RE: filmscanners: Re: Hello, thanks, and more.

["Austin Franklin" <darkroom@ix.netcom.com>]

> How do you resize an image without losing/adding pixels?

It depends on what your output is.  If you are outputting for a computer
monitor...then you HAVE to lose pixels...since monitors are typically 100
pixels per inch, and if you didn't resize, your image would be well outside
the bounds of the monitor!  For inkjet printing, in PS, uncheck the resample
box in the image size menu...and let the dots per inch fall where they may.
The printer doesn't care (typically).

> Ok, that is a lot of good info.  Does it follow then, that your
> original scan should be done with the eventual output in mind?

It depends on your scanner, and what you are outputting to.

> For
> example scan a slide at a lower resolution for the web than for
> printing?

That is a case where you certainly can try it.  I would suggest trying both
methods, and see which works better for you.  Some scanners do a fantastic
job at giving you great scans at reduced DPI, and others are quite bad.
Only through a test of your own, can you really know.

> Seems like people are saying scan
> at the highest res possible, save the raw file and work from that.

For printing to inkjet, that is the correct workflow.  For web output, only
you can really test that out...and decide.

> But that would involve a lot of this information loss when resizing,
> or is the information lost not essential?

No matter what, either the scanner, or PS is going to "lose" data...it has
to, since the scanner can (except a drum) ONLY scan at the native resolution
of the scanner, and then the scanner will decimate the data down to what you
requested...so there's loss either way, it's just which loss ends up looking
better.