How To Print Actual Size In Photoshop

Get More than Accurate Print Size Previews In Photoshop

In a previous tutorial, The 72 ppi Web Resolution Myth, we looked at a belief held by many digital photographers and web designers today that images destined for the web or for viewing on-screen need to be saved in Photoshop at a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. Some believe information technology allows their images to display properly on the web. Others believe a 72 ppi resolution prevents people from downloading and printing loftier quality versions of the prototype. However, we learned in that tutorial that neither of these reasons concur true, and that 72 ppi hasn't really been a useful "standard" in over 20 years!

As we learned in that tutorial, computer displays today all accept screen resolutions higher than 72 pixels per inch, and we proved it by learning an easy manner to find your monitor's actual screen resolution. In this tutorial, we'll larn how to accept that data, requite it to Photoshop, and enjoy much more accurate on-screen previews of how our photos volition look when printed!

Version Requirements: To go the almost from this tutorial, you'll need to be using Photoshop CS4 or higher and that's because we'll be using a feature that Adobe first introduced in CS4. It is not bachelor in CS3 or earlier. I'll exist using Photoshop CS6 hither only any version from CS4 and up will practise.

The Trouble With Photoshop's Impress Size View

Photoshop lets united states view our images at simply about whatsoever zoom size we like using the Zoom Tool, and it also includes a few automatic zoom options under the View carte du jour in the Menu Bar, like Fit on Screen, which zooms the epitome to whatever size is needed for it to fit entirely inside the dimensions of your display, and Actual Pixels which instantly jumps you lot to the 100% zoom level.

Yet ane zoom option under the View menu has remained a mystery to near Photoshop users over the years - Print Size. I'm calling it a "mystery" to exist polite, only most Photoshop users simply call it "useless", a more accurate description. At least, information technology's accurate if you don't know the two important things nosotros're well-nigh to acquire - why it's useless and how to set up it!

Similar Apple's original 72 pixel-per-inch screen resolution standard from nearly 30 years agone, the goal of Photoshop'due south Print Size view style was to give us an accurate preview of how the paradigm on your screen will wait when printed. The way it'south supposed to piece of work is that when we choose the Print Size command from the View carte, Photoshop instantly zooms the image to whatever level is needed for it to appear on your screen at the same size information technology will appear on paper. For instance, if y'all're working on an paradigm that will be printed as a 4x6, the Print Size control would display the paradigm 4 inches x 6 inches on your screen. Not just would this help you visualize the final printed outcome, information technology would also help when sharpening the epitome for output. At to the lowest degree, that was the program.

Here'due south the problem. In order for the plan to work, Photoshop needs to know your computer display'south screen resolution so it can practise the math and figure out the right zoom level, only Photoshop doesn't know your display's screen resolution and information technology has no way of finding that out on its own. So what does it do? It just assumes your screen resolution is that proficient ol' 72 pixels per inch nonsense when information technology's really much college than that. What happens when we exercise the math using the wrong numbers? Nosotros get the wrong answer, and in the example of the Print Size view mode, Photoshop ends up choosing the wrong zoom level, resulting in a print size preview that's not even shut to beingness accurate.

Every bit an case, here's an image I currently have open in Photoshop. At the moment, it's beingness viewed at the 100% zoom level (immature thinking adult female photo from Shutterstock):

An epitome open up in Photoshop at 100% zoom.

I'll open up my Image Size dialog box by going up to the Paradigm carte in the Menu Bar along the pinnacle of the screen and choosing Prototype Size:

Going to Image > Image Size.

Here, in the Certificate Size section of the Epitome Size dialog box, where nosotros set the size and resolution of the printed version of the image, we see that my image is electric current set up to print every bit a 4x6 (6 inches for the width, four inches for the pinnacle):

The Document Size section shows us the size the epitome will print based on its resolution.

Now that we know how large the image will print, I'll click OK to close out of the Image Size dialog box, so I'll cull Photoshop's Print Size view mode by going upward to the View menu at the top of the screen and choosing Print Size:

Going to View > Print Size.

According to how the Impress Size view mode is supposed to work, Photoshop should instantly jump to whatever zoom level is needed for the image to appear on my screen at the same size it will print, which in this case would be six inches across and iv inches from top to bottom. In other words, I should exist able to grab an actual 4x6 photo, hold it upward to my screen and see that the size of the epitome on my screen in Photoshop now matches the size of the photo.

And notwithstanding, that's not the case. My image is not beingness displayed at six inches x 4 inches on my screen. It'southward actually beingness displayed much smaller. If I catch a ruler, I tin can quickly measure information technology and run across that it appears roughly 3.eight inches across and 2.5 inches tiptop to bottom. That's not fifty-fifty close to existence an accurate on-screen preview of the print size:

The image should be 6x4 inches on my screen. Something's not correct.

Permit's look down in the bottom left corner of the interface where we see that Photoshop has set the zoom level of my image to 24%. This, according to Photoshop, is the correct zoom level for making my image announced 6x4 inches on my screen. That's slap-up, except that it's obviously wrong. Why is it wrong? It'south because Photoshop is wrongly assuming that my calculator monitor'south screen resolution is 72 pixels per inch:

The current zoom level appears in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Finding Your Actual Screen Resolution

How do we fix that? Nosotros find out what our estimator brandish's actual screen resolution is and so we give that information to Photoshop. First, we need to find our screen resolution using a unproblematic test. If you've already done this step from the previous tutorial and you have the information handy, you can skip this part and movement on to the next step.

To notice your display's screen resolution, grab a ruler or tape mensurate (a tape mensurate is probably easier). Then, measure out the screen'south width, in inches, from left to right. Don't include whatsoever of the border area around the screen. Measure but the screen itself. If you lot need to, round the measurement off to a single decimal identify. In my instance, my screen's width is 23.4 inches, but of course yours may be different (computer monitor photo from Shutterstock):

Measure out the width of your screen (not including the outer border).

Adjacent, brand sure your computer monitor is running at its native display resolution, which gives y'all the actual number of pixels in your brandish from left to right and height to bottom. For example, a screen with a native display resolution of 1920x1080 has 1920 pixels from left to right and 1080 from meridian to bottom. The monitor I'k using runs at 2560x1440. Whatever your monitor's native brandish resolution is, make sure it's what you take it set to in your operating organisation'due south display options.

Then, simply take the first number in your monitor's native display resolution, which gives you the screen width in pixels, and split up it by your measured screen width in inches. This volition give y'all the actual screen resolution in pixels per inch. For example, I'll have the first number in my display resolution, 2560, and split information technology by my measured screen width in inches, which was 23.4. Using my operating system's handy built-in calculator, 2560 ÷ 23.four = 109.iv, which I'll circular off to 109. So, using this easy test, I've speedily figured out that my display's screen resolution is 109 pixels per inch, not 72 pixels per inch similar Photoshop had assumed. Again, your screen resolution may be dissimilar, simply information technology volition certainly be higher than 72 ppi.

Giving The Screen Resolution To Photoshop

Now that we have our bodily screen resolution, we demand to enter it into Photoshop and we exercise that in the Preferences. On a Windows PC, become upward to the Edit carte at the top of the screen, cull Preferences way down at the bottom of the list, and then choose Units & Rulers. On a Mac, go up to the Photoshop carte du jour, choose Preferences, then choose Units & Rulers:

On a PC, the Preferences are nether the Edit menu. On a Mac, they're under the Photoshop bill of fare.

This opens the Preferences dialog box set to the Units & Rulers preferences, and hither's where we find the problem. The Screen Resolution pick (directly beneath the Print Resolution option that we don't demand to worry nearly) is gear up past default to 72 pixels per inch, which is why the Print Size view style isn't working properly:

Photoshop'due south default Screen Resolution value is 72 pixels per inch.

To fix the problem, simply replace the 72 with your right screen resolution. In my case, information technology'due south 109:

Enter your actual screen resolution.

Enabling OpenGL (Photoshop CS4 And Higher)

Don't close out of the Preferences dialog box but yet considering there's one more than quick thing we need to do. Select Performance in the list of preference categories along the left of the dialog box:

Choose the Performance preferences.

If you're using Photoshop CS6 every bit I am, brand sure the Utilise Graphics Processor option is checked (in Photoshop CS4 and CS5, the choice is called Enable OpenGL Drawing). This allows Photoshop to access the OpenGL capabilities of your video card for avant-garde, hardware-accelerated screen rendering. There's a whole list of features this enables in Photoshop, but the one we're nigh interested in here is that it helps display a sharper, more authentic image at zoom levels other than 100% (like our Print Size zoom level, for example). Note that if, for any reason, the option was non enabled and you only enabled it now, you lot'll demand to close out of whatsoever open documents in Photoshop and and so re-open up them for OpenGL to take effect:

Make sure "Utilize Graphics Processor" (CS6) or "Enable OpenGL Drawing" (CS4/CS5) is checked.

Trying The Print Size View Mode Again

In one case you've entered in your actual screen resolution and made certain the OpenGL feature is enabled, go ahead and close out of the Preferences dialog box. You should now have a working Print Size view fashion! To test information technology, I'll once again go upwards to View carte du jour at the top of the screen and choose Impress Size:

Going back to View > Print Size.

And this time, at present that Photoshop knows what my actual screen resolution is, information technology'due south able to effigy out the right zoom level for my image to display 6 inches ten iv inches on my screen. This, combined with the OpenGL features we made sure were enabled in the Performance preferences, gives me a much more accurate preview of what my image will wait like when printed:

The Print Size view way at present works more than similar it should.

If you remember, dorsum when Photoshop was still thinking my screen resolution was 72 ppi, information technology chose an wrong zoom level of 24% for the Print Size view style. This fourth dimension, knowing what my screen resolution really is, it was able to select a more accurate zoom level of 36.33% (yours may be different):

Photoshop chose the right zoom level this fourth dimension for an accurate impress size preview.

And there we have it! That'south how to easily find your brandish'due south actual screen resolution (non 72 ppi), enter it into the Preferences, and go more than accurate on-screen results from the Print Size view style in Photoshop!

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