Large Photo Printing

The largest print size for a photo depends on the resolution of the image. If you have a high-resolution image, you can print it to a larger size without losing quality. However, if you try to get a large print from a low-resolution image, you will need to print it to a smaller size or the image will start to look pixelated. The exact size can be determined by opening the file in Photoshop or a similar editing program. You can always send through your images to digital@metroimaging.co.uk or contact us and we’ll be able to check your file and advise you.

While both Giclee and Lambda printers print at 300DPI up to sizes of 30×40 inches, above this size printers such as the Lambda, print at 200DPI. However, you can print it to a larger size if you are willing to accept some loss of quality.

The other determining factor is the quality of the lens on the camera used to take the picture, and whether any blur has been produced by camera shake. The pixel dimensions can also have the resolution increased in Photoshop, often to a factor of four, so an A4 image could be printed at A2 if the lens and sharpness was ok to begin with.

When printing a photograph that will be mounted to a material such as Aluminium or Foamex, and where you need the final piece to be an exact size, you need to print your photo roughly 6mm larger than the final size.

The reason for this is that the picture is mounted to the chosen material and then trimmed to the final size. It’s not technically possible to do this without losing a small amount of the image, hence the need to leave a little “bleed”.

Another example of bleed is when for example printing our ‘Fibre Based Black & White” prints. The material is actually paper which is exposed by laser, developed in chemistry and then dried overnight. The paper will actually shrink during this process so you will need to leave some extra material (bleed), if for example you are framing the image and the border needs to be covered by the window mount.

In the case of our own picture framing we would not start creating the frame or cutting the mount if required, before we have the final image.

Our dedicated Vauxhall framing department can frame pictures up to 8ft x 4ft / 2.4m x 1.75m, sometimes larger. The size of frame that will be possible depends on the thickness of the moulding used.

While the ideal resolution below 1m x 0.75m, is 300dpi. We generally get good results with a resolution of 150dpi or above. If you hve any doubts about the size your image can be printed to, please send it in to us using https://metroimaging.wetransfer.com/ and we will be happy to check the image and advise you.