encoded as an algorithm and the pixels of the original raster image are replaced with a new file structure that stores the entire image and none of the pixels. When you open the image again, you can re-scale it to the desired size and the algorithm will generate new pixels while maintaining sharpness regardless of image size.

More information and procedure:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

Some people will believe anything…

… and some are afraid to learn !

Some people learn by reading the experiences of others, many (most) who’ve said Genuine Fractals is 99.9% hype and a waste of money. You on the other hand quote from their site as if it were some type of factual Bible. Guess who I’m going to believe.

Man in the moon – or would you dare actually -=try=- it?

I never took a test drive in a Yugo yet I’m fairly sure they were the pieces of shit people said they were. I’ve read the reviews and decided GF wasn’t worth wasting the time on. It’s hype, lies, smoke and mirrors, you seem to be the only one here who’s ever fallen for it. Other than quoting sales scripture have YOU ever tried it? Can you post any verifiable proof it can do anything near the claims it makes or are you just a shill for the company?

Perhaps you missed at least one other respondent who’d also ‘fallen for it’, eh?

Yes.

A link with a mouseover showing the additional gains was mentioned above, but with a closed mind …!
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/GF/GF.HTM

Sorry, retired and not in anyway involved with the current company owning/improving GF. Another ‘dead horse’ you can’t beat.

The problem with people, as yourself, is that they expect miracles and never read the actual statements, then are doomed to disppointment when they can’t blow up a Mavica FD image to billboard size.

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:07:33 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

The problem with people, as yourself, is that they expect miracles and never read the actual statements, then are doomed to disppointment when they can’t blow up a Mavica FD image to billboard size.

I’m not expecting miracles, dolt, I know the thing can’t work as well as advertized. You’re quite delusional.

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:05:00 -0500, Voivod wrote:

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:07:33 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

The problem with people, as yourself, is that they expect miracles and never read the actual statements, then are doomed to disppointment when they can’t blow up a Mavica FD image to billboard size.

I’m not expecting miracles, dolt, I know the thing can’t work as well as advertized.

What does?

—

Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 14:07:54 -0500, Tony Cooper
scribbled:

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:05:00 -0500, Voivod wrote:

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:07:33 -0800, Sir F. A. Rien
scribbled:

The problem with people, as yourself, is that they expect miracles and never read the actual statements, then are doomed to disppointment when they can’t blow up a Mavica FD image to billboard size.

I’m not expecting miracles, dolt, I know the thing can’t work as well as advertized.

What does?

Nothing does. As has been stated many times by many people you cannot create detail out of thin air. Results may be usable based on project, billboard seen from a distance. Otherwise, quality suffers from even small up sizing.

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 14:07:54 -0500, Tony Cooper

I’m not expecting miracles, dolt, I know the thing can’t work as well as advertized.

What does?

donno, maybe dolt would know:-)

Dave