What this opens on
A scan is already a measurement of the print. Enlarging it is arithmetic on that measurement; it cannot see grain the scanner did not.
| Print it at | At 300 ppi | At 240 ppi | At 150 ppi |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 × 5 in | 2250 × 1500, ×1.25 (covers, lab trims) | already covers it | already covers it |
| 12 × 8 in | 3600 × 2400, ×2 | 2880 × 1920, ×1.6 | 1800 × 1200, ×1 |
| 18 × 12 in | 5400 × 3600, ×3 | 4320 × 2880, ×2.4 | 2700 × 1800, ×1.5 |
Where this falls down
- Print texture is enlarged too.Paper grain, halftone dots and dust are part of the scan. Clean-up Light softens fine noise; it does not remove a halftone pattern.
- A rescan beats an enlargement.If the print is in your hands, scanning at a higher DPI records detail an enlarger can only spread.
Questions people ask
- How is the factor worked out?
- Paper inches × the print density you choose ÷ the scan's pixels, rounded once. A 6 × 4 in print scanned at 300 dpi is 1800 × 1200 pixels; to print it at 12 × 8 in at 300 ppi needs 3600 × 2400, which is ×2.
- Where does the scan DPI come from?
- From the file, when its header states one (JFIF, Exif or pHYs) — the page shows what it found. Otherwise type what the scanner was set to.
- Would a higher-resolution scan be better?
- Usually, yes, up to what the print holds. A scan is a measurement of the print; rescanning at 600 dpi records more of it than enlarging a 300 dpi scan ever can. Enlarge when rescanning is not an option.
- What if the paper is too big?
- If the factor would pass 8× or this browser's ceiling, the paper is unavailable and the page names the largest paper that fits at 240 and at 150 ppi.
Better fit?
- Enlarge for printA conservative 2× opening state with the resulting print dimensions explained before export.
- Increase DPI of an imageRewrite the density tag without re-encoding, pixels proved identical — or enlarge to a print size at that density.
- A rough small photoOpens with the clean-up pass on, because a 600-pixel JPEG carries more than a picture.
- How big can an enlarged picture print?Convert pixel dimensions to print size and choose a realistic viewing-distance resolution.
