softness (the edges and details aren’t crisp).You might not see actual pixels, but when you view the print up close you should expect to see: Some printers do a better job than others of printing files that are pushed to their maximum print size. Click the arrow next to “More Info” and the resolution comes up next to “Dimensions.”įor the purposes of the chart, under “Largest Print Possible” I’m giving the maximum size you can print the image without seeing hard-edged pixels, or little squares, in a print made on a typical printer.On a Mac, control+click (or right-click) the image on your desktop and select “Get Info.” A dialog box will come up.A dialog box will come up that has the pixel dimensions of the image. On a PC, simply hover over an image on your desktop.If you’re not familiar with finding this, you can always save the image to the desktop of your computer to easily find the pixel count. It’s easy to identify because it will be two sets of numbers, for instance: 1200x1800. The pixel dimensions of an image are displayed fairly often in various places on your computer and in your camera. For the technical minded, you can check out an informative Wiki article on resolution here. This is the most basic and universal way of referring to resolution, and doesn’t run the risk of being misconstrued. Resolution deserves its own article, but for the intents and purposes of this post we will just use the pixel dimensions of the image. The first step is to determine the resolution of your image by looking at the pixel dimensions of your original file, or a file that has been manipulated with non-destructive editing (meaning you haven’t cropped it or changed it in any way that will affect the quality of the image.) This article will help you determine the range of printing options you have with a given file. There’s actually a lot of leeway on any given image depending on several factors, including what your tolerance is of flaws, how much money you are willing to invest in the print, and how the image will be displayed. It’s a tricky question because there’s no single exact answer. So now you’re wondering: exactly how big can I print my image? Maybe it can go above the fireplace so your friends can see what a great time everyone had. One shot pops out from the rest-a white dove eating out of your child’s hand in the Piazza San Marco in Venice (never mind that you had to slather the kid all over with hand sanitizer afterward). Move the pasted image to the correct location (probably the center)Ħ.Your European vacation was a success, and you finally have the chance to sort through your memory cards.From the 'Edit' menu choose 'Paste' (Cmd-V).Go back to your original image, select all.Resize the rectangle to cover the entire canvasĪt this point you have an image that is a solid color in the shape you want.You can also change the border to the same color by using the tool next to the fill color tool.Click on the fill color tool and choose your fill color.(If it says 'Hide Markup Toolbar', then it's already showing.) From the 'View' menu, choose 'Show Markup Toolbar' (Shift-Cmd-A). This will put a red outlined rectangle onto the canvas.From the 'Tools' menu, open the 'Annotate' sub-menu, and choose 'Rectangle' (Control-Cmd-R).Press the delete key, or choose 'Cut' (Cmd-X) from the 'Edit' menu to remove the image.Choose 'Select All' (Cmd-A) from the 'Edit' menu.Next we're going to fill the entire canvas with your desired fill color. Don't Panic! We will not be using the stretched image. This will stretch your image out to the aspect ratio you want. Change either the width or hight to match your desired width or height at the new aspect ratio.Uncheck the 'Scale Proportionally' check box.It should bring up a dialog box that looks like this: From the 'Tools' menu, choose 'Adjust Size…'.Now we're going to resize the canvas to the size you need. Choose 'New from Clipboard' (Cmd-N) from the 'File' menuĪt this point you have a full-sized copy of your image in a new window.Choose 'Copy' (Cmd-C) from the 'Edit' menu.Open your image and choose 'Select All' (Cmd-A) from the 'Edit' menu.This does not do what you want, but it turns out you can use it to get what you need. If you look in the 'Tools Menu' you'll see there's an 'Adjust Size…' option.

Mac art aspect ratio calculator