I am making a family history book. Some of the scanned photos are not great. Either the original shot leaves much to be desired, or the scanned image file is small. Before I started working on the book itself, I put everything into Word to see how it would lay out. The book is probably 100+ pages long. It isn't an art book! I sized the photos in Word about the way I would want them in the book. I then printed it all in Draft mode on my ink jet printer. Everything looked fine. Now, when I upload some of the photos, the book publisher tells me that some of the photos are "too large" based on file size. Most of the photos in the book are smaller than 4x6", many being only 2x3". Does anyone know if I slightly exceed what the publisher thinks will be fine, will the photo turn out okay? I know it won't be of good quality. I would think if the quality was acceptable on my print out, it should be okay on a better paper?? Anyone know?
file size and dimensions in the layout are different things . you probably need to resize your images to get a smaller file size before you upload them to the book layout. I would think if the file size is too large it is more a problem for the software they use to store it before publishing. reducing it before you upload to the web would not compromise the image if it is going to turn out smaller on the page than if you view it say in windows picture viewer. , its only if you try to enlarge a small picture that you would get pixellation and loss of quality, if that makes sense.
you can get software that is made for reducing file size in batches, i use https://www.bricelam.net/ImageResizer/
-assuming you use a windows system and you do want to use that software, download and install the exe file on your computer,
-select all of the photos in your browser, right click and click on resize photos
-the options to tick would be:
large (1920x1080)
make pictures smaller but not larger
ignore the orientation of pictures
dont tick
resize original pictures( dont create copies)
all of your files will now be copied with (large) after the filename into the same folder. and should be small enough filesize for the book software without losing quality.
@kali66 Thank you for your input. My issue is with old scans that have a small file size. Though I am 120 pages into the book now, they have no limitations on the file size. I don't typically have files that are too large.
Imagine a scanned photo with a file size of 400KB. I would like it to be, maybe 3x4" in my book. When I print on my printer, in draft mode on normal everyday paper, it looks fine. When I upload it to the book's software, it says the resolution of this image is lower than what they recommend for the size and to reduce the size of the image. Many of the original photos were not of great quality. So, I'm wondering...would it be okay to slightly exceed the image size of what they recommend? I realize there is a "loss of quality", but it may not have been there in the beginning! I am not experiencing pixilation with my printer, even if the image size is bigger than it will be in the book.
oh i got that completely wrong! what is the image size of one of these small ones now do you know ? ie how many pixels/inches across and down)
if you check the image size dialog in photoshop or similar software you could increase the pixels per inch , this will make the image larger, you could even double it, it might look a little pixellated but should print ok , just increase as much as you need to get the sides to be approximately how many inches you need and look at it at 100% to see how it looks
@kali66 I use Lightroom. I couldn't seem to see the pixels/inch since it was a scanned image. However, when I exported it, I chose a larger image size at 300 dpi and it did increase the size of the image file from 99k to almost 500k. So, I will look up the most important images I want to increase and try to do that. I've just been working on this for months now and it's been a challenge! Thanks for the input.
hope that works, good luck, !
i had another thought, if you got the images printed out at a good resolution, small as they are, and took macro photos of the prints to use in the book, that is the kind of nutty workaround i would try lol
@kali66 At this point, my relatives will need to be happy with what they get! I might send a few photos out to the local drugstore to see how they print up bigger. If a little blurry...they were to begin with!
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you can get software that is made for reducing file size in batches, i use https://www.bricelam.net/ImageResizer/
-select all of the photos in your browser, right click and click on resize photos
-the options to tick would be:
large (1920x1080)
make pictures smaller but not larger
ignore the orientation of pictures
dont tick
resize original pictures( dont create copies)
all of your files will now be copied with (large) after the filename into the same folder. and should be small enough filesize for the book software without losing quality.
Imagine a scanned photo with a file size of 400KB. I would like it to be, maybe 3x4" in my book. When I print on my printer, in draft mode on normal everyday paper, it looks fine. When I upload it to the book's software, it says the resolution of this image is lower than what they recommend for the size and to reduce the size of the image. Many of the original photos were not of great quality. So, I'm wondering...would it be okay to slightly exceed the image size of what they recommend? I realize there is a "loss of quality", but it may not have been there in the beginning! I am not experiencing pixilation with my printer, even if the image size is bigger than it will be in the book.
Make more sense?
if you check the image size dialog in photoshop or similar software you could increase the pixels per inch , this will make the image larger, you could even double it, it might look a little pixellated but should print ok , just increase as much as you need to get the sides to be approximately how many inches you need and look at it at 100% to see how it looks
i had another thought, if you got the images printed out at a good resolution, small as they are, and took macro photos of the prints to use in the book, that is the kind of nutty workaround i would try lol