Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensions so I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
the screen.

Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
common albums.

The places that print JPGs allow me to crop the pics to fit 4x6, but
in most cases that will crop picture area that I don't want to lose.
Instead I would like the whole file printed, leaving white margins (or
some other color) on either side. But those places won't allow me to
do that.

I can go into software and edit the pic to do this, leaving nice gray
margins on either side. But it's not practical to do a couple hundred
like this.

Irfanview supports batch jobs, and allows setting the canvas size to a
desired size in pixels. But that won't work for me, because the
original files don't have consistent dimensions.

Paint Shop Pro seems to be similar - I can set the required dimensions
in pixels or in length units, but that won't work if the origs have
many different sizes.

So I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can run a few
hundred pics through a software that only pads the pic with blank
areas to achieve an aspect ratio of 2:3.

Wally

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensions so I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

This isn't exactly what you're looking for, but may
be of interest. I wrote a program some years ago for
a friend who travels a lot and gets lots of pictures
printed. She wanted an easy way to prepare 100s of
photos for printing. I wrote a program that provides
batch cropping and resizing, figuring that most photos
could stand a bit of cropping to achieve the necessary
dimensions. In the cases where auto-cropping is a problem,
the image can be "mounted" on a background of the
necessary dimensions. Additionally, a background color
can be picked from the photo to improve the overall
effect.

But... While the software does batch cropping and
auto-mounting to a specific dimension with custom
background color, it does not do what you're asking
for: batch background mounting.
I hadn't thought, at the time, of a case where
someone might want to just fit all photos to a generic
background.

If what I'm describing is of interest, see here:

http://www.jsware.net/jsware/pprep.php5

(The software is not free, but I don't mean to run
an ad here. It can be used without paying. The only
difference is that the trial version opens with a
"nag screen". It's a simple program, but an attempt
was made to operate at as high a quality as Windows
allows. Resizing up uses bicubic resampling. JPG
saving uses Microsoft's gdiplus.dll library.)


--
--
"Wally" <Wally@luxx.com> wrote in message
news:r2p8b8drk8irik0g3pi4b6mlu07qh6umut@4ax.com...
|I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
| any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
| is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
| the screen.
|
| Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
| because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
| common albums.
|
| The places that print JPGs allow me to crop the pics to fit 4x6, but
| in most cases that will crop picture area that I don't want to lose.
| Instead I would like the whole file printed, leaving white margins (or
| some other color) on either side. But those places won't allow me to
| do that.
|
| I can go into software and edit the pic to do this, leaving nice gray
| margins on either side. But it's not practical to do a couple hundred
| like this.
|
| Irfanview supports batch jobs, and allows setting the canvas size to a
| desired size in pixels. But that won't work for me, because the
| original files don't have consistent dimensions.
|
| Paint Shop Pro seems to be similar - I can set the required dimensions
| in pixels or in length units, but that won't work if the origs have
| many different sizes.
|
| So I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can run a few
| hundred pics through a software that only pads the pic with blank
| areas to achieve an aspect ratio of 2:3.
|
| Wally

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensions so I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:35:55 +1300, Eric Stevens
<eric.stevens@sum.co.nz> wrote:

>On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:27:40 -0700, Wally <Wally@luxx.com> wrote:
>
>>I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
>>any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
>>is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
>>the screen.
>>
>>Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
>>because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
>>common albums.
>>
>>The places that print JPGs allow me to crop the pics to fit 4x6, but
>>in most cases that will crop picture area that I don't want to lose.
>>Instead I would like the whole file printed, leaving white margins (or
>>some other color) on either side. But those places won't allow me to
>>do that.
>>
>>I can go into software and edit the pic to do this, leaving nice gray
>>margins on either side. But it's not practical to do a couple hundred
>>like this.
>>
>>Irfanview supports batch jobs, and allows setting the canvas size to a
>>desired size in pixels. But that won't work for me, because the
>>original files don't have consistent dimensions.
>>
>>Paint Shop Pro seems to be similar - I can set the required dimensions
>>in pixels or in length units, but that won't work if the origs have
>>many different sizes.
>
>Paint Shop Pro will do what you want and let you print to either a
>printer or a file.

How?

Wally

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensionsso I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

On 11/26/2012 11:27 PM, Wally wrote:
> I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
> any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
> is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
> the screen.
>
> Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
> because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
> common albums.
>
> The places that print JPGs allow me to crop the pics to fit 4x6, but
> in most cases that will crop picture area that I don't want to lose.
> Instead I would like the whole file printed, leaving white margins (or
> some other color) on either side. But those places won't allow me to
> do that.
>
> I can go into software and edit the pic to do this, leaving nice gray
> margins on either side. But it's not practical to do a couple hundred
> like this.
>
> Irfanview supports batch jobs, and allows setting the canvas size to a
> desired size in pixels. But that won't work for me, because the
> original files don't have consistent dimensions.
>
> Paint Shop Pro seems to be similar - I can set the required dimensions
> in pixels or in length units, but that won't work if the origs have
> many different sizes.
>
> So I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can run a few
> hundred pics through a software that only pads the pic with blank
> areas to achieve an aspect ratio of 2:3.
>
> Wally
>

I often use a program called Perfect Resize when I need to enlarge a
small cropped (or otherwise reworked) picture. The pictures can be made
to be 4x6 in size (or any size within reason that you may choose). I
can't say the output is always perfect but more times than not, it'll do.

Nick

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensions so I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:53:48 -0800, Savageduck
<savageduck1@{REMOVESPAM}me.com> wrote:

>On 2012-11-27 12:42:07 -0800, rfdjr1@optonline.net said:
>
>> On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:53:34 -0700, Wally <Wally@luxx.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:35:55 +1300, Eric Stevens
>>> <eric.stevens@sum.co.nz> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:27:40 -0700, Wally <Wally@luxx.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
>>>>> any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
>>>>> is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
>>>>> the screen.
>>>>>
>>>>> Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
>>>>> because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
>>>>> common albums.
>>>>>
>>>>> The places that print JPGs allow me to crop the pics to fit 4x6, but
>>>>> in most cases that will crop picture area that I don't want to lose.
>>>>> Instead I would like the whole file printed, leaving white margins (or
>>>>> some other color) on either side. But those places won't allow me to
>>>>> do that.
>>>>>
>>>>> I can go into software and edit the pic to do this, leaving nice gray
>>>>> margins on either side. But it's not practical to do a couple hundred
>>>>> like this.
>>>>>
>>>>> Irfanview supports batch jobs, and allows setting the canvas size to a
>>>>> desired size in pixels. But that won't work for me, because the
>>>>> original files don't have consistent dimensions.
>>>>>
>>>>> Paint Shop Pro seems to be similar - I can set the required dimensions
>>>>> in pixels or in length units, but that won't work if the origs have
>>>>> many different sizes.
>>>>
>>>> Paint Shop Pro will do what you want and let you print to either a
>>>> printer or a file.
>>>
>>> How?
>>>
>>> Wally
>>
>> Yes please, how!. I've been using Paint Shop Pro for years. I'm currently using
>> PSP X, version 10. I often run into the same problem the OP is asking
>> about. How
>> can you force PSP to create a 4x6 or maybe 5x7 size print? Thanks in advance.
>
>I don't see it happening without a downsize and a crop, unless the
>native aspect ratio is obtainable out of the camera. All that would be
>needed then, is a batch resize. Then you are also making the assumption
>that every one of those shots has the composition you desire, and
>doesn't need a custom crop.

All the shots have been edited and are as desired, for viewing on
screen -- but are mostly not 2:3, therefore not suitable for printing
to 4x6".

>The problem that exists is the random nature of arbitrary crops not
>meeting the shooter's vision of his/her prints.
>
>Just setting up PSP, LR4, or any other editing software to batch crop
>and resize 100's of images, removes the editing power of the crop from
>the shooter, much as any print lab would. If that is what you are
>prepared to sacrifice then go ahead.

No, I don't want to crop at all. Instead of cropping, I want to fill
or pad to get the images to 2:3.

This is harder than I thought.

Maybe I could use Irfanview to batch upsize them all so the short
sides are all of consistent size, say 2000 pixels... then fix the
canvas size so the other side is 3000 pixels. Might have to run that
twice since vertical and horizontal shots might be treated
differently.

W.

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensionsso I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

On 11/27/2012 2:03 PM, Savageduck wrote:
> On 2012-11-27 13:49:57 -0800, nick c <nchen711@ontheverizon.net> said:
>
>> On 11/26/2012 11:27 PM, Wally wrote:
>>> I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
>>> any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
>>> is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
>>> the screen.
>>>
>>> Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
>>> because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
>>> common albums.
>>>
>>> The places that print JPGs allow me to crop the pics to fit 4x6, but
>>> in most cases that will crop picture area that I don't want to lose.
>>> Instead I would like the whole file printed, leaving white margins (or
>>> some other color) on either side. But those places won't allow me to
>>> do that.
>>>
>>> I can go into software and edit the pic to do this, leaving nice gray
>>> margins on either side. But it's not practical to do a couple hundred
>>> like this.
>>>
>>> Irfanview supports batch jobs, and allows setting the canvas size to a
>>> desired size in pixels. But that won't work for me, because the
>>> original files don't have consistent dimensions.
>>>
>>> Paint Shop Pro seems to be similar - I can set the required dimensions
>>> in pixels or in length units, but that won't work if the origs have
>>> many different sizes.
>>>
>>> So I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can run a few
>>> hundred pics through a software that only pads the pic with blank
>>> areas to achieve an aspect ratio of 2:3.
>>>
>>> Wally
>>>
>>
>> I often use a program called Perfect Resize when I need to enlarge a
>> small cropped (or otherwise reworked) picture. The pictures can be
>> made to be 4x6 in size (or any size within reason that you may
>> choose). I can't say the output is always perfect but more times than
>> not, it'll do.
>>
>> Nick
>
> Perfect Resize (PR formerly Genuine Fractals) does a good job of
> extrapolating to larger and oversized files, but it still has the
> problem or dimensional distortion as the OP has already informed us
> there is no consistency regarding file dimensions and aspect ratios.
> Only those images at 2:3 will do well with PR to get to 4''x 6'' without
> distortion of image loss due to crop.
>

Point well made. I just ran one of my shots through Perfect Resize
making it into a 300 pixel...4x6 photo.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rdk8f21mhq...7%20copy-2.jpg

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensionsso I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

On 11/27/2012 4:10 PM, Savageduck wrote:
> On 2012-11-27 15:18:19 -0800, nick c <nchen711@ontheverizon.net> said:
>
>> On 11/27/2012 2:03 PM, Savageduck wrote:
>>> On 2012-11-27 13:49:57 -0800, nick c <nchen711@ontheverizon.net> said:
>>>
>>>> On 11/26/2012 11:27 PM, Wally wrote:
>>>>> I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
>>>>> any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
>>>>> is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
>>>>> the screen.
>>>>>
>>>>> Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
>>>>> because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
>>>>> common albums.
>>>>>
>>>>> The places that print JPGs allow me to crop the pics to fit 4x6, but
>>>>> in most cases that will crop picture area that I don't want to lose.
>>>>> Instead I would like the whole file printed, leaving white margins (or
>>>>> some other color) on either side. But those places won't allow me to
>>>>> do that.
>>>>>
>>>>> I can go into software and edit the pic to do this, leaving nice gray
>>>>> margins on either side. But it's not practical to do a couple hundred
>>>>> like this.
>>>>>
>>>>> Irfanview supports batch jobs, and allows setting the canvas size to a
>>>>> desired size in pixels. But that won't work for me, because the
>>>>> original files don't have consistent dimensions.
>>>>>
>>>>> Paint Shop Pro seems to be similar - I can set the required dimensions
>>>>> in pixels or in length units, but that won't work if the origs have
>>>>> many different sizes.
>>>>>
>>>>> So I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can run a few
>>>>> hundred pics through a software that only pads the pic with blank
>>>>> areas to achieve an aspect ratio of 2:3.
>>>>>
>>>>> Wally
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I often use a program called Perfect Resize when I need to enlarge a
>>>> small cropped (or otherwise reworked) picture. The pictures can be
>>>> made to be 4x6 in size (or any size within reason that you may
>>>> choose). I can't say the output is always perfect but more times than
>>>> not, it'll do.
>>>>
>>>> Nick
>>>
>>> Perfect Resize (PR formerly Genuine Fractals) does a good job of
>>> extrapolating to larger and oversized files, but it still has the
>>> problem or dimensional distortion as the OP has already informed us
>>> there is no consistency regarding file dimensions and aspect ratios.
>>> Only those images at 2:3 will do well with PR to get to 4''x 6'' without
>>> distortion of image loss due to crop.
>>>
>>
>> Point well made. I just ran one of my shots through Perfect Resize
>> making it into a 300 pixel...4x6 photo.
>>
>> https://www.dropbox.com/s/rdk8f21mhq...7%20copy-2.jpg
>
> I am guessing Long Beach.

Right on.

>
> My questions are;
> What was the size as shot?

I chose a shot at random from one of my folders, taken a few years ago
while still using slide film, then scanned it. The original scan was
about 59.56Wx39.56H. I later scanned it to became 7.5x5 (which was about
what I wanted, at the time).

Using the 7.5x5 scanned shot, I reduced/boosted it further to 300 Canon
and 4x6 using Perfect Resize. I had once reduced the PPI count to 75 so
it could be e-mailed to someone who didn't want big pictures mailed to her.

>
> Did you crop to a 2:3 aspect ratio before using Perfect Resize to bring
> to 4'' x 6''?
>

See above. Not at any time was the picture cropped (other than resized)
nor did a display show readily seen distortions. Actually, now that I
think about it, I guess I could have run the original scan through
Photoshop and corrected any distortions that may have been in the
original scanned picture. But ... I didn't.

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensions so I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

I realized I had forgotten something. The program I
linked will do what you want.
See here:

http://www.jsware.net/jsware/pprep.php5

JS PhotoPrep
Drop a folder onto the window, select quality level,
select to save as BMP or JPG, check "Perform Crop",
select dimension (or custom dimension), check
"Mount for no-loss crop", and finally, select the
background color. Then click "Process".

As noted, this is a trial version, but it's fully functional
with no time limit. If you don't mind the nag screen
you can use it for free. (With all the free, tidbit photo
editors around I get very few sales, anyway. :)

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensionsso I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

On 28/11/2012 9:48 AM, Floyd L. Davidson wrote:
> Wally <Wally@luxx.com> wrote:
>> I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
>> any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
>> is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
>> the screen.
>>
>> Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
>> because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
>> common albums.
>
> ...
>
>> So I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can run a few
>> hundred pics through a software that only pads the pic with blank
>> areas to achieve an aspect ratio of 2:3.
>
> That is a relatively simple task using ImageMagick
> tools... if of course you are familiar with them and
> with writing batch files.
>


I did do this through a Photoshop action when when I was making heaps of
flash presentations.

The image was placed on a black background, and made to fit. Had one
action for Vertical and another Horizontal images. Batched whole folders.

Re: Is there software that will automatically pad JPGs of odd dimensions so I can print to 4x6 format without losing image area?
 

On Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:24:40 +1300, Eric Stevens
<eric.stevens@sum.co.nz> wrote:

>On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:53:34 -0700, Wally <Wally@luxx.com> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:35:55 +1300, Eric Stevens
>><eric.stevens@sum.co.nz> wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:27:40 -0700, Wally <Wally@luxx.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>I have a couple hundred JPG files of different aspect ratios. Hardly
>>>>any two are alike in dimension. Mostly they are approx 4:5, but that
>>>>is rough. They were just cropped over the years for best display on
>>>>the screen.
>>>>
>>>>Now I want to make prints of them, and the prints need to be 4x6 inch
>>>>because that is the standard and cheapest, and will fit into the most
>>>>common albums.
>>>>
>>>>The places that print JPGs allow me to crop the pics to fit 4x6, but
>>>>in most cases that will crop picture area that I don't want to lose.
>>>>Instead I would like the whole file printed, leaving white margins (or
>>>>some other color) on either side. But those places won't allow me to
>>>>do that.
>>>>
>>>>I can go into software and edit the pic to do this, leaving nice gray
>>>>margins on either side. But it's not practical to do a couple hundred
>>>>like this.
>>>>
>>>>Irfanview supports batch jobs, and allows setting the canvas size to a
>>>>desired size in pixels. But that won't work for me, because the
>>>>original files don't have consistent dimensions.
>>>>
>>>>Paint Shop Pro seems to be similar - I can set the required dimensions
>>>>in pixels or in length units, but that won't work if the origs have
>>>>many different sizes.
>>>
>>>Paint Shop Pro will do what you want and let you print to either a
>>>printer or a file.
>>
>>How?
>>
>Here is a scan of a 6" x 4" test print I happened to have lying
>around. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/31088803/Image1.jpg I presume that
>this is the sort of thing you want. The length of the panoramic image
>has been fitted to the paper and the top and bottom has been padded
>with white space.
>
>If the image was taller than it was wide then the top and bottom of
>the image would be fitted to the paper and it would be the sides that
>were padded.

OK, it looks good. Will have to give it a try. But I gotta admit that
JS PhotoPrep sounds exactly right and real simple too.

W.