Buying a large format printer doesn't automatically guarantee big prints. Understanding what "big" really means and the considerations involved in producing large-scale photographs is crucial, particularly if you're planning to print at exhibition sizes.
Coming to you from Keith Cooper, this practical video looks at what it genuinely takes to produce enormous prints using Epson SureColor SC-P20500 printer, capable of handling 64-inch wide paper. Cooper walks you through a single-shot image taken with the Fujifilm GFX100S, illustrating precisely why choosing the right camera and lens combination matters when aiming for detailed, large-format prints. Using Epson Premium Luster paper, Cooper demonstrates not only the technicalities involved in printing but also discusses the practical challenges, such as handling large prints without damaging them. The video further highlights the importance of accurate exposure settings to retain details, especially avoiding clipped highlights in challenging lighting conditions. Understanding these nuances helps you avoid common pitfalls when scaling up your photography.
Cooper also explores the raw processing techniques that contribute significantly to the quality of such substantial prints. He shares insights into using Adobe Camera Raw cautiously, emphasizing the avoidance of excessive highlight recovery due to potential halo effects. The conversation about using DxO PureRAW for preprocessing to manage shadow details and noise reduction adds valuable perspective, especially if you're struggling with image quality in large-format prints. Additionally, Cooper explains the advantages of using software like Gigapixel AI, which enhances resolution effectively for printing at higher pixel densities. This practical advice about software choices and image preparation techniques is directly applicable if you're looking to maintain sharpness and detail integrity when printing at scale.
Expanding on this, Cooper provides a compelling example of converting a large color print into black and white using Nik Silver Efex software. The technique he discusses—going back to the original raw file rather than converting an edited color image—offers significant control over tone and contrast. This method ensures you retain the intricate details necessary for impressive monochrome results. Cooper’s tips about paper selection also add another layer of valuable expertise. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Cooper.
"What It Takes to Make Truly Huge Prints".... a really huge printer.
I'm not sure why his emphasis on technical image qualities is any different between a small print and a really large print. I certainly don't approach making my photograph with the intention of a large print in mind. Highlight and shadow detail are important, no matter the print size. Of course chromatic aberration, or color fringing, and halos become more noticeable at larger sizes, but it's generally easily fixed in raw editing of the original, no matter the print size.
A few additional thoughts:
Really large prints of the size he's talking about are often made for wall murals on some sort of wallpaper vinyl or canvas, not fine art paper. The Epson printer he's using in this video is a pigment printer... great for fine art prints, but prints that large don't generally fall in the category of fine art. Wall murals or large canvases are typically printed on latex or eco-solvent printers where the number of ink cartridges is less, but the durability and fade resistance of the ink is greater. And for those jobs, print resolution is almost always lower than when printed on a fine art printer, in which case, a 36-45 megapixel original upscaled in Topaz Gigapixel AI to the size of the print at 150 PPI will work just fine.
I've sold numerous floor to ceiling wall murals on vinyl, but I've only had one customer since I can remember buy a fine-art print at the size larger than my 44" printer. That was a 60" x 90" and when they got the cost estimate from the picture framer for the acrylic, they nearly fainted.
Oh… one more thing. He’d like to sell you that big print, but told you in the beginning that the Epson print head hadn’t been cleaned, and left some flaws in the print. A print made at an Epson demo center no less. Good grief. If ruined prints drive you nuts from clogged print heads, buy a Canon printer. Their wide-format pigment printers (mine is the 4100, since replaced by the 4600) incorporate an ink system when if one nozzle is clogged, a backup automatically takes its place, all on the fly. In the slightly less than a year that I’ve owned this printer I have not had a single ruined print because of a clogged print head.