Digital photos, how big?

[Tim M]

I discovered last week that the uni has an inkjet printer that prints up to A0 size. I intend to abuse my status as a student and use it to print some massive boaty posters for my house.
My question is, how big can i go before they look rubbish? Most of my photos are 2mp, so what does that translate to in actual paper size? Im assuming if I print a 2mp photo in an A0 sized piece of paper it'll come out very pixalated....
Thanks!

[Millermob]

I was told that a 2MP camera pic would fill a 19" pc screen before it started to pixilate, if thats any help.

Freddie

[Andy Moore]

Does this help:

http://design215.com/toolbox/megapixels.php

Looks like a hugh lot of mega-pixel power is required for true photo quality at AO, given its dimensions of 46.81 x 33.11 inches!

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Tim M

I discovered last week that the uni has an inkjet printer that prints up to A0 size. I intend to abuse my status as a student and use it to print some massive boaty posters for my house.
My question is, how big can i go before they look rubbish? Most of my photos are 2mp, so what does that translate to in actual paper size? Im assuming if I print a 2mp photo in an A0 sized piece of paper it'll come out very pixalated....
Thanks!

Are your photos 2mp or do you mean each file is 2mb in size???

[Tim M]

My photos are 2 magapixels.

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by Tim M

My photos are 2 magapixels.

then you'll need to get a new camera if you want to print big pics. "normal" prints (e.g. 6x4)will probably be OK but even at A4 sort of size you are likely to be looking a bit crap.

[Andy Moore]

Originally Posted by Tim M

I intend to abuse my status as a student and use it to print some massive boaty posters for my house.

Thinking about it, your average poster isn't what one would call 'hi res'. Its big and colourful and hides a damp patch. So you should be able to go larger than for handheld viewing as you will be sticking 'em on a wall.

Try and see how big you can resonably go...

[codprawn]

A lot depends on the camera - a lot of people are conned by the whole megapixel thing - some companies are pushing their chips to give higher megapixels but they create more noise.

I used to have a fuji finepix 2mp camera - it was brilliant and it had a 6x optical zoom lens. Sold it to a mate of mine and it still gives better results than many 5mp cameras. He has printed A4 no probs so the best thing is give it a go. A lot of posters etc you buy aren't that great close up anyway!!!

[Mark Halliday]

Tim
I have a 42" (show off) HP 800 ink jet printer and I have printed a 2Mb .jpg photo at A1 without too much pixilating.
What is most important is the paper you use. Heavy coated paper will give average results, which are fine if not looked at too closely.
Hi Gloss photo paper is the dogs bits, but v £££££ at around £120.00 for a 30m roll.
You will need to set the printer to highest quality "for images" setting. The printer "bleeds" the pixels to give a less blocky print.

Also worth remembering is that most ink jet inks are not UV stable so don't expect your picture to last more than 3 years indoors, out of direct sunlight.

{Edit}
What sort of files are your pics? There is a lot more info in a 2Mb .jpg than a 2Mb .bmp. Also the amount of compression will affect the output.

[Andy Moore]

If one used an image editing programme to apply a minor blur, would that help 'hide' the pixelating?