I Need help With Cropping

[trvlnmny]

I am somewhat new to PSP so my problem may seem basic to some of you but it is giving me fits.
I have scanned a page into my PC as a JPG file.
I then open the file in PSP X3 Full Editor. Uing the Crop Tool I set the width to 3.5" and the height to 5". I moved the Crop Rectangle over the portion of the page I want to keep. Then I select Crop As A New Image. I close the original page and am left with the new image. Being there is a Crop Rectangle on the new image I select Clear to remove it. When I look at the Image Information for the new image it shows dimensions of 3.5" x 5". I then save the new image and close it.
When I open the saved new image it comes with dimensions of 7.92" x 10.417". Why did the dimensions change? I will have to print several copies of the new image as I need them but they must have the 3.5" x 5" dimensions. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong or what my problem is. I would appreciate any help to get me over this hurdle.
Thanks to one and all.

[df]

When the program opens it assigns a Dots Per Inch (DPI) scale to the image. The general rule of thumb (which is by no means a hard and fast rule but usually works for most situations) is that you need 300 DPI to make a decent print. Now, when you cropped to 3.5x5 you didn't change the DPI, but you did specify a print size. So the 3.5x5 dimensions (or ratio) are still there, but since there's more dots than 300 DPI (or whatever your files open too) then it multiplies the length and width of your file by the DPI and displays that as your dimensions. Here's the kicker, nothing has actually changed, you haven't lost or gained any pixels. If you were to use that file to print a 3.5x5 it would print just fine.

Now, if you wanted to print a 3.5x5 and you had something that was saying that it was only a 1x1.5 then you might have a problem as there may not be enough pixels to create a decent print, but then sometimes having a less than stellar print is perfectly fine for what it is.

You could click Image > Resize and choose 3.5 x 5 @ 300 DPI before you save the file.
You may also want to click File > Preferences > General Program Preferences. Choose the Units option on the left and make 300 DPI (or whatever you'd prefer) the default DPI of the program. Then everything that opens will open as a 300 DPI file.

[LeviFiction]

Not everything will open with 300 DPI, Df, it will only open as 300 DPI if the file does not specify the resolution. Which is true for a number of cameras. Which should help in this case as it does appear that the print size is not being saved with the new image.

Do you have "Specify Print Size" selected for the crop tool? This will change the DPI to match your print size. With this turned off the print size will change to match the current DPI. And if your camera does not save the DPI for its files, as Df said, it will default to the setting in the preferences. This defaults to 72 so setting 300 for that is best. But the Specify Print Size is good for making sure the Print Size remains constant. And don't be afraid to let the DPI go as low as 200, 300 is great if you can get it. Higher is not bad. But 200 DPI is more than good enough for an image this size without any real loss in quality.

Now I'm curious about what file format you use when you resave? It shouldn't delete the resolution information if your observations are correct but something is going on where it uses the default 72DPI to change the the print size larger. In which case the suggestion of changing the default DPI is a good idea.

[trvlnmny]

I want to thank you for your replies. Unfortunately I am still confused.
First my original did not come from a camera it came from a magazine page that I scanned into my computer. My finished product will not be a photo just a drawing on a piece of paper that I will glue to a piece of wood and cut on the outline. So the quality of the finished image is not as important as the size must be exact.

Now when I look at the scanned page in PSP Organizer the Image Information says the dimensions are 1634 x 2184 @ 72DPI. When I look at the scanned page in Full Editor the Image Information says the dimensions are 1634 x 2184 and there are 200 Pixels per Inch. Where did those additional pixels come from?
Also the new cropped image has dimensions of 3.5" x 5" and 200 Pixels per Inch and I save it as it is. After closing and reopening the cropped image it now has dimensions of 7.92" x 10.417" and 96 Pixels per Inch
So what is happening? Why is the pixel count varying so much. And why is the size changing?
Thanks again.

[LeviFiction]

First, no additional pixels exist. Pixels Per Inch (or Dots Per Inch) refer to how many of those pixels (or dots) are used in an actual inch. Since pixels are just colored blocks they don't take up any real physical space. Telling the computer how many pixels you want to fit inside of an inch tells it how bit to print those pixels when they come out. So moving from 72ppi to 200ppi does not have any effect on how many pixels exist, just how many of those pixels fit inside an actual physical inch. The higher the value the smaller the area.

1634 x 2184 @ 72DPI = 22'' x 30''
1634 x 2184 @ 200DPI = 8'' x 10''

You can see they both have the same number of pixels. But the print size is different because of the number of pixels used per inch. Using 200 pixel per inch we print in a much smaller area than just using 72 pixels per inch.

That's the difference between Print Size and Pixel Dimensions. Pixel Dimensions are how many pixels exist in the image, Print Size is how large it's going to print and the resolution quality.

What's happening, and this is why I asked how you were saving the result, is the image is saving either with a different DPI than it should be or it's not saving the DPI at all and opening with a default of 96 dpi. This is what's happening. So what format are you saving the file in?

The quickest way to fix this is to go to the resize command. Click on the "Advanced Options" check box to reveal the advanced options. And deselect the "resample" option. You'll notice the "Pixel Dimensions" area is grayed out but the print-size option is available. Go ahead and change the width and height back to what they need to be and you'll see the DPI change as well. Hit okay and the print size has been changed back to what you need.