Printing help, please!

[Good Ol' Batmanuel!]

Howdy! Figured this would probably be the place to put this.

Anyway, I made a logo for a buddy who has a band called The Scallions. Here it is:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b302/Ripplin/Lego_Scallions_new_large.png

It is a PNG saved at 300dpi. The thing is, he'd like to put it on a t-shirt, but we can't figure out a way of printing it the size it is right there, which is the perfect size for a t-shirt! (on my 17" monitor) When I do a print preview, it's barely 2x2 inches.

Is there a way to print it that size without having to stretch it and such? :)

[Captain Highwind]

It is a PNG saved at 300dpi. The thing is, he'd like to put it on a t-shirt, but we can't figure out a way of printing it the size it is right there, which is the perfect size for a t-shirt! (on my 17" monitor) When I do a print preview, it's barely 2x2 inches.

Is there a way to print it that size without having to stretch it and such? :)

I opened it up in Jasc, which measures it at about 8.7 by 7.4 inches...the only way I can imagine it shrinking down to around 2x2 is if you have your scale percentage set to a lower number in your program's print settings.

[Temple Fugate]

The most important thing to understand is that the physical size of the image on your monitor is never, ever equal to the size the image will be when it prints out on paper. If you view a 300dpi image at 100%, your computer is actually enlarging the image to its own dpi specs. (In most cases, 72dpi.) It's not something I completely grasp either, but just know that size on monitor =/= size on paper.

You will need to resize the image in Photoshop or a similar program. Make sure to resize using a proportional measurement to avoid blurring. (Disabling image resampling and anti-aliasing may also be necessary for optimum clarity.)

Basically, you want to make sure your image is resized so that every single pixel is enlarged to a whole number of extra pixels, as shown in the list below. For simplicity's sake, I suggest before resizing that you alter the image's canvas area to be exactly 2" x 2". (Or 3" x 3" or whatever whole value is closest without cutting off the image.) That makes the calculations much easier. (In Photoshop, it's possible to change the canvas size without distorting the actual image. You can always shave off extra blank space after you get the image to the size you want it.)

Current image = 2" x 2" = 600 pixels x 600 pixels

Double-sized image (each pixel from the original image is enlarged to fill exactly four square pixels) = 4" x 4" = 1200 pixels x 1200 pixels

Triple-sized image (each pixel from the original image is enlarged to fill exactly nine square pixels) = 6" x 6" = 1800 pixels x 1800 pixels

Quadruple-sized image (each pixel from the original image is enlarged to fill exactly sixteen square pixels) = 8" x 8" = 2400 pixels x 2400 pixels

And so on. I hope that makes sense.

[Good Ol' Batmanuel!]

Thanks, guys. I did a print preview in Photoshop and it was weird. I then did one with PaintDotNet, which sends it to the Windows printing dealy, and it was showing it as an almost full page image! I just unchecked a box that said 'fit picture to frame.'

I decided to print off a copy with the 'fast draft' setting (less ink used for something I never intended to print myself). It's huge! And perfectly proportioned, too. :) More than big enough for a t-shirt, I think:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b302/Ripplin/scallionsprinttest.jpg

I'm gonna show it to the guy and see what he says.