Please save me from having to re-do a Photoshop.

[mikey_p]

I'm pretty new to this so everything I do is a real bodge. But i've been designing a sticker for Le Mans to be printed onto vinyl and stuck on our cars.

Now it is all finished, looks pretty good imo and I sent it off to my friends to give me a quote on printing.

Now the problem is this - they usually make sure everything that's printed this big is 300 dpi, and I obviously left all default settings when creating the document, so it is at 74 (?) dpi. Is there a way of changing the dpi without changing the size of the picture AFTER it has been created? Or am I going to have to re-do it like my friend is telling me I probably will need to do?

Please give me a solution, it took ages to create that bloody image.

[Bacardi]

Forgetting the 74 dpi, what size is the image? Look under 'Image size' (Image menu) If you want the sticker to be, say, 10"x8" and it says 10x6 at 74 dpi, it will look crap. If it says the image is 30"x40" @74dpi you'll be OK. You would just need to adjust the image size to the correct dimensions required and the dpi to 300 and uncheck the 'resample image' box.

But, I'm guessing you mate has already looked at this and... you need to redo it... Sorry.

[mikey_p]

Cheers Bacardi I've had a look at the image and it is already the correct size (it's about 55cm x 45 cm I think) at 72 dpi. And when viewed at Print Size looks fine to me, however I don't know how this persons printer prints things. Below is the image and as you can see it's pretty basic with mostly solid colours, apart from the picture, so I can't image you could notice the lack in quality that significatly. However the red outer ring does look quite pixelated (and yes the side of his face and hair looks a bit dodgy, but my friend said she's going to sort that out for me).

[J111]

mikey_p said:

it is already the correct size (it's about 55cm x 45 cm I think) at 72 dpi.

Oh dear That can't really be satisfactorily fixed in Photoshop. Someone with Genuine Fractals could probably upscale it to 300dpi, if that size isn't acceptable. That being said, I would suggest discussing it with your printer. While you need 300dpi for 'photographic quality' 72dpi is probably tolerable for your use. He ought to be able to print a proof (you may have to pay, since you haven't met his image requirements) so you can decide if it's ok.

mikey_p said:

And when viewed at Print Size looks fine to me

That's a bit illusory, I doubt you have a 2' wide monitor and, even then, the apparent quality on the screen is greater than that when printed.

[Bacardi]

J111 said:

That being said, I would suggest discussing it with your printer. While you need 300dpi for 'photographic quality' 72dpi is probably tolerable for your use.

It depends how fussy you are. You can print it but it will look a bit 'crunchy' close up. Genuine Fractals will smooth out the blockyness but tends to make things look soft and porridgy (on lo res staring points like this). Try printing a sample, even an inkjet will give you an idea. Good luck.