Are all images rescaled to 72dpi?

DrDavid · April 22, 2008

I'm sure it is, but, I just wanted confirmation. Are all photos that are shown (when originals are turned off), scaled to 72dpi? Are any of the photos "good enough" to resize and print a 4x6? (say, if I have x3large turned on).

I really hate watermarks as it obscures the image; but, I don't want them stolen either. So... If someone DOES download a x3large image and try to print it.. Would it look ok?

David

jfriend · April 22, 2008

DrDavid wrote:

I'm sure it is, but, I just wanted confirmation. Are all photos that are shown (when originals are turned off), scaled to 72dpi? Are any of the photos "good enough" to resize and print a 4x6? (say, if I have x3large turned on).

I really hate watermarks as it obscures the image; but, I don't want them stolen either. So... If someone DOES download a x3large image and try to print it.. Would it look ok?

David

72 dpi is not something that is used for web display. Browsers just deal in pixels. Give them a 640x480 pixel image and they dump it onto the screen as a 640x480 pixel image. Give them a 1024x768 image and they dump it on the screen as the same.

Let me try to explain what happens at Smugmug.

When you upload an original photo to Smugmug (let's say it's 2000 x 3008 - a typical dSLR 6MP image), it takes your original, stores it unchanged and then creates a whole bunch of smaller versions of the image for use in web display. It creates all of the following: two sizes of thumbnails, S, M, L, XL, XL2 and XL3. Each of these 8 sizes is a different pixel dimension and is used in a different place in the Smugmug UI.

Somebody can literally make a 4x6 print from any one of these images. The question is how good will it look? If it's made from the thumbnails or the S or M sizes, it will probably look pretty compromised. If it's made from the L size (450x600), some people might think it's OK, others might think not so. At 4x6, that would only be ~100 pixels per inch in the print where you usally want at least 150. If it's made from the X3 size, that's 900x1200 pixels (more than 1MP) which is quite capable of making a decent 4x6 photo.

If you really are concerned with theft, then watermarks are your best solution.

If this isn't a business for you, then I'd suggest you just let your viewers have a better web viewing experience with the larger sizes, even if some people "steal" some prints. If this is a business for you, then you will have to decide what is the best business tradeoff, watermarking to pevent illicit printing, limiting display sizes to a max of L with no watermark or going for the best web viewing experience to get the most sales from honest buyers by allowing up to X3 with no watermark. Only you can make that choice for your business.

DrDavid · April 22, 2008

Thanks for the great info. It's kinda what I thought, but, far clearer. I guess I'm stuck with watermarks

David

jfriend wrote:

72 dpi is not something that is used for web display. Browsers just deal in pixels. Give them a 640x480 pixel image and then dump it onto the screen as a 640x480 pixel image. Give them a 1024x768 image and they dump it on the screen as the same.

Let me try to explain what happens at Smugmug.

When you upload an original photo to Smugmug (let's say it's 2000 x 3008 - a typical dSLR 6MP image), it takes your original, stores it unchanged and then creates a whole bunch of smaller versions of the image for use in web display. It creates all of the following: two sizes of thumbnails, S, M, L, XL, XL2 and XL3. Each of these 8 sizes is a different pixel dimension and is used in a different place in the Smugmug UI.

Somebody can literally make a 4x6 print from any one of these images. The question is how good will it look? If it's made from the thumbnails or the S or M sizes, it will probably look pretty compromised. If it's made from the L size (450x600), some people might think it's OK, others might think not so. At 4x6, that would only be ~100 pixels per inch in the print where you usally want at least 150. If it's made from the X3 size, that's 900x1200 pixels (more than 1MP) which is quite capable of making a decent 4x6 photo.

If you really are concerned with theft, then watermarks are your best solution.

If this isn't a business for you, then I'd suggest you just let your viewers have a better web viewing experience with the larger sizes, even if some people "steal" some prints. If this is a business for you, then you will have to decide what is the best business tradeoff, watermarking to pevent illicit printing, limiting display sizes to a max of L with no watermark or going for the best web viewing experience to get the most sales from honest buyers by allowing up to X3 with no watermark. Only you can make that choice for your business.

Are all images rescaled to 72dpi?

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