Importing from Cell Phone

[DoctorT]

Hi!

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and I use Corel PSP 6X (64-bit) under Windows 7 Pro.

I have imported photos from the phone to the PC by "dragging" the photos. But, when I open the photos with PSP the resolution of the JPG files is only 72 PPI.

What can I do to get the photos at a higher resolution?

FYI, the camera is set at 16M 5312 by 2988 (16:9).

Thank you!

Doctor T

[LeviFiction]

Go to Image -> Resize

Under the "Print Size" option just change the resolution without touching anything else. It won't actually resize your image, it'll just change the resolution.

[DoctorT]

Dear LeviFiction,

Thank you for your reply.

I get easily lost when it comes to pixels and PPIs

If I change the resolution from 72 PPI to, say, 360 PPI without changing the size, is each original pixel split into five pixels of the same color and, therefore, does not impact the quality?

Doctor T

[JoeB]

Dear LeviFiction,

Thank you for your reply.

If I change the resolution from 72 PPI to, say, 360 PPI without changing the size, is each original pixel split into five pixels of the same color and, therefore, does not impact the quality?

Doctor T

No, that is not what happens. PPI (pixels per inch) is only information stored in the image file that is used by a printer when you want to print the image. In other words, it is the print resolution of the image. It is not used for displaying or manipulating the image in your graphic editor.

A simple example. Assume you have an image open in PSP that is 300 pixels wide and 300 pixels high. If the PPI of the image is 100PPI the image is still 300 x 300 pixels on your display. But when you send it to the printer the printer software will read the PPI and will print the image according to that information. In this case, it will print 100 pixels of the image on one inch of paper. Because the image contains 300 pixels each way, the image will print at 3 inches wide and 3 inches high.

If that same image has the print resolution (PPI) changed to 300PPI, it will still display on screen at 300x300 pixels. But when you send it to the printer the printer will see that the image is supposed to be printed at 300 pixels per inch. So it will take that 300x300 pixel image and print all 300x300 pixels on one inch of paper, so you'll only have a one inch square printed image instead of a 3 inch square printed image.

EDIT: You can test this out yourself. In PSP use the File>New option and create an image that is 300 x 300 pixels with a resolution of 100PPI and a colored background. Then do File>New again with the same pixel size but a resolution of 300PPI. Both images will now be open in your workspace and be the same pixel size. But if you print each of them you will get a 1 inch image with the 300ppi image and a 3 inch image with the 100ppi image. Yet both look the same on your display, because PPI itself has nothing to do with the pixel size of the image and is only information sent to the printer.

In other words, if you never intend to print an image you don't have to be concerned about it's print resolution (PPI). But if you do expect to print the image at some point then PPI is a factor to be considered. The human eye, when viewing an image at almost arms length (how most people will view a 4x6 or 5x7 photo for example) will see the photo as crisp and clear if it was printed at a PPI of 300. Printing an image at higher PPI to achieve the same print size will not make a noticeable difference to how sharp it looks, because that's about the limit that the human eye can resolve at that distance.

To achieve a printed image of 4x6 inches in portrait mode with good resolution (say 300PPI) then the image on your display will have to consist of 1200 pixels wide by 1800 pixels high. Then the printer will have the correct amount of pixels to start with to print 300 pixels to each inch of width (300 pixels x 4 inches wide = 1200 pixels), and 300 pixels for each inch of height (300 pixels x 6 inches height = 1800 pixels).

EDIT: Therefore, as a good general rule, any new image you create should be created with a PPI of 300PPI just in case printing it becomes a future necessity, because the PPI won't affect how it displays in a graphic editor, on a website, etc, because that is determined ONLY by the image's pixel size and the display resolution of the monitor viewing it. PPI is ONLY relevant to print output.

I get easily lost when it comes to pixels and PPIs.

A "pixel" is a picture element. An image on your display is actually made up of small pieces, or pixels, which are the smallest unit of a picture that can be manipulated when editing an image. If you zoom in really close on an image in PSP you'll see the small squares, or pixels, that make up the image. PPI, of course, was explained above.

[TimW]

JoeB That was the best & simplest explanation of that subject I've ever read. I fully understand the process but many people don't. Thanks

[JoeB]

JoeB That was the best & simplest explanation of that subject I've ever read. I fully understand the process but many people don't. Thanks

Thank you, and you've very welcome.

The other issue that people often don't get (and confuse with PPI) is the term DPI (Dots Per Inch). That's because some people tend to use the latter as if were interchangeable with PPI. It isn't, because DPI is not something that any graphic editor has control over (and why you won't see such an option setting available in graphic editors) because it is just a printer specification of various printers and dependent on their manufacture. But that's another issue.

[DoctorT]

No, that is not what happens ...

Dear Joe,

Thank you for your reply.

I agree with Tim that your explanation is excellent!

Doctor T

[JoeB]

Glad I could help.