I came thisclose to disaster last year while compiling the photo images to be used in Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power. After selecting images from Romina Power’s collection that best carried her memoir forward, expediency required pulling several of the images from the internet where they had migrated over the years.
All of the photos looked perfectly fine to me on my computer screen. As I got ready to provide them to the print production people, one of my tech people caught me just in time and asked, “Have you checked the resolution of these photos?”
“What do you mean, ‘resolution’?” I asked. “They look fine to me.” Uh-oh! Had I not been pulled back from the brink, the handsome collector’s quality limited first edition of this very special book would have been a disaster!
When you go from screen to print, funny things happen. Here’s what I learned — and what you need to know, if you plan to print photo images from digital images you see on the internet or are provided to you: Resolution, printing capabilities, moiré and even paper quality can enhance or disgrace your book. Be prepared!
Pixels (short for picture elements) are tiny dots that make the digital photo images you see on your computer screen. Most monitors have hundreds of thousands, or often millions, of pixels.
Resolution refers to the number of pixels per inch (PPI) in a digital photo. The PPI is noted as one number and yields the image pixel height and width, e.g. for a 5″ by 7″ photo with a PPI of 300 yields an image of 1,500 pixels by 2,100 pixels. Images found on the internet typically have a PPI of 72, resulting in poor print quality. Generally, the higher the PPI the better the reproduction print quality.
The quality of an image also depends on the printer. DPI (dots per inch) refers to the resolution printers produce on paper. Higher quality printers mean higher production costs but they are worth the investment if your book includes photos. Rather than try to figure the mathematical formula that you need for your photo images, ask to see samples of print work before you choose your book’s publisher. Your eyes will likely tell you what is acceptable.
Another potential problem is moiré, an effect that looks like wavy stripes or a crisscross pattern. It can occur during photography or during printing. It can be avoided during photography by using certain lenses but if it appears when printed, there is a Photoshop technique that can correct it – if it is caught in time.
Paper quality affects not only the life of a book but the quality of its photos. Increasingly, publishers are producing books on groundwood, once used primarily for throwaway publications like newspapers and advertisements. Although the cost of paper constitutes only 3% of a book’s cost, it has become a popular way for publishers to shave expenses and remain competitive. For a more enduring book, one with crisper photos, use archival paper. If the book’s photos are important, consider using glossy paper instead of more porous matte sheets where spreading ink will decrease clarity.
Whether your book is self-published or published traditionally, it is your baby. Bring it up well.
My tech team carefully reviewed each of the approximately 90 photos in Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power. They photoshopped when necessary (it was often necessary) to enhance the crispness of the images and to remove moiré wherever it showed up. We went the extra step of having the photos presented in three sections on glossy paper. The result was that many of the photos that had appeared in the bestselling 1998 Italian edition of the book look even better in the 2014 centennial edition. For more information about Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power, contact Tyrone Power First Edition.