Bitmaps, jpegs etc are all resizing when imported

[NickyE]

Hi, I have been trying to import a still from a film, in order to create a poster. Originally I was working with a low-res screen cap. Then when design was finalised, the director sent me a TIF which I could not import at all. Each time I tried, I was asked whether I wanted to Merge or Insert... either option just gave me a blank, with no image appearing.

So the TIFF has now been converted to a png, a bmp, a regular jpeg, and a 1000dpi jpeg, but whenever/whichever I try and import, it arrives as a small image at 300dpi. When resized, it ends up at exactly the same resolution as the original image I was using - 183 dpi, so no good for print.

I have tried Utilities -> Options -> View and have tried a bunch of different approaches: a) change DPI when auto generated to 1000 b) resize large imported photos down to 1000 pixels c) import at dpi specified in the image file

None have made a difference. Can anyone help?

Thanks

[handrawn]

what is the pixel size of the image? - dpi means nothing much until you come to print - for example you say a 1000dpi jpeg, but what does that mean if you do not say what the height and width are?

in xara you resize and then make a bitmap copy choosing the resolution in the options - works well for decreasing the absolute size, but not of course for increasing it as you end up with pixellation

[NickyE]

They are all 1920 x 1080

(which is larger than the poster size, which is A4)

[gwpriester]

Xara imports all images at a default size, usually 5-800 pixels wide. You can select an image and then select the Photo Tool and click the Scale Width to 1:1 icon on the Infobar. This resizes the image to actual pixel size at 96dpi.

[handrawn]

ok - use 'import at dpi specified in image'

if you want to see the actual image specs look in the bitmap gallery for it

what you see in the workspace is an editing view - you are never actually changing the size of the image when you resize here, which is why the dpi/ppi changes as you resize it - the only way you can make an actual change is to make a bitmap copy, like I said, when it becomes a new [internal] image at the new absolute size - you will see it in the bitmap gallery, and to keep it you will need to export it or save it with your xar/web file

if the bitmap speciifes, say 300 dpi, then the editing view will show as 300 dpi in the workspace when you import it [ assuming you have changed the default Gary mentioned to 'import at dpi specified in image']

[Gamerprinter]

I import most art/photos at 300 dpi, because I'm a digital printer and do large format all the time. Most of my work is done in XDP9.

[NickyE]

Despite the size of the files, I can see that the problem probably lies with the way the images were converted in the first instance. Thanks for the tips on the bitmap gallery - i can see now that the images very from 72dpi to 300dpi, but no more than that and when I import at dpi specified in the image, and resize down so that it fits the page, I'm right back to where I started each time. OK... so I need to go back to the film's director to send me new versions, which leads me to my next question.

Does anyone know of any great TIF conversion software that this guy can use, which might do a better job?

Or even better... can anyone tell me why I was unable to import the original TIF file in the first place? If I chose to Insert, Xara gave me a blank page. If i chose to Merge, absolutely nothing happened at all.

Thanks again

[mwenz]

DPI means nothing.

You can import at 100% size...which is calculated by the factor Xara uses in its products. For all practical purposes, it is 96 DPI.

DPI in an image is only for applications to help the user at initial import. It is a value in the header which really has no significant meaning beyond calculating effective PPI. Even when I used version 6, I had no issues with importing a large image and XDP always accurately reported the effective PPI as it was scaled up or down.

Feel free to send me a PM if you would like someone to either convert your image or actually look at what you have. I seriously doubt you need to receive another image.

Mike

[handrawn]

Nicky - when you look at the bitmap gallery for, say as an example the default bitmap, what you see is the following:

256 x 256 pixels, 0.1MP, 4-bit, 96dpi

what defines the absolute size of the image is the '256 by 256 pixels' - when you print it you will choose a dpi, and as long as the '256' divided by the dpi is the correct print size [in inches for dpi], or larger, you are ok; if it is larger you can resize it down and make a a copy of it at the required dpi as I suggested [- if it is too small there is a problem because trying to enlarge the absolute size almost always results in pixellation]

this is why Mike is saying look at what you have

you need to work backwards

what is your print size in inches?
what dpi do you need to print it at?
multiply these together and that is is the pixel size of the image you require [as a mininmum], and the pixel size you must see in the bitmap gallery for your final image - the dpi quoted for the supplied image is not in itself important dpi is only a ratio, what matters is that pixel size

[handrawn]

Thanks for the tips on the bitmap gallery - I can see now that the images very from 72dpi to 300dpi, but no more than that and when I import at dpi specified in the image

dpi is not what you should be looking at see my last post #9

Does anyone know of any great TIF conversion software that this guy can use, which might do a better job?

Or even better... can anyone tell me why I was unable to import the original TIF file in the first place?

it is possible the tiff is compressed in a way that xara does not handle - tiff files come in a variety of formats, including layered which xara definitely does not handle, [unless things have changed recently], so make sure that it is a flattened tiff [only one layer] and that it is uncompressed - still no guarantee, but more likely to work