My intention, at least early is to turn my Poser scenes into printed works. That is, printing to A2 size on fine art / canvass papers etc etc via a large format (Canon) inkjet printer.

,,,, so my query is.... what are the best ways to render for such big prints. Any hints, tips or general directions i should be heading in?  Any information what so ever would be adventageous.

I dont particularly want to do any post-work in photoshop, but may need to I know. The actual work flow method of getting the file to the printer is where i probablly need most help.

:)  Stefi xxx

drkfetyshnyghts - I guess you may already know, but when it comes to print you may need to render at around 300 dpi, depending on what quality you want. Keep in mind though that your render size will probably need to increase as well.

Hey Stormchaser

yeah the renders are going to be pretty big i know. I guess i will just need to do a bit of trial and error. I have an A2 Canon printer coming this week. Although i hasten to add i havent done anything worth comitting to print that big yet.... but it s  all progress i guess.

Thanks again hun :)
S xxx

Quote - drkfetyshnyghts - I guess you may already know, but when it comes to print you may need to render at around 300 dpi, depending on what quality you want. Keep in mind though that your render size will probably need to increase as well.

drkfetyshnyghts - You lucky so & so, having an A2 printer!! I bet that cost a fair amount.
I've just had my first printed work done last week, I had to send it off to be done though as my printer is only A4, this was 20" x 16".

there is no real need to go up to 300dpi for prints this size, at least not if you're getting them printed commercially. What matters is the x and y pixel size, rather than the DPI.

For an A2 print you're looking at an image that is like 4670 x 3310 @ 200 dpi. Enter that into your render output settings, then your viewport will show you the frame, you may need to reposition your camera to avoid heads getting cut off etc. Bear in mind, you're talking a 44 meg image, and you're better off rendering overnight. Also, and this is most important, make sure you do a standard viewport size render first, before you set the output to huge sizes like that.

The best thing to do is experiment a bit. make say three versions of the same image - one at the settings above, one 4670 x 3310 @ 300 dpi, and one that is 2339 x  1654@ 300 dpi (half the xy size).  Then print them out. I bet you'd be hardpressed to see any difference between the 300 and the 200 version (considering the viewing distance for an A2 image is like 5 feet away).  Then try the half-sized one (you would need to fit to page or step interpolate in Photoshop to get it to fill an A2 page). Bet that will look pretty good too, and its an 11 meg file, not a 44 meg file.

You may think "omg! what a waste of paper and ink!". But you only need to do it once. Put the three on the wall and see which one you think is the best. Ask your friends over and ask them to pick the best one. Then you'll know what settings to render the rest of your artwork at ;)

Just my ramblin' 2c

Stormchaser... hmm well yeah i got a good deal on the Canon and they threw a few hundred quid's worth of freebies as well, so not too bad.  I'm hoping printing i do for others will help off-set my own printing.  The Canon  prints up to 17" wide and infinitely in length off roles of canvas, many different papers etc[.  Be interested to know wat you paid for your 16x20.  And what sort of results you got.

quote]drkfetyshnyghts - You lucky so & so, having an A2 printer!! I bet that cost a fair amount.
I've just had my first printed work done last week, I had to send it off to be done though as my printer is only A4, this was 20" x 16".

drkfetyshnyghts - It cost me £12, not cheap I know, but the quality is superb, so it was worth it for me.

Hmmmm Stormchaser... £12 is a good price. Did you ever think of getting stuff done onto canvas then stretch mounted.. looks soooooo cool but, print on print more expensive.

Quote - drkfetyshnyghts - It cost me £12, not cheap I know, but the quality is superb, so it was worth it for me.

hmm...I run into A4 (mainly resetting paper trays from that back to letter..;) Haven't seen A2. I'm more familiar with C/D/E size plotter, which is my idea of big..;)

There's a lot of different ways. There's a printer forum here, they're the experts on commercial printing.

Hi there,,,, yeah i did toy with the idea of a 24" or bigger printer. But besides the room they take, i just dont have a need for such a beast.  A2 is plenty big enough for my needs and roll-stock is becoming more and more readily available.  I will certainly take a look at the printer forum though.. many thanks :)
Stefi xxx

Quote - hmm...I run into A4 (mainly resetting paper trays from that back to letter..;) Haven't seen A2. I'm more familiar with C/D/E size plotter, which is my idea of big..;)

There's a lot of different ways. There's a printer forum here, they're the experts on commercial printing.