How to blow up old 5x7 photo for larger print

4 years 10 months ago #642029 by Ruben H
Would I just somehow scan this into my computer and then print at larger size?  Or is there some software that will help render the scanned 5x7 for a larger print size?

We have an old shot of my wifes parents we'd like to get blown up.  


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4 years 10 months ago #642031 by Troponin
Modern scanners work pretty well, but they still typically lack dynamic range and usually detail compared to other methods, You will need a very good one. 

The best option is usually a macro lens and a studio. Today’s macro lenses are incredibly sharp and you lose almost nothing when the photo is transferred. 

There are also some tech companies that can do it for you. There is a printing company close to me that has the top scanners and printers you can get (Talking in the millions of dollars worth of equipment). They have done a few scans from newer photos and they look really good. Not sure about vintage stuff though. 


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4 years 10 months ago #642032 by Nikon Shooter
I don't use flat bed scanners because it would be redundant.
I prefer to use a copy stand that I made and one of my D8XX
series cameras that will capture to a very decent pixel count,

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 10 months ago #642046 by Ruben H

Troponin wrote: Modern scanners work pretty well, but they still typically lack dynamic range and usually detail compared to other methods, You will need a very good one. 

The best option is usually a macro lens and a studio. Today’s macro lenses are incredibly sharp and you lose almost nothing when the photo is transferred. 

There are also some tech companies that can do it for you. There is a printing company close to me that has the top scanners and printers you can get (Talking in the millions of dollars worth of equipment). They have done a few scans from newer photos and they look really good. Not sure about vintage stuff though. 


Gotcha, great idea.  So will that carry the same resolution as any other shot I would normally take even though this was originally a 5x7?


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4 years 10 months ago #642047 by Ruben H

Nikon Shooter wrote: I don't use flat bed scanners because it would be redundant.
I prefer to use a copy stand that I made and one of my D8XX
series cameras that will capture to a very decent pixel count,


Thank you as well, I'm going to give this a shot when I get home later.  


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4 years 10 months ago #642048 by Troponin

Ruben H wrote:

Troponin wrote: Modern scanners work pretty well, but they still typically lack dynamic range and usually detail compared to other methods, You will need a very good one. 

The best option is usually a macro lens and a studio. Today’s macro lenses are incredibly sharp and you lose almost nothing when the photo is transferred. 

There are also some tech companies that can do it for you. There is a printing company close to me that has the top scanners and printers you can get (Talking in the millions of dollars worth of equipment). They have done a few scans from newer photos and they look really good. Not sure about vintage stuff though. 


Gotcha, great idea.  So will that carry the same resolution as any other shot I would normally take even though this was originally a 5x7?


It will preserve as much as possible for enlarging, however, it won’t have the same quality as a photo from your camera, shot in RAW, and printed in tif format. A macro lens will allow for some slight sharpening and some color alterations that might actually improve the photo a bit too, but depending on the quality of the original, it’s hard to say. 


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4 years 10 months ago #642133 by Ruben H
Roger that.  Thanks again!

Now I tried my first go at this.  This particular print has a little glare to it and it seemed at least in my current lighting hard to get a non glare version.  Actually would this work in a black light box?


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4 years 10 months ago #642645 by Harrison J
Interesting, so are you saying you can get better results from taking a photo than scanning?  If you don't have a macro lens, will something like a 50mm work? 


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4 years 10 months ago #642656 by garyrhook

Harrison J wrote: Interesting, so are you saying you can get better results from taking a photo than scanning?  If you don't have a macro lens, will something like a 50mm work? 


You want a lens that is 1:1 if you want to capture every detail of that print. And longer is better, geometrically speaking. That said, Any shorter focal length will let you get close enough to the print to apply decent resolution.

Then you use Photoshop to clean it up. You might want to consider Topaz Labs' Gigapixel for enlarging, along with other tools for cleanup.

I am unable to clean my scanner perfectly, so I always get lint and dust. Very annoying. You could always find a facility with a drum scanner and pay someone to scan it.


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4 years 10 months ago - 4 years 10 months ago #642662 by Troponin
Gary pretty much covers it. The 1/1 and relatively sharp lenses make them ideal. 


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4 years 5 months ago #663293 by Max-Muller
but who could advise a good photo scanner?


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