Computer Help again

The place to discuss anything that isn't football or LUFC
User avatar
PockWhite
Howard Wilkinson's military attaché
Posts: 5990
Joined: 21 Jan 2010, 17:30
Location: 54 Canal Street

Re: Computer Help again

Post by PockWhite »

:lol: :lol:
User avatar
Another Northern Soul
LUFCTALK Moderator
Posts: 7537
Joined: 01 Nov 2015, 09:55

Re: Computer Help again

Post by Another Northern Soul »

Morning all, this isn't strictly a computer help thing but I just know you'll have good advice re editing JPEGs :)

How do you check the PPI (pixels per inch) of a JPEG you've downloaded from the www, and more importantly, which is the simplest, best and free program to edit it? I want to increase certain jpegs to 402 PPI but have forgotten where to even start. Ta!
Deleted User 728

Re: Computer Help again

Post by Deleted User 728 »

Another Northern Soul wrote:Morning all, this isn't strictly a computer help thing but I just know you'll have good advice re editing JPEGs :)

How do you check the PPI (pixels per inch) of a JPEG you've downloaded from the www, and more importantly, which is the simplest, best and free program to edit it? I want to increase certain jpegs to 402 PPI but have forgotten where to even start. Ta!

First off, download a great FREE program called Paint.net : it's like a combination of the best bits of MS Paint and Photoshop, which allows you to create all kinds of great images quickly and easily.
In essence, it has the instinctive interface and pure simplicity of Paint but couples it by adding crucial features like layers and various artistic and photographic effects to allow you to produce much more than you can with the package bundled with all Windows-based PCs.

I use it for all my "photoshopping" and to edit photographs.

Here's a few screenshots showing some of the functions :

1. Some of the basic effects on the drop-down menu :
Image

2. Here, I've added a second layer on top of the picture allowing me to add text and drag it around till I get the placement right. It's like having a clear acetate with letters on placed on top of a photograph :
Image

3. Some more effects, including sharpening images, adding the blur effects I used on that Wood volley image the other day, etc :
Image

4. This is the resize tool, allowing you to play with the dimensions and aspect ratio as well as rotating and flipping the image :
Image




So it's a free, easy to use program with excellent capabilities.
Remember the image I posted with Cellino about to shoot himself in the foot ?
Paint.net.
It took me about 15 minutes to create using two images - one stock of a guy in an office about to shoot himself in the foot, and the other of Cellino's face. That was the trickiest bit, finding the right expression. Even then, I had to flip it horizontally so he was facing the right way.
I added a second layer to the original office photo and pushed and pulled Cellino's head (oh yes !) till he was in the right place, at the right angle and size, before carefully cropping away the superfluous stuff around his neck, hair and the face itself until it fitted more or less perfectly.

Image

It's not print quality - I'm NOT a photoshop expert - but it's fine for use on social media or in forums, just for fun.

I do this kind of thing all the time and have just taught myself down the years.
I enjoy manipulating imagery and use it a lot for my DJ page : http://www.mixcrate.com/rigger
A quick click on the link will show you lots of "album covers" for my mixes.
You can also use it to create custom greetings cards before getting them made up and delivered by Moonpig and the like.

Just have a play ..

Anyway .. going back to your original question (finally !) ..
What do you mean by "increase to 402 PPI" ??
Why that number ?
If you use Paint.net, you can open the image then pull down the "Image" tab to check the size in pixels and resize accordingly, but I don't get what's so special about that number in particular.
Is it just for quality ?
Some photos will always be blurry if they start out small. No matter how much you enlarge and sharpen them, there is no "Blade Runner" technology available to allow you to manipulate them into crisp, new images.
This is about as close as you can get as quickly as possible ..

I hope I have answered your question anyway.
If you download the program and use it, you know I'm always about to answer any questions on it ..
Here's the link : http://www.getpaint.net/index.html
There's various user forums where I sometimes ask a question and there are also a number of third-party add-ons and tools you can use for even more effects to bring it even closer to Photoshop.

(and no, I don't work for them. I just love the internet for free stuff like this)
User avatar
Another Northern Soul
LUFCTALK Moderator
Posts: 7537
Joined: 01 Nov 2015, 09:55

Re: Computer Help again

Post by Another Northern Soul »

That's brilliant, thank you :D I'm wanting some record sleeves reproducing and a recommended printer has told me they can do it but need the jpeg to be 402 PPI as I want the prints to be 12" by 12".

This could well be a daft question but when Saving a jpeg from the www, can they not be altered to how you want them if Saving As a different copy? I've tried altering the Size but seem to have failed. Maybe it's Windows 10 causing me to be dense, I dunno.
Deleted User 728

Re: Computer Help again

Post by Deleted User 728 »

I see.

Okay, well what I would do is open Paint.net then have the images you want open on a browser, right click "Copy" then paste into Paint.net.
Alternatively, you can save the image from the webpage, then right click "Open with Paint.Net".
Either way, you open the image in the program and can then start manipulating it.

Before you do any of that though, I'm guessing you're looking to hang your favourite album covers in those funky square frames, right ?

I've got a friend who's done this and they look amazing, but he uses his actual sleeves, leaving the inner sleeve and the record itself in a clear PVC sleeve in with the rest of his (alphabetised) collection. You can't beat the real thing, so that's what I'd do.

Another option - which I've done but have yet to get round to mounting - is to buy another copy of the LP purely for mounting.
I've got five albums ready to go like this, and one of them - ELO's Out Of The Blue - I deliberately got on blue vinyl so I could frame it with one of these babies :
Image

Having said that, I've just seen these :
Image



Anyway, as usual I'm rambling.
I've actually already done what you want to do but not in 12" frames - I just colour-photocopied six of my favourite jazz covers and mounted them with clip-frames and the quality was fine. I took the LP sleeves to my local Prontaprint or wherever and it cost me about a quid a pop for a laser copy on A3. I then trimmed them using a scalpel and cutting board - I do physical art as well as digital from time to time - and they look bang on. The colours are still gloriously vivid some ten years on ..

What you need to do above all else is to get HIGH RES images of the sleeves you want.
So using Google's search tools, click on "image" then "search tools" then select "size" and "large" and then you'll find the definition you want.
You can then select the appropriate ones, save them to your computer and email them as attachments to send to your printer or stick them on a USB and take them to their place of business.

I've just done all the above with a search for "Sgt Pepper cover" and downloaded a 1200x1200 image.
I then opened it in Paint.net and checked the "Image>Resize" option and found the resolution to be 96 Pixels/Inch (which I'm guessing is the PPI).
I opened another version of the same picture and edited the res from 96 up to 402. I then zoomed in four clicks of the "magnifying glass" zoom tool on both images. There's no difference to my eye, but there may be in terms of digitisation, I don't know.
You'll need to talk to your printer about that, I guess.
I would've thought they'd do that for you though .. especially as you're the customer and they're the expert. It only takes a few moments, after all ..

That's about all I've got on this one, mate - good luck !

(check his prices - it may be cheaper to buy a crappy copy of the original LP on discogs.com with a mint sleeve, believe me !)
User avatar
Another Northern Soul
LUFCTALK Moderator
Posts: 7537
Joined: 01 Nov 2015, 09:55

Re: Computer Help again

Post by Another Northern Soul »

Yeah you're rambling but rambling is often good :D

I had a good think about it and decided that I will use the actual sleeves I possess but there are plenty I don't have y'see, and they're not cheap any more. So I thought good quality copies will suffice. Probably will frame them too but that's not a definite yet.

And yes, ELO's OOTB is one of my choices :) I used to have it in blue vinyl but sold it on. When I had as bit more money about me a couple of years ago, I started buying coloured vinyls to put on a bedroom wall - any artiste - but it looked pretty naff TBH :lol:

Thanks again, I'm not on the right pc at the moment but will proceed with your kind instructions later on. I think we've been here before, I definitely had PaintNet installed once before. It might have been Sheepster who guided me then when I was considering creating a graphic novel from my fiction and real online video stills/images in to 'comic art'. It would have been a work of art too but it was too heavy a project.
Deleted User 728

Re: Computer Help again

Post by Deleted User 728 »

Another Northern Soul wrote:It would have been a work of art too but it was too heavy a project.
Set aside an hour or two on a Sunday morning - get up earlier if you need to - and just try and do a page or even a panel a week.
You can do it. You just need the right technique. Baby steps ..

.. says he, a third of a way through writing a novel that he hasn't touched in four years :?
User avatar
Another Northern Soul
LUFCTALK Moderator
Posts: 7537
Joined: 01 Nov 2015, 09:55

Re: Computer Help again

Post by Another Northern Soul »

Currently writing a novel, a screenplay and decorating too, with latest novel out in a few weeks. Writing's painstaking enough but creating a graphic novel? Not for me, it's too much. Trust me Rigger, I enjoy working under pressure but the graphic novel 'Dirty Leeds' would need more expertise and more bodies :D
Deleted User 2747

Re: Computer Help again!!

Post by Deleted User 2747 »

Hi, can anyone offer advice?

I am now on Windows 10 again and Outlook was recently 'updated' AAAAAAgh!
I am now getting more junk mail in my in-box than in my junk mail box and a lot of my actual mail is ending up in the junk mail box. How can I set this straight?

Microsoft! :roll:
User avatar
Another Northern Soul
LUFCTALK Moderator
Posts: 7537
Joined: 01 Nov 2015, 09:55

Re: Computer Help again!!

Post by Another Northern Soul »

Frankie wrote:Hi, can anyone offer advice?

I am now on Windows 10 again and Outlook was recently 'updated' AAAAAAgh!
I am now getting more junk mail in my in-box than in my junk mail box and a lot of my actual mail is ending up in the junk mail box. How can I set this straight?

Microsoft! :roll:
I haven't used Outlook for years, I use BT Yahoo email which is okay but has its annoying aspects. It seems you need to set some parameters for your email content, but I'm just guessing there really.

Anyway, with BTY you have your Spam box which has filters & tick boxes such as 'Not Spam', does Outlook have anything like that? Also, in the Options for the BTY email accounts there is a Block Email Addresses section too, if Outlook has anything like that then get cracking with it, Frankie.
Post Reply