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Can I print an image of artwork taken on my Fuji XT2 on fabric 100 x 120 inches, or would I need to have that image scanned at a higher resolution on a flatbed scanner, or photographed by professional services? Thank you in advance for your advice!

My artwork is a drawing of an elephant that will be created at a size to optimize maximum image size in a photograph.

What would that size be? A size that fills my fixed lens?

The viewing distance would be 10-20 feet in an interior gallery space. The fabric is polyester georgette, a sheer, smooth surface. The printer of this fabric says that they print at 200dpi and that my image should be scaled to 100%.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ This question can not be answered as it is. What type of artwork? How much detail is in it, what is the printing method, what is the purpose, what is the viewing distance, will it be a pattern, is it really a fabric, like for dressing or it is a billboard-style print? The answers are most likely yes but depend. More questions: Is the photo good quality, is it properly lit, is the artwork looking good in the image, is the photo sharp enough. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rafael
    Feb 6, 2020 at 18:14
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you for your response! The answer seems to be complex and technical. My understanding of such things has many gaps. Let me try to clarify my question more. \$\endgroup\$
    – Gretchen Woodman
    Feb 7, 2020 at 17:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank oyu for your response Rafael! My artwork is a drawing of an elephant that will be created at a size to optimize maximum image size in a photograph. (What would that size be? A size that fills my fixed lens? The viewing distance would be 10-20 feet in an interior gallery space. The fabric is polyester georgette, a sheer, smooth surface. The printer of this fabric says that they print at 200dpi and that my image should be scaled to 100%. \$\endgroup\$
    – Gretchen Woodman
    Feb 7, 2020 at 17:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ ALso related: Technical implementations of upscaling and How can I upscale a low-res image to make it appear higher-res? and How do I generate high quality prints with an ink jet printer? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Feb 23, 2020 at 19:16

2 Answers 2

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Using this post as a source:

You need to know
A) How many PPI the print needs to have in order to not seem pixelated from a reasonable viewing distance
B) The viewing distance (or minimal VD)
C) The pixel count of the photo to be printed

Let's start with B. Without knowing anything about the print, and where it will be hung, it's save to determine a minimal viewing distance: 1.5-2 times the diagonal of length. In this case, that's 2 * 156 inch ≈ 300 inch

Now we can calculate A:
minimum ppi = 3438/Viewing Distance
So: 3438 / 300 ≈ 11 PPI

The long side of the print will be 120 inches. This means that the print on the long side should have 120 * 11 = 1320 pixels. The short side should have 100 * 11 = 1100 pixels.
Since the X2 can easily handle this, it should not be a problem to print photos taken with this camera at that size. However, that might change if your prints is actually meant to be viewed at a closer distance.

The max PPI you can print at with a sensor of 24.3 MP, is 45. Source

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    \$\begingroup\$ In the case of printing on fabric, one must also consider the texture of the fabric as well, and what is its "maximum resolution" capability. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Feb 7, 2020 at 0:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you Tim for your thoughts! The company prints at 200dpi, and asks for an image to be scaled to full size. (100 x 120 inches in this case) They will be printing on sheer, smooth Poly Georgette fabric. Thank you for the Viewing- Distance guide! I estimate viewing distance to be 10-20 feet in an interior gallery space. Is this something that my XT-2 can do? I use Photoshop to resize and change my photos. \$\endgroup\$
    – Gretchen Woodman
    Feb 7, 2020 at 18:07
  • \$\begingroup\$ If you go to the second link you can see you'd need 10.1 MP for such a print; that's not even half of what your camera can achieve. If you found my answer helpful, please don't forget to mark it as accepted! \$\endgroup\$
    – timvrhn
    Feb 8, 2020 at 12:05
  • \$\begingroup\$ 200ppi at 100x200 inches is 480MP. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Feb 23, 2020 at 19:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes @MichaelC, but 100 x 120" with a viewing distance of 10 feet only requires about 30 ppi, according to that source. That totals to 10.MP \$\endgroup\$
    – timvrhn
    Feb 23, 2020 at 19:29
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IMO, the question cannot be answered; because the sensor isn't really the relevant factor.

The industry standard for acceptable sharpness is based upon viewing an image from a distance equal to the image diagonal (occupying ~ 45deg circular FOV). And this standard requires no more than 1MP for any display size when viewed from the corresponding equivalent distance.

The standard is specified as the maximum **Circle of Confusion (CoC) and it varies with sensor size. E.g. the photography standard for a FF sensor is a 30micron CoC (.03mm). Which means a detail/point can be recorded as large as 30microns in diameter on a FF/35mm image plane... that's equivalent to a square of ~42pixels on a D850 (4.34um pixels). The CoC standard for an APS-C sensor is smaller at 20microns; because "the negative" is smaller and has to be enlarged more for an equivalent display size.

One could say that the CoC standard is weak; I won't argue with that. And it may not be the appropriate CoC you should be using... e.g. 35mm motion picture uses a 20micron CoC, because the image will be viewed relatively larger. But the 30micron CoC is what every online photography calculator uses for a FF/35mm sensor, and it is what is used for the DOF scale on a lens.

All of that is just to say; the relevant factor is how much actual image resolution there is (the recorded CoC). It is almost certainly less than the sensor resolution. And it would require a program like Imatest to determine what it actually is.

Sensor resolution (MP's) really only comes into play when an image is printed so large that the printer replicates the individual squares it is made up of. Which is typically much later (larger) than when the visual image resolution degrades.

**the CoC numbers I used are slightly rounded for simplicity

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you Steven for your response! The company prints at 200dpi on Polyester Georgette fabric(smooth and sheer). They require an image of 200 dpi with dimensions scaled to the full size of the intended print. Interior viewing distance of 10-20 feet. Can my XT-2 create an image for this? I will be making a drawing specifically to photograph for this purpose. If so, what size should the drawing be to optimize the size of the image? Sorry, I am a layman photographer and a lot of the technical information is way over my head. I do use Photoshop a lot to resize and edit my photos. \$\endgroup\$
    – Gretchen Woodman
    Feb 7, 2020 at 18:18
  • \$\begingroup\$ Their requirement (200ppi) is far greater than your requirement (10-20ft viewing distance). You have two choices, photograph the drawing so that it fills the sensor, and then upsample the photo by 4x. Assuming the drawing and photo are both actually sharp that should provide more than enough resolution. But you might want to use a better resizing program like GigaPixel AI. Your other choice is to photograph the drawing in multiple rows/columns (5x4 + overlap) and stitch them together... but IMHO that would be excessive. The drawing size needs to suit your ability to photograph it accordingly. \$\endgroup\$
    – Steven Kersting
    Feb 7, 2020 at 22:08
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you very much Steven! This response gives me a very useful approach! I appreciate you taking your time to answer my query! \$\endgroup\$
    – Gretchen Woodman
    Feb 9, 2020 at 15:33

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