Frequently Asked Questions

If you do not find the right question or the answer in this section or if you have some other querry related to a product, email us your querry. We will revert back to you soon.

What type of computer system is required for using FotoReplica?
You need a computer which is of the following type:
Processor : Pentium III or higher
RAM : 128 MB minimum
Operating System : Windows95/98/ME/XP/2000.
Monitor : Color monitor with display setting at 800 X 600, 24 bit True Color, 96 dpi, small fonts.
CD-ROM drive : 36x speed or higher.
Mouse : Standard Windows compatible.
Scanner (optional) : Color scanner - 24 bit or higher.
Digital Camera : 1.3 megapixel or higher.

Go to top

DPI & PPI
The full form of dpi is (1) dots per inch when we refer to a printer and (2) pixels per inch (also called PPI) when we refer to a digital photo file. The printer always prints, say, 2400 dots per inch in photoquality mode irrespective of the photo file dpi. The photo file dpi information is used by most photo editing software to let the printer know to which size the photo is to be printed. This means that if a photo of 1200 pixels height X 900 pixels width has a dpi of 300, then the photo editing software will tell the printer driver to print 300 pixels of this photo per linear inch (90,000 pixels per square inch) with its 2400 dots per inch resolution (roughly 2400/300 = 8 dots per pixels) and the final size after printing will be 1200/300=4 inches height and 900/300=3 inches width. A digital camera photo file does not specifically have any dpi mentioned.

Go to top

Scanning photos
What resolution to choose?
For any photo to look like a photo the resolution should be 180 dpi or higher. The maximum file size a photo editing software can open depends on the available memory of the system. Generally with 128 MB of ram we can use files of size upto about 16 MB or so. At this size we can create a file of 8"x11" having a colour depth of 24 bit and a dpi of 250. If you are going to scan the photo to a smaller size you can scan it with a higher dpi.
It is always a best policy to take trials with different dpi settings. Because some scanners give best results only at their default dpi settings.

Colour depth.
You should scan the photos with 24 bit (True color) colour depth. This is because, with this you capture all the available colour range in a photo or document. You can convert this to a black & white or gray scale later on with other software.

File type.
Choice of file type depends on where you want to use the file. For example, you choose .JPG file type when you want to use the photo on a website, as .jpg files can be compressed to small sizes. Once a photo is compressed using .jpg format, it is generally not advisable to be used for enlargements. Because on magnification the square patchy formation caused by jpeg compression may become visible.

There are other file types such as .bmp, .tif used to store digital photos. The .bmp format is Windows native format. This is supported by almost all Windows based software. This has no compression facility like .jpg. The .tif format has a facility to compress file information. This format is not supported by every Windows based software.

Go to top

Printing
How do I choose a printer?
Choice of a printer depends on what you want to print and what is the application of the printout. When you want to print your letters of office correspondence, you should better use a laser printer. Because the laser printout on a plain paper is more durable than an inkjet printout on a plain paper. When you want to print a photo or any color image, you have to use a color inkjet printer or a dye sublimation printer. When you choose a printer for the purpose of printing photos, choose a printer which gives high resolution prints. Today there are many printers available in inkjet and dye sublimation category which are specially designed to print photos.

What Printer settings to use for printing photos?
Every printer has a set of printing modes with various quality and speed settings. For printing photos you should select the best photoquality setting available. Also do not forget to select the correct paper type. Because printers let the ink flow more or less depending on the paper choice.

Type of Paper suitable for photos.
There are many brands of papers available today in the market. For printing photos on an inkjet printer, you should use the photo glossy type of paper. This type of paper is available in various thicknesses. Some types give a waterproof print, others do not give a waterproof print. The cost of a print on a color inkjet printer varies with the type of paper you use. There is a lot of range available in photo glossy papers. For dye sublimation printer you have to use a special paper available. Always remember to take a trial of printout when you buy a new type of paper.

Go to top

Saving
Which file format should I use?
You should save the original scans in a lossless, uncompressed file format like .bmp. Later on you can make copies of this in other file types for various uses. This choice of a file format depends on what you want to do with that photo. For example, If you want to send the photo to somebody by email, you should use .jpg file format. This makes the file size considerably smaller. When you want to use the photo file for printing in various sizes, then you should choose .bmp file format. This .bmp format is supported by most of the Windows based software applications.

What is file compression?
There are two types of compression methods. One is called lossy compression and the other is called lossless compression. The lossy compression method is used by .jpg format. In this type there is a loss in quality as you go on compressing the file more and more. There is no limit to compression. With high compression you get a small size file but the photo may give a patchy look. With little compression you get a bigger file size and good quality. The lossless compression method is used by .tif and .zip type of files. This method has only one type of compression, meaning you do not have a control for higher or lower compression. Also there is no loss in quality of the original photo.

Go to top

Resolution
What is resolution?
Resolution in this context literally means 'the ability to discern small or subtle differences' or 'the condition of being made suitable to an end'. Every digital photo file is made up of small bits of information for a particular square area of a picture. These are called pixels. When we have smaller and higher number of pixels for a given area, we call it a high resolution file. This gives us a fine photo quality where individual pixels are not visible seperately to the eye. When we have bigger and less pixels for a given area we call it a low resolution file. For example, if we have printout of a photo whose resolution is 72 dpi, we can easily make out single square pixels. For photographic quality we must choose high resolution (180 dpi or higher).

Go to top

Print durability
Type of paper.
Durability depends much on the type of paper we use for inkjet printing. Good quality photo glossy grade papers which give waterproof prints are quite durable. You must actually confirm by closely watching the print where the ink deposition has settled. On some papers the ink settles on the uppermost glossy layer of the paper whereas on some papers the ink goes inside the top glossy surface and settles below that. These mostly give a waterproof print. You must take actual trials of various papers available by dipping the print in water to see whether it is waterproof. A waterproof print generally can withstand the normal variation of moisture in the air.

Type of printing.
For printing photos we have three main methods. One is inkjet printing. Second is dye sublimation printing and the third is conventional photo printing using chemicals. The inkjet method gives us the advantage of printing photos sitting in the comfort of home or office with full control over the quality we require. Cost wise inkjet prints are costlier than chemicals prints and cheaper than dye sublimation prints. The dye sublimation method gives us quality and durability which is comparable to a chemical print, but the printers and the papers are costlier than that of inkjet. The conventional photo printing method using chemicals gives us highly durable prints at a cheaper cost, but with this method we cannot take advantage of the DPI independent printing technique which is required for giving justice to a high resolution camera image.

Lamination process.
Prints need to be laminated to make them more durable. There are various ways of laminating a print like cold lamination and hot lamination. We can also get transparent sticky films which are UV (ultra violet) resistant to give protection against the ultra violet radiation which comes through the direct sunlight. These UV rays affects the magenta dye in particular and make it fade away if we keep the print in direct sunlight. These laminating films make the print suitable for use in outdoor settings.

Go to top