How to get the best Print Resolution for small pictures?

[Fred]

1. I need to make a Word 2003 document with 4 B&W photos per page, each 2.2
in. by 1.65 in. (a total of about 190 photos). My source pictures are RGB
2448 by 3264 pixels .JPG files from Photoshop. How do I prepare them and
import them to Word to get the best print resolution, considering that the
final printed picture is only 2.2 inch?

I tried Insert picture>Format>Size, Insert these 8 Mpixels photos into
Word, and then reduce them to 2.2 inch. But I get a better result by first
converting to a smaller pixel size in Photoshop (i.e. 119 by 158 !!), then
sharpening, then inserting into Word.

2. Also, a 300 dpi, 495 by 660 pixels, 2.2 in. Photoshop picture becomes
9.17 in. when inserted into Word. Why is it?

Thanks for any help.

Thanks

 

[Jezebel]

You get the best results by preparing the graphic in Photoshop, importing it
from file, and doing no manipulation whatsoever once it's in Word. In
Photoshop, set the finished size you want, do any fine-tuning and sharpening
etc, then set the resolution. Then save to file. Then import that file into
Word.

Word initially renders the imported picture at the default graphic
resolution. Your graphic is 660 pixels wide: your current resolution setting
is (apparently) 72dpi -- so your graphic is displayed as 660/72 = 9.17
inches. You can change this setting on Tools > Options > General > Web
Options.

 

[Fred]

Thanks for the answer.

1. In Tools > Options > General > Web Options, my setting is the default 96
dpi. So the graphic should be 660/96 = 6.9 inches ??? Not 9.17 in.


2. Also, I have another picture of 2.2 in. by 1.62 in., 600 dpi, 1320 by
997 pixels (per Photoshop).
But when imported into Word, it stays a perfect 2.2 in. file!! It’s like in
this case, the 600 dpi info is carried with the file!!

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Fred,

Some graphic formats support storing a Pixel Per Inch (PPI) value in the graphic itself. JPEG is one of those formats. If that
information is in the graphic when you use Insert=>Picture=>From File then Word will try to honor that setting. If there isn't a
preset in the graphic itself then Word will try to use the settings that Jezebel mentioned in
Tools=>options=>General=>Web Options=>Pictures
if there are no other constraints, such as inserting a picture into a textbox or table cell that has a size setting in place.

If you select a graphic in Word and use Format=>Picture does the size show that it is 100% or a resized percentage?
============
Thanks for the answer.

1. In Tools > Options > General > Web Options, my setting is the default 96
dpi. So the graphic should be 660/96 = 6.9 inches ??? Not 9.17 in.


2. Also, I have another picture of 2.2 in. by 1.62 in., 600 dpi, 1320 by
997 pixels (per Photoshop).
But when imported into Word, it stays a perfect 2.2 in. file!! It's like in
this case, the 600 dpi info is carried with the file!!

 

[Fred]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the answer.

In my first message, the 300 dpi, 495 by 660 pixels 2.2 in. file imported
into Word at 9.17 in. I then reduced it in Word using Format>Size to 2.2 in.
Word then reported the scaled height to be 24%.

In my second message, the 2.2 in. by 1.62 in., 600 dpi, 1320 by 997 pixels
picture stayed 2.2 in. when imported into Word. Word then reported the
scaled height to be 100%.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Fred,

I suspect that while Photoshop was displaying 300 PPI on your first graphic, it wasn't a value saved in the JPEG file (what was the
percentage in Format=>Picture in Word before you resized it?)

I'm assuming you're using landscape orientation in print layout view (9.17" would be wider than a typical letter sized page).

============
Hi Bob,

Thanks for the answer.

In my first message, the 300 dpi, 495 by 660 pixels 2.2 in. file imported
into Word at 9.17 in. I then reduced it in Word using Format>Size to 2.2 in.
Word then reported the scaled height to be 24%.

In my second message, the 2.2 in. by 1.62 in., 600 dpi, 1320 by 997 pixels
picture stayed 2.2 in. when imported into Word. Word then reported the
scaled height to be 100%.

 

[Fred]

Thanks Bob,

I repeated the whole first graphic operation. Before resizing, Word
Format>Picture displayed 9.17 in and 100% scaling.

The picture is in Portrait orientation. Word is in Print-Layout view and
Portrait orientation with top and bottom margins of 0.75 inch.

 

[Jezebel]

Given that a letter page is 8.5" wide, how did it fit?

 

[Fred]

As I said, the page and the picture are in portrait mode, so it has 11 in. to
fit.

 

[Fred]

Furthe to my last post: my real problem is that these small 2.2 inch
pictures print too fuzzy on regular or 70 Lbs paper. I printed them from
Word and then from Photoshop. There is no difference, they are equally
fuzzy. So it is not a Word problem.
If I downsample them in Photoshop, then sharpen them with an Unsharp Mask
filter, they print much sharper in both programs. It does accentuate
wrinkles in people faces. It is OK for B&W, but not so good in color.
Any other ideas to print better? (short of using photo paper…).
Thanks for the help.

 

[Jezebel]

That's *landscape* mode ...

As I said, the page and the picture are in portrait mode, so it has 11 in.
to
fit.

 

[Jezebel]

Start with a better picture.

Furthe to my last post: my real problem is that these small 2.2 inch
pictures print too fuzzy on regular or 70 Lbs paper. I printed them from
Word and then from Photoshop. There is no difference, they are equally
fuzzy. So it is not a Word problem.
If I downsample them in Photoshop, then sharpen them with an Unsharp Mask
filter, they print much sharper in both programs. It does accentuate
wrinkles in people faces. It is OK for B&W, but not so good in color.
Any other ideas to print better? (short of using photo paper.).
Thanks for the help.

 

[Fred]

Further no. 2:

Downsampling is not a good solution. Yes, it sharpens the edges, but I lose
a lot of details due to the much smaller amount of pixels.

What I need is to imbed the PPI in the JPG file so the Word knows it is a
300 PPI file, not a 72 PPI file. Can it be done?

 

[Fred]

2448 by 3264 pixels should be good enough, see my first post.

 

[Jezebel]

It should, yes. But you've proved that it isn't.