And here when you say "the quality of an image" you mean the printed image.
Why not try it both ways and find out for yourself?
Agreed 100% – this is something to explore by comparison
The processes involved are very effective learning processes as well
I did and achieved mixed results. In black and white printing, most appeared no different. A few seemed to be sharper with the bicubic sharpening especially in the larger sizes.
The color prints, however, seemed opposite. Most were with little if any noticeable difference but a few had slightly better color reproduction with the handle scaling reduction.
I was seeking some information on the processing difference between the two which might explain the results.
N. Schwartz
I have received more informative details from a posting on another forum which does provide some explanation as to possible differences.
According to this other reply, bicubic sharpening is preferred for image reduction. The method is obtained in the scaling reduction procedure through the Print dialogue by setting it as the default for image interpolation in Edit-Preferences-General-Image Interpolation. If some other method is selected as the default, one may get differing results.
N. Schwartz
Any processes which involve inherent resampling, such as Transform, will pick up the interpolation method set in the Preferences. Generally, most would set this to Bicubic, to accommodate up, and down, sizing via methods such as Transform.
When resizing via the IMAGE>SIZE dialogue, however, Bicubic Smoother is the preferred choice for UPscaling and Bicubic Sharper for DOWNscaling.
I’ve long since been campaigning for a "Bicubic Smarter" setting which would automatically choose between "Smoother" and Sharper" depending whether the scaling was up or down.
Sign the petition: dave milbut, "Interpolation Defaults – (Smart Bicubic?)" #1, 24 Jun 2005 4:59 am </cgi-bin/webx?14/0>
Chris.
Do you know whether Genuine Fractals plug-in has its own method of resizing or is it controlled by the interpolation setting of CS2?
N. Schwartz
Chris, are you sure about this?
Any processes which involve inherent resampling, such as Transform, will pick up the interpolation method set in the Preferences.
I’ve been unhappy with automated resizing (in both CS and CS2) in two processes — Web Photo Gallery and Contact Sheet II. Despite setting Bicubic Sharper as the default in Preferences, I find the downsized results a little mushy.
For the web galleries I sometimes re-create a folder of images with my own action, using Bicubic Sharper. This is particularly necessary for the "thumbnail" folder. For contact sheets, I routinely sharpen the pages before putting them into a PDF presentation for delivery to clients. (I know the PDFing contributes to softness, but the pages need help even when viewed by themselves.)
I’m not seriously troubled by the extra steps, but I’ve assumed the Automate scripts did not use Bicubic Sharper.
