Image resize on export - Lightroom 4

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A quick one that's got me thinking.

In Lightroom when I'm developing an image and I crop it to a ratio of 4x3, should I also check the resize image tab in the export box and set it to 16x12 in inches as well if i want to send it for printing (assuming i want a 16x12 print)?

Thanks
 
If I understand the question right, then yes, surely you should set export size to the actual print size. Otherwise all you've done is crop to a 4x3 ratio, but not altered the actual output size. Mind you, outputting to a specific print size has always seemed a dark art to me, so if anyone knows any better I'll bow to superior knowledge :-)
 
Cropping won't alter image quality unless you crop off the good bits. :)

Resizing always alters image quality to some degree. Let's say you were intending to create a 16x12 inch print at 300 dpi. Now if your photo just happened to be 16 x 300 pixels wide and 12 x 300 pixels deep, then you wouldn't need to resize it. But if your photo is any other size at all then the resize algorithm is going to have to guess the colour that each pixel should be, and that's where different algorithms produce different results. Photoshop Elements, for example, has five different algorithms you can choose from (Nearest Neighbor, Bilinear, Bicubic, Bicubic Smoother, and Bicubic Sharper). Lightroom only has one algorithm which one Adobe Community user describes as an "adaptive hybrid of bicubic smoother and bicubic sharper", which I assume is going to be better than choosing either of those algorithms in Elements or Photoshop.

One of the best resizing plugins often recommended on the web used to be known as Genuine Fractals and is now known as Perfect Resize, and you can get it from OnOne Software but it works out less expensive to buy the entire Perfect Photo Suite. I don't do a lot of resizing, but Perfect Resize has produced noticeably better results than anything else I've tried. If you do a lot of resizing, you might want to give it a try, using the "Free Trial" button. [Usual disclaimer: I have no relation with OnOne Software other than being a satisfied customer.]
 
garryknight that is interesting. I have heard elsewhere that outputting to your desired size in Lightroom produces equal or superior results to Perfect Resize, but it sounds like your experience is different. Would you say Perfect Resize produces better results from the final print than simply setting the size you want in the Lightroom export procedure?
 
Very interesting information, thanks.

So when i have a picture and I crop it down to the ratio i want and export it without resizing it. what happens when it is uploaded? does the DSCL software in this case resize it?
 
dbr1066 said:
garryknight that is interesting. I have heard elsewhere that outputting to your desired size in Lightroom produces equal or superior results to Perfect Resize, but it sounds like your experience is different. Would you say Perfect Resize produces better results from the final print than simply setting the size you want in the Lightroom export procedure?
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I very rarely print my photos so I can't speak from experience. The on-screen versions showed that PR produced crisper shots. It seems to preserve outlines better than LR.
 
Had a chat with DSCL, the say to resize it in the export box as i go along.
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That makes sense. Let us know how it goes.

I very rarely print my photos so I can't speak from experience. The on-screen versions showed that PR produced crisper shots. It seems to preserve outlines better than LR.
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Fair enough. Thanks mate.
 
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