Stamps enlargement PICTS

[i_am_trusted]

Hello,

If anybody could help me; I have a couple of stamps to sell. But I have no clue about how to enlarge the pictures of the stamps like some of the regulars'. If anybody knows how to do this, please let me know, I really appreciate it. Thanks

[muminlaw]

Hi i_am_trusted

Do you scan or use a camera? I sell postcards but when I want an enlargement of one area of the card (either a signature or, sometimes, the stamp & cancel, I scan that area at 600 DPI. That seems to make a pretty big picture! Hope that helps and ask more questions if it doesn't!
. Glenda
To Golf or Not To Golf? What a stupid question!

[muminlaw]

PS - you can see an example on this listing - 6179179389 - where I've scanned the signature at 600 -- the whole postcard is scanned at 150 DPI so you can see the difference in detail.
. Glenda
To Golf or Not To Golf? What a stupid question!

[audioshack]

Many people make the mistake of scanning or photographing at high resolutions and then using those images for the web.

Truth be told, you really do not need to exceed 72 dpi for the web. Anything of a greater resolution just takes an externity to appear... especially if you are on dial up.

Don't confuse resolution with image size. If you are going to scan the stamps your best solution is to scan at 300 dpi. You can then use a program like PhotoShop or PhotoShop Elements (which ships with a lot of scanners) to "Save for Web" which will chnage the resolution from 300 dpi to 72 dpi without changing the image size. Trust me - you will not see a visible difference on your monitor. 300 dpi should only be used for actual printing and never for the web.

As an example:

The top image is 300 x 200 pixels at 300 dpi (file size 95.2 kb) while the bottom image is 300 x 200 pixels and 72 dpi (19.7 kb). Now if your images are substantially larger in size at 300 dpi you may find that some potential bidders get fed up waiting for your images to upload.

Hope that helps a bit.

[i_am_trusted]

I will look into these suggestions. Thank you very much for the replies 🙂

[i_am_trusted]

Thank you all!
I was also wondering... if I want to sell a collection of stamps, how would all of them fit in a very high resolution picture? A lot of people ask for detailed stamps picture, but if I list a collection of stamps, they will not get to see each and every stamp very clear theyir every detail (and I do pay extra to ebay for the enlarged picture option).
Could anyone please help me? I would really appreciate it.
Thank you,
Dan.

[muminlaw]

Dan, first of all find out if your ISP gives you web space along with your email address, and if they do (most do), learn to use that to host your own images. Paying eBay to host your images is not cost-effective!

As far as selling a collection, you can't include an enlarged scan of each stamp and, if people want detailed pictures, perhaps you could just email them a scan of the stamps they want to see.
. Glenda
To Golf or Not To Golf? What a stupid question!

[audioshack]

You could try a large group picture with close ups on a few select stamps to show detail. The trick is to include enough detail in your pictures without uploading files that are so long that potential buyers get tired of waiting for the download.

Glenda suggestion is an excellent one - you could state in the auction that more pictures are available and that you would be happy to email them to interested buyers.

I also would not consider using eBay picture services. The pictures are too small for detail and the cost is far too high. A little basic html comes in handy if you are going to sell items that require numerous, physically large images. If your ISP does not offer picture storage there are a large number of 3rd party sites that will allow you to store images for your auctions for a nominal fee (InkFrog, SpareDollar, Nucite, etc). With the html and an image host you can embed images right into your description without quantity or physical size limitations.

[audioshack]

By the way, your question "if I want to sell a collection of stamps, how would all of them fit in a very high resolution picture?" suggests that there may still be some confusion.

Do not consider a high resolution image for use on eBay (ie 300 dpi). Keep your images to 72 dpi as you will never see the difference on a computer monitor. A physically large image is fine.

To better explain the difference consider an image that is 3" x 5". At 300 dpi it would be 900 x 1500 pixels which is fine if you are going to print it on your home printer. The same image will only be 216 x 360 pixels at 72 dpi. The samples that I included in post #3 above show that there is no visible loss is detail.

Given that broadband is still just a small part of the US market for internet access, you need to be conscious of file sizes. 72 dpi images are going to load faster. You will also be able to upload far more images to your ISP provided webspace.

If you want to see a real good example of a site that reduces all images to 72 dpi without loss of size or quality, try:
http://www.worth1000.com/default.asp

[muminlaw]

audioshack, when I scan small details at 600 dpi (such as the artist's signature on a postcard) I usually end up saving it at 50% or 60% "quality". I use CompuPic for editing and it doesn't specify the dpi - just the pixels. Most of my images are around 500 x 300 pixels but if I scan them at 72 dpi they turn out so small you can't see any detail at all. I know that sometimes stamp collectors want to see very minute details - that's why I suggested scanning at a high dpi but yes, you would want to save it at a lower resolution. I've never understood how that maintains the physical size but not the same number of pixels

I agree that far fewer Americans are on broadband - it amazes me that Canada is so far ahead in that regard! I have a friend with a dial-up connection who I periodically ask to test my download time just to be sure my listings are not taking too long. I read somewhere that the average person will click away from a listing if it takes longer than 10 seconds!
. Glenda
To Golf or Not To Golf? What a stupid question!

[audioshack]

Glenda, I'm not familiar with CompuPic so I don't know their interface or features. Is it the software that came with your scanner?

You are not scanning the images incorrectly. A stamp or coin probably should be scanned at 600 dpi. But that isn't the resolution you want to upload for use in your auctions. You want to be able to maintain image size while reducing to 72 dpi. PhotoShop Elements is an inexpensive program that provides most of the power of the full version of PhotoShop CS. It allows you to change an image from 600 dpi to 72 dpi without changing the physical size. The resulting reduction in file size is dramatic.

In the software that you are using, look for an option to change the dpi while retaining the physical size. Or it may be a scanner option. I use a Canon scanner and the software that comes with it will allow me to set my image size (ie 3" x 5") and my resolution individually.

Actually, I just noticed that the images I posted in #3 above both copy from this forum as 72 dpi bitmaps (bmp).

Here is another way to look at the same images:

http://www.nucite.com/host/is.php?i=1111263836&img=lion_roar.jpg

http://www.nucite.com/host/is.php?i=1111263837&img=lion_roar_low.jpg

Now you should be able to view them as jpgs - the first one at 300 dpi and the second at 72 dpi. If anyone sees a difference on their monitors let me know.

[audioshack]

Well... that doesn't work either. It appears that Nucite automatically converts my 300 dpi images to 72 dpi during my uploading to their servers.

That's good to know... I won't be bothering to make the coversion myself in future.