How do I attain a 8x10 print size?

Question

Hi
I have read the manual and the Scott Kelby book, but my question still hasn't been answered. I hope someone here can help me as I am getting totally frustrated. I have Elements 4 (a new user to PS). I have the Canon Rebel XT (8 megapixels). My settings for quality and resolution are large and fine. I have taken a close-up picture of a rose that I would like to print at a store (Ritz Camera) on a 8x10 sheet. Now, in my opinion, it doesn't need to be cropped, maybe i'll play around with the Sharpening tool a little. When I am done editing it, here is where it gets fuzzy for me:
1. If I go to ReSize/Image Size, first I will DESELECT ReSample. Then under "Document Size", I will 10 in for Width, and then see what it selects for proportate Height (I am not at my own pc right now, that's why I am guessing here). I am assuming it will select something close to 8 for Height.
2. Resolution - don't have a clue? What do I put in there? And If I decide to go with a 5x7 size, what would the resolution be for that?
3. Save the file as a jpeg.
4. Burn it to a CD, and bring it to the store and hope it comes out looking beautiful as a 8x10 photo.
Am I missing anything? And would the directions be the same even if I did crop it first?
Thanks to anyone who can help me.....

Answer 1

Ruth,
You've gotten plenty of good advice already, but I can't resist adding my
own 2¢... ;-)
Presuming a standard 4:3 aspect ratio of your camera's image, you will
probably want to specify the shorter (height vs. width) value as 8", and let
the other be dynamically set by Elements.
Note that, in addition to the other dimension adjusting when you enter one
of them, the resolution also adjusts on the fly. This is simple math.
Elements looks at the actual pixel dimensions of your image, and divides by
the number of inches you have specified, and tells you how those pixels will
be distributed across the print.
For instance, if the image is 2400x1800 pixels (a 4:3 ratio), and the width
is set to be 10", the height adjusts to 7.5" and the resolution becomes
240ppi. If the WIDTH is set to 8, the height adjusts to 10.667", and the
resolution becomes 225.
(The same image, given a height of 5", gets a width of 6.667 and a
resolution of 360 -- this being the way to prepare for a 5x7 print.)
With an 8Mpx camera, I would expect your image's pixel dimensions to be
sufficiently large that, once you have resized, your resolution will be just
fine for printing... if you have doubts, please post back with your final
resolution figure for confirmation.
If it were ME doing this, I would resize by specifying 8" as the short
dimension of the image. Then I would use the Rectangular Marquee tool in
Fixed Size mode, set to 8"x10" (or vice versa, depending on the orientation
of the image), to make my final crop. With it in that mode, just click in
the image and the selection line appears in the exact measurements. While
the marquee is present, you can click/drag it to crop the extra as you see
fit. Then, click Image > Crop on the menu, resulting in a perfectly-sized
image on which YOU made the decision about what would be kept/cropped.
One final thing to watch. When you do the resize, if your resolution comes
out with a fractional pixel (i.e. 225.667), enter that field and round DOWN
to the next whole pixel (225, in this example). This will result in
marginally larger image dimensions, but you're going to be handling that
with the final crop, anyway. Fractional pixels have been associated with
weirdness in printing, and it safest to avoid the whole issue.
Nothing like TOO much information!!
HTH,
Byron