Optimal Image Resolution for Epson 1280 at 1440?

Gio Hunt · Nov 26, 2001

What is the OPTIMAL image size (resolution) for printing photos on an Epson 1280 printer when printing at 1440 dpi?

I've read different things on the web -- some suggest that the image resolution should be at least 240 dpi, others suggest at least 360 dpi.

My guess is that there is probably an acceptable range -- so I guess my questions are really:

1. What is the MINIMUM resolution you should use? (I.e., what is the resolution below which you will notice a worse result and should therefore interpolate up?)

2. What is the MAXIMUM resolution the printer can appreciate? (I.e., what is the resolution beyond which any additional resolution is just a waste because it won't make the printed image any better?)

3. Can you ever have TOO MUCH resolution? (I.e., will sending additional resolution info to the printer ever actually make the printed image worse?)

Thanks for your help.

Gio

Dave Lewis · Nov 29, 2001

Gio Hunt said:
What is the OPTIMAL image size (resolution) for printing photos on
an Epson 1280 printer when printing at 1440 dpi?

I've read different things on the web -- some suggest that the
image resolution should be at least 240 dpi, others suggest at
least 360 dpi.

I don't have a 1280 but do have a 900 and 980 and have never found any improvement in print quality above 150 dpi. I tried 300 and could not tell any difference even when looking though a loupe. Higher resolution means smaller prints and larger files. It is a diminishing returns kind of thing. I think people are brainwashed into thinking high resolution just because of the high numbers Epson uses to describe their printers' capability. Keep in mind that only the second figure is a true measure of resolution. The first one only has to do with how the printer moves paper through it. The lower number is always the actual number. Look at any of the formulas for determining print resolution and you will never see a recommendation for print resolutions much above 150 dpi except for image setters. These printers print halftones, afterall and must use dots, however small, and have spaces between the dots. Try setting the lpi really tight in a page layout program and print to a 1200 dpi laser printer and see the contrast increase to the point that shadow areas become totally black. That might be a case in point regarding too high a resolution. Halftone depends on spaces between the dots. Epson printers can make some really small dots, especially the 900 series, but there must be spaces between them.--Dave Lewis

ThiTran · Nov 29, 2001

There's a very good article at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/ that explains sharpness and resolution. Recently, I bought QImage Pro for printing task. It does all of the scaling automatically. For 4x6 print, I could not see much different between 1440, and 720 dpi. If you can get by with 720 dpi, that may save you time and ink.

Thi

Dave Lewis said:
Gio Hunt said:

What is the OPTIMAL image size (resolution) for printing photos on
an Epson 1280 printer when printing at 1440 dpi?

I've read different things on the web -- some suggest that the
image resolution should be at least 240 dpi, others suggest at
least 360 dpi.

Click to expand...

I don't have a 1280 but do have a 900 and 980 and have never found
any improvement in print quality above 150 dpi. I tried 300 and
could not tell any difference even when looking though a loupe.
Higher resolution means smaller prints and larger files. It is a
diminishing returns kind of thing. I think people are brainwashed
into thinking high resolution just because of the high numbers
Epson uses to describe their printers' capability. Keep in mind
that only the second figure is a true measure of resolution. The
first one only has to do with how the printer moves paper through
it. The lower number is always the actual number. Look at any of
the formulas for determining print resolution and you will never
see a recommendation for print resolutions much above 150 dpi
except for image setters. These printers print halftones, afterall
and must use dots, however small, and have spaces between the dots.
Try setting the lpi really tight in a page layout program and print
to a 1200 dpi laser printer and see the contrast increase to the
point that shadow areas become totally black. That might be a case
in point regarding too high a resolution. Halftone depends on
spaces between the dots. Epson printers can make some really small
dots, especially the 900 series, but there must be spaces between
them.
--
Dave Lewis

chris jordan · Nov 30, 2001

Dave, the highest resolution your printer will print, and the best one to use, is 360 dpi. You can get away with lower, but it will be interpolated by the printer up to 360 dpi. If you have a really sharp scan and a well-imaged file, then you will notice a difference between 360 dpi and lower resolutions such as 150 or 200. If your files are large enough, then always res them to 360 dpi for printing.

ThiTran said:
Thi

Dave Lewis said:

Gio Hunt said:

What is the OPTIMAL image size (resolution) for printing photos on
an Epson 1280 printer when printing at 1440 dpi?

I've read different things on the web -- some suggest that the
image resolution should be at least 240 dpi, others suggest at
least 360 dpi.

Click to expand...

I don't have a 1280 but do have a 900 and 980 and have never found
any improvement in print quality above 150 dpi. I tried 300 and
could not tell any difference even when looking though a loupe.
Higher resolution means smaller prints and larger files. It is a
diminishing returns kind of thing. I think people are brainwashed
into thinking high resolution just because of the high numbers
Epson uses to describe their printers' capability. Keep in mind
that only the second figure is a true measure of resolution. The
first one only has to do with how the printer moves paper through
it. The lower number is always the actual number. Look at any of
the formulas for determining print resolution and you will never
see a recommendation for print resolutions much above 150 dpi
except for image setters. These printers print halftones, afterall
and must use dots, however small, and have spaces between the dots.
Try setting the lpi really tight in a page layout program and print
to a 1200 dpi laser printer and see the contrast increase to the
point that shadow areas become totally black. That might be a case
in point regarding too high a resolution. Halftone depends on
spaces between the dots. Epson printers can make some really small
dots, especially the 900 series, but there must be spaces between
them.
--
Dave Lewis

Click to expand...

BayAreaFoto.com · Nov 30, 2001

Gio Hunt said:
What is the OPTIMAL image size (resolution) for printing photos on
an Epson 1280 printer when printing at 1440 dpi?

240PPI

Gio Hunt said:
I've read different things on the web -- some suggest that the
image resolution should be at least 240 dpi, others suggest at
least 360 dpi.

My guess is that there is probably an acceptable range -- so I
guess my questions are really:

Recommended for 8x10 or larger:

Gio Hunt said:
1. What is the MINIMUM resolution you should use? (I.e., what is
the resolution below which you will notice a worse result and
should therefore interpolate up?)

Hard to say since I have had good prints from 72PPI JPG.
If the print is a definite hang-on-the-wall type then I go with 360PPI.

Gio Hunt said:
2. What is the MAXIMUM resolution the printer can appreciate?
(I.e., what is the resolution beyond which any additional
resolution is just a waste because it won't make the printed image
any better?)

At 1440/6 colors = 240PPI
At 2880/6 colors = 360PPI

Gio Hunt said:
3. Can you ever have TOO MUCH resolution? (I.e., will sending
additional resolution info to the printer ever actually make the
printed image worse?)

I don't know if the quality will be worse, but it won't be better since the MAX DPI on the 1280 is 2880 which equates to 360PPI. If you set it to anything larger than 360 then all you are doing is slowing down your printer.

Gio Hunt said:
Thanks for your help.

Gio

Steve Newbold · Dec 12, 2001

Just a small point that might be of interest. The way of working out optimum print resolution for your printer is quite simple.

Take the maximum print res. of the printer (720, 1440 dpi etc.) and divide this by the number of inks used by the system. ie. 1440/4 = 360ppi

This is because for each of the 'dots' placed by the printer has to be made up of all of the inks, a black dot, a yellow dot, a magenta dot and a cyan dot.

Now most people now use 6 colour printers for phot work. Logic would suggest that this would reduce the max print res. to 240ppi on a 1440dpi printer. (1440 6 =240)

BUT, you have to rember that the extra two inks are light magenta and light cyan and are used instead of rather than with thier darker counterparts. That means that your Epson printer is still only using 4 inks at one time and the optimum res. is still 360ppi.

Steve

http://www.stevenewbold.co.uk

Tuan Nguyen said:
Gio Hunt said:

What is the OPTIMAL image size (resolution) for printing photos on
an Epson 1280 printer when printing at 1440 dpi?

Click to expand...

240PPI

BayAreaFoto.com said:

I've read different things on the web -- some suggest that the
image resolution should be at least 240 dpi, others suggest at
least 360 dpi.

My guess is that there is probably an acceptable range -- so I
guess my questions are really:

Click to expand...

Recommended for 8x10 or larger:

BayAreaFoto.com said:

1. What is the MINIMUM resolution you should use? (I.e., what is
the resolution below which you will notice a worse result and
should therefore interpolate up?)

Click to expand...

Hard to say since I have had good prints from 72PPI JPG.
If the print is a definite hang-on-the-wall type then I go with
360PPI.

BayAreaFoto.com said:

2. What is the MAXIMUM resolution the printer can appreciate?
(I.e., what is the resolution beyond which any additional
resolution is just a waste because it won't make the printed image
any better?)

Click to expand...

At 1440/6 colors = 240PPI
At 2880/6 colors = 360PPI

BayAreaFoto.com said:

3. Can you ever have TOO MUCH resolution? (I.e., will sending
additional resolution info to the printer ever actually make the
printed image worse?)

Click to expand...

I don't know if the quality will be worse, but it won't be better
since the MAX DPI on the 1280 is 2880 which equates to 360PPI. If
you set it to anything larger than 360 then all you are doing is
slowing down your printer.

BayAreaFoto.com said:

Thanks for your help.

Gio

Click to expand...

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Optimal Image Resolution for Epson 1280 at 1440?

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