Know Your Photoshop File Sizes

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How can one Photoshop image grow and shrink dramatically during production, even without compression? It’s a question that comes up regularly. And the answer isn’t just academic, because understanding why could save you a lot of storage space on your hard drive or in the cloud.

What’s the Document Size in the Image Size Dialog Box?

The first place you might see a document size in Photoshop is at the top of the Image > Image Size dialog box. This number tells you how much disk space the document would use it if it was saved as a single layer. If the Resample option is on, you can watch the Image Size number change as you adjust the Width, Height, or Resolution. (If Resample is off, Image Size doesn’t change because the number of pixels remains constant no matter how you change the numbers.)

The 20.6 megabytes shown above is based on the document using 8 bits per channel (bpc).

Why Does a Photoshop Document Show Two Sizes?

If you configure the Status bar or the Info panel to display the document size, you’ll notice two sizes listed for the same document, separated by a slash. The first number is the same as in Image Size: the document size if saved as a single layer. The second number accounts for layers, channels, and masks, so for layered Photoshop documents the second size would be both larger and more representative of the size on disk.

Why Are Document Sizes in Photoshop Different than on the Desktop?

Having seen the various document sizes reported in Photoshop, you might wonder why those sizes don’t match what your Mac or Windows desktop tells you. For example, the document we’ve looked at so far is a basic 8×10-inch photo at 300 pixels per inch (ppi). But even that same photo can take up very different amounts of disk space depending on the file format and file compression you chose, as in the figure below. The first two examples, Photoshop format and TIFF uncompressed, are close to the document size reported inside Photoshop. The rest are smaller. However, while ZIP compressed TIFF may be the smallest, it can take much longer to save changes and may be compatible with fewer applications.

If you’re handling hundreds or thousands of images for a book or a web site, file size differences can add up quickly, not just affecting how much space you need to store your images but also how much time it takes to upload or download them from project servers, or to back them up.

Images can be compressed further if they use a lossy compression method such as JPEG. Lossy compression doesn’t preserve all of the original quality of the image, which is why in professional workflows JPEG is used only for output where small file size is much more important than perfect quality, such as web publishing.

Remember that this works in reverse, too. The 0.3 MB compressed JPEG file will expand to occupy 21.8 MB of RAM when Photoshop decompresses it for editing. Also, the File > Save for Web command creates smaller files than File > Save As because in the interest of conserving Internet bandwidth Save for Web doesn’t include extras like a preview thumbnail image and various types of metadata (you can choose to preserve some metadata).

Why Are Document Sizes Different Even Without Compression?

If you try comparing file size differences yourself, you may see variations that can’t be explained by the factors seen so far. There are more variables that can affect the size of a basic Photoshop image, including but not limited to the number of:

  • Channels (grayscale is one channel, RGB is 3 channels, and CMYK is 4 channels)
  • Layers
  • Layer masks
  • Embedded Smart Objects

The exact amount that each feature adds to the document size depends on the content in them. You can see examples of document size variations in the figure below.

Other factors affecting file size include embedding a color profile, and turning on the Maximize Compatibility option that may appear when you save (leave it on to see previews of Photoshop files in other applications.)

Why Do Raw Photo Files Get Bigger in Photoshop?

If you’ve ever wondered why a raw file seems to get a lot bigger after it’s opened and saved in Photoshop, there are some clues in the previous figure but there’s also a key piece of information to understand: Camera raw files are typically one gray channel full of numbers, because the raw sensor data hasn’t yet been interpreted into pixels with RGB values. When you open a raw file from Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom into Photoshop, what was a one-channel grayscale file becomes a three-channel RGB file. Since we know that the number of channels affects file size, naturally a three-channel RGB file will be larger than a one-channel raw file.

Another factor is bit depth. Many digital cameras capture 12 to 14 bits per channel into that raw file. You can set Camera Raw or Lightroom to open that raw file in Photoshop at 8 bpc or 16 bpc, and that too will affect the document size of the resulting Photoshop file. If you convert a 12 bpc raw file to a 16 bpc RGB Photoshop document, you should expect a large increase in file size. You can then expect a large decrease in file size when you save a final copy of the document with much smaller pixel dimensions, as a single flattened layer, in the lossy JPEG format, for posting on your web site. The next figure shows the possible variation in file size for an image that started as a 5184?×?3456 pixel raw file.

The document size of an image is always a compromise between
quality, flexibility, speed of opening and saving, and compressing to save disk space or Internet bandwidth. Knowing the factors that affect the size of a document helps you understand why an image’s size on disk rises or falls.

 

Conrad Chavez is the author of Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book (2023 release), and contributes to CreativePro.com and CreativePro Magazine. You can find out more about Conrad at his website, conradchavez.com.
  • Campbell David says:

    Conrad – thank you so much; this article is truly a revelation. I have been trying to save a set of images for a stock photo site. The requirements are for file sizes of at least 4 MB and every time I thought I had it right, the size on the desktop told me otherwise. I will revisit this abandoned project and adjust my images by taking into account some of the factors I had not known about. So helpful!

  • ConradChavez99 says:

    Hi Campbell, that’s certainly a practical side to this that could be expanded on. When someone asks for photos at a particular file size, that’s a very ambiguous request because of all the different ways that file size could be reached. Without more specific requirements there’s the potential for misunderstandings.In the case of a stock photo agency, when they ask for at least 4MB, what you really need to know is, 4MB in what file format, color mode, bit depth, and pixel width and height? For example, they might mean at least 4MB as a flattened, uncompressed TIFF in RGB color with 8 bits per channel and enough pixels wide and tall to print a full magazine page, but it’s those details that you should look into and confirm.

  • Sandhya Hariharan says:

    Hi Conrad, your article has definitely helped in tiny bits.
    Still I am a little unclear with file size.
    Some stock agencies are asking for 34MB-50MB uncompressedfile size. Raw image size from my cam is 21-25Mb at the max with my 20.2 MP Canon 6D camera. So how do I still achieve that size?

  • Conrad Chavez says:

    Hi Sandhya, the answer is similar to the previous one, so let’s look more closely at what the stock agency is asking for. Your camera shoots 21-25MB raw, but because stock agencies generally don’t take raw files, we know you have to change the file format (which you will do after editing anyway). If the stock agency wants files in the range of 34-50MB uncompressed, first you need to know what file format they are asking for. Is it TIFF? If so, try saving as TIFF with the Uncompressed option selected.

    I downloaded a sample Canon 6D file from the web. In JPEG format it’s 5.2MB. Without making any changes, if I save it as TIFF Uncompressed, it’s 59.9MB. If I save it as Photoshop (PSD), it’s 45.5MB. So it is definitely possible to get your Canon 6D files into the right file size range, but first you must clarify which file format the stock agency needs so that you can save the image in the correct format for them.

  • I think this is one of the best articles we’ve published this year. Conrad, you’ve cleared up a LOT of confusion for me (and others). Thank you!

  • Justin says:

    Hi Conrad, I have a file size issue that your article doesn’t address or maybe I just missed it. I am rendering out png sequences from After Effects. When Photoshop loads up the images they’re reading much larger than what the file size reads in Windows and After Effects. For example, 1 png at 158 kb is reading in Photoshop at 3.78M/4.00M. The image is rgb 8bit/channel with no compression.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks,
    Justin

  • Conrad Chavez says:

    Hi Justin, I’m going to guess that difference in displayed file sizes is because of PNG compression: The PNG is 158KB compressed, and when opened in Photoshop it expands to around 4MB uncompressed. You did say “with no compression,” but I am under the impression that most implementations of PNG are compressed (though I’m not 100% positive). It’s lossless compression, so no image quality is lost.

    What are the pixel dimensions of one frame of the PNG sequence? If the math works out to a lot more than 158KB, then the frame is compressed. The math is ((pixels tall * pixels wide * bit depth)/8).

    If the content in the image is synthetic (not photographic), especially involving solid colors, it’s plausible that 4MB uncompressed could turn into 158KB PNG compressed.

    In After Effects, I looked at the Output Settings and while there is a Compression option for PNG that has settings of “None” and “Interlaced”, it looks to me like those control whether interlacing is off or on, not whether compression is off or on.

  • Conrad Chavez says:

    Hi Anne-Marie, you’re welcome! And thank you as well, since I’m inspired in part by how well you and David B. have demystified so much about InDesign!

  • Stephanie M says:

    Thank you for this! I recently purchased an adphoto online. When I received it, it was only 300kb in size! I thought I got ripped off! Then I found out it is ACTUALLY 3MB when opened with Photoshop (so I wasn’t ripped off after all) :)

  • Amy Menendez says:

    Why does a 948 Mb tiff (Flat) when placed into INDD at 100%, does the size grows to 2.4 gig?

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Amy, which file is growing to 2.4GB, the TIFF file or the INDD file? Placing a TIFF file in InDesign should not change the size of the TIFF file, so I’ll guess that you’re talking about the INDD file.

      What was the size of the INDD document before the TIFF was placed into it? When a graphic is placed in InDesign, InDesign generates a preview and stores it inside the document, and that can increase the INDD file size. (To see the file size of the same InDesign document with all the previews and other extra data removed, save an IDML version of it.)

      The other thing that can increase INDD file size is if you embedded the link (choosing “Embed Link” in the Links panel menu). That would store the entire image in the InDesign document, instead of linking to it externally.

  • Barb says:

    Conrad, your article helped me so much but I want to make sure I understand in the case of a book cover I’m working on just to be clear. My book cover PDF file is 16.5 MB on my computer. When I view it in Photoshop is balloons to 41.2MB. The max file size for PDF book cover files at Createspace is 40MB. As I understand it, it’s the file size I see on my computer after I’ve saved to PDF that is the correct file size I should go by, no the uncompressed file size I’m seeing when I open that same PDF file in Photoshop. Is that correct. Thanks so much for your help.

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Barb, if Createspace wants a PDF under 40MB then I think you are correct, you probably want to go by the file size you see out on the desktop after saving to PDF.

      I don’t think Createspace is interested in what the size is in Photoshop. When an PDF is opened in Photoshop it’s converted from PDF objects and text into just pixels, so then it’s something fundamentally different than a PDF. And the size in Photoshop also depends on which resolution it was set to during the conversion. Also, it’s possible that Createspace might never open the PDF in Photoshop; if it’s a book cover they might either output the cover straight from PDF or drop the PDF into InDesign. So just use the PDF file size reported on the desktop.

  • Barb says:

    Thanks so much! Loved your article.

  • Darryl says:

    Is there a way to show the “real” (ie. desktop’s version of file size) in the Photoshop info panel? Sorry in advance if this question is already posted but I didn’t see.

    Yes, I agree this is an EXCELLENT article and took time to find. Great job!

    Darryl

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Darryl, I don’t think Photoshop provides a way to show the desktop file size in the Info panel. I think this might be because it gets complicated if certain file types are opened. For example JPEG and GIF files are highly compressed using very specific export settings, so after opening a JPEG in Photoshop, Photoshop can’t know the desktop file size of the edited image without also knowing what the specific export settings are going to be. So Photoshop only reports the size assuming Photoshop format, still counting up all of the features (like layers) that have to be left out of a JPEG.

      What you’re asking for is doable, I think I’ve seen it done in other software. When desktop size is shown in other software, it isn’t shown alone, but alongside some controls where you’ve told it what format and settings to assume for the file size calculation, kind of like in Save for Web in Photoshop. You could request this feature at feedback.photoshop.com, or if you find that someone else has already requested it on that site you can vote it up there.

  • José Renato Gomes says:

    I need help with files size. When I create a new document(90cmX120cm 150 DPI)white background it already has more than 100MB. And I didn’t start to work on the image yet. I need to deliver the file with less than 50MB. What am I doing wrong?

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi José, you are doing nothing wrong. The file size that Photoshop is reporting is what is needed to store an uncompressed image of the size you have specified. But you can store the file in a compressed format which will probably keep the file size under 50MB.

      If you save your file in Photoshop format, what is the file size reported on your desktop for that 110MB document? When I try it, it only takes up 1.9MB because it’s filled with white. And if I save it as TIFF Compressed, it’s only 0.14MB (149KB). This is as I wrote in the article.

      Your final image will probably be bigger than that because there will be non-white pixels, and possibly layers and masks too, but it could still end up below 50MB. If turns out to be over 50MB you can save a flattened copy for your client and that will probably be under 50MB, depending on which file format the client requires.

      If you’re curious why Photoshop thinks the file is 110MB, please continue reading for a mathematical explanation.

      First, 150 dots per inch = about 59.1 dots per cm.

      Now we need to know how many pixels there are. As calculated by the Photoshop Image Size dialog box:
      90 cm at 150 dpi = 5315 pixels
      120 cm at 150 dpi = 7087 pixels

      5315*7087 = 37,667,405 pixels, or almost 38 megapixels.
      Although it is blank, it is still storing 38 megapixels of white, because it’s currently uncompressed.

      Every pixel is 24 bits: 8 bits each of three channels: Red, green, and blue.
      24 bits * 37,667,405 pixels = 904,017,720 bits required to store the data.
      904,017,720 bits = 882,830 megabits (at 1024 bits in a megabit).
      882,830 megabits = 110,354 megabytes (at 8 bits in a byte).

      That’s why the blank file of 90 cm x 120 cm at 150 dpi equals around 110 megabytes uncompressed. Compression will remove redundant content, so that much less storage space is required.

      • José says:

        Hi, Conrad!
        Thank You Very much for taking your time and answer me. Veru=y nice explanation!

        Sorry about my bad English.

        When I save the file(90cm x 120cm/150DPI) as PSD with layers it has 107MB. When I save it as JPG(required for the client) it keeps the same 107MB. Wish I could send You a screen shot.

      • Conrad Chavez says:

        Hmm…that is strange. I’m not sure why a JPEG would be the same size as the original, unless the original was also JPEG. What JPEG quality setting was used? If it was set to maximum quality, try a slightly lower setting. Testing has shown that the JPEG quality settings slightly below maximum are practically identical to the maximum setting, yet the file size is much smaller.

        If you want to post screen shots, you can ask this same question on the Adobe Photoshop forum (https://forums.adobe.com/community/photoshop/content) where images can be included in the post, or you can post an image on any web image host (Dropbox, Imgur, etc.) and include the link here.

      • José says:

        Hi, Conrad!
        Thank You again.
        It is really strange. I will add a link with screen shots and you can compare the PSD and the JPG file sizes.
        Thank You for being so atentive. I know Your time is precious.

        https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e8si7cbha9cbxya/AAC4mktewdsKztJZn2xSIqRTa?dl=0

      • Conrad Chavez says:

        Hi José, your screen shots show the file size inside Photoshop, which always reports the total memory needed for the image when it has been decompressed and opened for editing.

        But if you look at the size of the file outside Photoshop, on the desktop, it should be much smaller. This is shown in the article above, where the Photoshop file that is shown to be 44.7MB inside Photoshop is only 831KB as a high-quality JPEG on the desktop.

        When you send the JPG version of the image to the client, they will see the much smaller JPG file size until they open it in Photoshop, where it will be uncompressed to its full size for editing.

      • José says:

        Hi, Conrad!
        Sorry . Stupid me!Thank You Very much for Your help. I have learn so much with Your articles. You have a nice way to clear things up. Congrats and wish You all the best.

        José.

  • So when a website eg Vistaprint asks for a certain size JPEG image to use for Christmas cards etc. which File size do you go by. Camera Raw, Photoshop image size or the size on your desktop pictures display. ?

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Denise, when you need to send images to a printer or website, the file sizes they advise are based on the size reported on your desktop, so that’s what you want to go by. The desktop size accounts for both file format and the amount of compression.

  • Joe Atwood says:

    Hey Conrad,
    Quick question about smart objects. Is there a systematic way to restrict smart object sizes. Many times I see that designers place smart objects that are much bigger than they need and most of the time bigger than the base image. As you know, this drastically increases the file size of the file. I would like to restrict all smart objects to, at the very least, the pixel dimensions (largest by let fall) of the base image. Any ideas if this is possible?

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Joe, I don’t know of any way to restrict Smart Object sizes. You probably know that a Smart Object is essentially a separate document encapsulated inside a Photoshop document, so to restrict its size would mean cutting down the actual data in the Smart Object somehow. That would run counter to some of the reasons to use a Smart Object, such as being able to resize it down and up without losing resolution. Anything I can think of involves rasterizing or flattening the Smart Object, which again takes away its advantages. But if you don’t need to edit those Smart Objects after the designer hands off the file, is it realistic to add to the handoff requirements that designers must rasterize their Smart Objects before handing them off to you?

      You could ask Adobe to look into a way to limit the size of embedded Smart Objects by submitting a feature request at https://feedback.photoshop.com. Other users can vote up the feature, but Adobe would also weigh it against work on other features and fixes. If Adobe did implement it, it would be interesting if they could provide options on how to do it. In addition to your idea about limiting pixel dimensions to the parent document, I’d want to see options such as preserving just enough resolution to scale up to __ percent, as well as maybe limiting the bit depth to 8 bits, or dumping all alpha channels. It’s an interesting idea.

      • Marius says:

        Hi Conrad,

        may i ask you how to print a file that is 2mb JPEG on my desktop and 17mb in Photoshop? How do i take the 2mb JPEG file to the printing shop and ask them to print me a quality photo? Seems impossible. Please help!
        Thanks, Marius

      • Conrad Chavez says:

        It’s hard to say because quality depends on many things. As the article describes, it’s hard to judge quality on file size alone, since a 2MB JPEG can represent bad or good quality, depending on the pixel dimensions and how much compression was used.

        But it should not be impossible. Let’s start with what you have, and what you’re trying to print. What you have is an image that is 17MB when opened in Photoshop. What size print do you want, and at what print resolution? For example, if you want an 8 x 10 inch print at 300 ppi, the pixel dimensions should be at least 2400 x 3000 pixels, which is a little more than 20MB in Photoshop (at 8 bits per channel). You can still get a quality 8 x 10-inch print at 240 ppi, which would be about 13MB in Photoshop. Your image, which is 17MB in Photoshop, falls somewhere in the middle of that range, so on the basis of resolution alone, it’s probably capable of a quality print up to about 8 x 10 inches.

        If your image has enough pixels but the quality is bad, maybe too much compression was applied when it was saved as a JPEG.

        To get a better answer, more information about your image is needed. What are the exact pixel width and height of your image? And why does the print shop say it’s impossible? What is the problem that they are encountering?

      • Joe Atwood says:

        Thanks Conrad. This is just one of the challenges that we are trying to attack with our production process but most of our bloat revolves around smart objects. We need some smart objects but we are receiving many images with smart obj within smart obj within…… restricting the size of all smart objects within would be a huge win for our servers. I will submit a feature request for this and see how that goes. Thanks for your feedback.

  • Nick Simpson says:

    Hi Conrad,
    Very informative article, thank you.
    I am about to enter a competition that states;-“Each image must be saved as a JPG/JPEG and be smaller than 3 MB. Each image must also be at least 1,080 pixels on its longest side . To ensure that the image is of the best quality given the file size we recommend saving the file as 72 DPI”. Can you tell me, do they mean the saved(closed) file size must be less than 3mb?, or the open file size? (which would appear rather pixilated).

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Nick, my understanding is that when there’s a file size requirement for a JPEG image submission, it’s based on the size reported on your desktop. The desktop size accounts for how big the picture is in the JPEG file format and the amount of JPEG compression, while the opened size doesn’t take into account any of that. If you want to be absolutely sure, contact the competition for a clarification.

  • Priyanka says:

    Hey Conrad, your article is really helpfull and informative. Although, I am having a query regarding file size while uploading image I am facing this issue with edited images(JPEG format with file size around 2-3MB) “Uncompressed image size must be at least 50MB”.

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Priyanka, when you open your 2-3MB JPEG file in Photoshop, what does the status bar say in the bottom left corner, when it’s set to display the document file size? (As in the second figure in this article.) The document file size in the status bar indicates the uncompressed size.

  • cristina says:

    Hello Conrad, great article!
    I need to save HIgh Res pictures in JPGS under 1 MB.
    I have received a jpg file as a reference which in my desktop is 913KB and in Photoshop it weights 51,3MB.
    I have tried both “Save as” and “Save for web” commands to see if PSD gives me the 913kb size which it’s supposed to weight, but it always gives me around 2 MB.

    How can I save/export a High Res photo knowing it will weight under 1MB even though PSD gives me another weight?

    Could you help me out, please?

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Cristina. When you save from Photoshop in JPEG format, which Quality value is used when it becomes 2MB?

      With JPEG, the main way to get the exported file down below a specific size is to keep reducing the Quality level until the file size is low enough. Of course, it is possible that the Quality level will be so low that the image won’t look good. Also, if you save a JPEG using a higher quality level than the 913KB JPEG, then the file may be larger.

      Save for Web should produce a slightly smaller JPEG file because it leaves out additional data that is not needed for Web viewing.

      The only other way to reduce the size of a JPEG is to export fewer pixels. For example, if the original is 3200 x 2400 pixels, resize it to 2400 x 1800 pixels, if that is acceptable. Also, make sure the reference PSD file is not being upsampled in any way (such as scaling up 3200 x 2400 pixels to 4800 x 3600 pixels), because adding pixels would create a larger file size.

      How are the JPEG images being used? Are they for a web site, a printed publication, or another use?

      Also, sometimes it might be necessary to use different software than Photoshop. For example, some say JPEGmini saves much smaller JPEG files than Photoshop without losing quality, but I have not used it.

  • Karen says:

    Hi Conrad,

    I am about to receive court ordered documents from my former partner and I suspect they are going to be altered in photoshop. These will be documents such as bank statements and check copies. When we receive them, I assume via USB, how will I know if they have been altered using photoshop?

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Karen,

      What you’re asking about is called image forensics, which is a different subject with a larger scope than this article, which is only about file size changes due to normal (not deceptive) editing.

      There are many methods that are used to detect altered images. Most look for inconsistencies, like noticing that the digital noise pattern is not the same in some areas or in some image channels, or looking for inconsistencies between the image and its metadata. They do a lot more than that to spot fakery, but I’m not an expert in that area.

      Because you’re talking about something with legal implications, consider hiring an image forensics professional. These professionals are often called on by lawyers and insurance companies to analyze images for inconsistencies and fraud.

      https://www.imagingforensics.com/ is one professional who operates in this area, and if you want to learn how to do it yourself, his website says he teaches workshops and has written books on the subject. (This is not a recommendation, just an example, but he may be able to provide some guidance.)

      He also wrote this white paper for Adobe (PDF): Digital Image Integrity

  • Sara says:

    Hello Conrad! I need my finished “document properties” size to by 8.625×11.25 for KDP (formerly Create Space). I use photoshop for my page designs and then turn them into the PDF I need to upload to KDP. I have my Image Size set to 8.625×11.25 in photoshop (and my pdf shows it too), and yet, it goes to KDP as an 8.5×11 size. I believe they use Indesign to view it along with another program which I don’t have. Is there a way to ensure IN PHOTOSHOP that I will be sending the correctly sized files so that they will have a 8.625×11″ document? I cannot seem to get it right. Thank you so much for any help.

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Sara,

      Sorry for the delayed reply, as I was traveling. Your question is more about page size than file size, but let’s try to answer it.

      A. Which method do you use to save your Photoshop file as a PDF? If you’re using Save as Photoshop PDF, which export preset do you choose?

      B. When you say your PDF says it’s 8.625×11.25, which application are you using to check the page size of the PDF file?

  • Sara says:

    Hi Conrad
    Much appreciate your knowledge both in the article and questions. I want to print an image in a size larger than the MB’s support for a quality image. To offset this I’m layering one full image on top of the other so the layered MB’s is now far greater than the document size. Will this result in being able to print a quality image at a larger size?

    Thanks
    Sara

    • Conrad Chavez says:

      Hi Sara, I’m not sure what you mean by MBs…do you mean megabytes? If I understand what you’re saying, you’re trying to increase the quality of the image by duplicating and stacking it on itself so that the file gets bigger. Unfortunately, that’s not going to increase the quality of the image on its own.

      As the article shows, an image of the same quality can have many different file sizes, so changing only the file size doesn’t necessarily mean the quality gets better or worse. To change the quality, you have to change the content in a way that results in more visual detail. If you simply stack copies of the image, that does not change the amount of detail in the image. It’s the same amount of detail repeated on another layer, increasing file size for no benefit.

      The only way to get more visual detail out of an existing image is artificially, since you can’t create real detail that wasn’t originally recorded. Fortunately, there are at least a couple of ways you can create artificial detail.

      First option: If you have a recent version of Photoshop, choose Image > Image Size, enable the Resample option, and in the Resample menu, choose Preserve Details 2.0. That option applies advanced sharpening that tries to maintain image quality when enlarged. Preserve Details 2.0 is an improvement over the usual image scaling you get in most programs, including older versions of Photoshop.

      Second option: There is a new program called Topaz Gigapixel AI. It uses machine learning to create even better artificial detail than Preserve Details 2.0. You should only try Gigapixel AI if you need a much larger print size that Preserve Details 2.0 is successful with, because Gigapixel AI is somewhat costly, and requires powerful graphics hardware to create artificial detail that is said to look more convincing than anything else so far. But I haven’t personally tried it yet.

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