What is your go-to method for sharpening for print?

[CarolineJensen]

I tend to not sharpen for print, which may be a horribly bad habit! What is your workflow for print? 

[tonygale]

I feel like shooting with a1 and a7RIV, with the Sony lenses I don't need to sharpen for printing most of the time. When I do sharpen I usually use the high pass filter with soft light or overly as a layer

[CarolineJensen]

I feel like shooting with a1 and a7RIV, with the Sony lenses I don't need to sharpen for printing most of the time. When I do sharpen I usually use the high pass filter with soft light or overly as a layer

That is kind of why I ask. I feel I haven't needed it with how sharp the files are out of camera! 

[MattK]

Hey Caroline! 🙂 

If I’m printing I usually bring the photo in to Photoshop and just apply another round of Unsharp Mask or Smart Sharpen (both are pretty close) to the photo so it visibly looks over sharpened on screen. That usually products a really great looking print, but not something I’d share online, because it usually has a few halos and sharpening artifacts (that will get smoothed out in the print). But you and Tony are right. The photos are so sharp these days that they don’t require the sharpening we used to need. If it’s sharp coming out of the camera, you could do nothing and the print would still look great. And if it’s not sharp coming out of the camera, I don’t think any sharpening tool will make it look sharp (and realistic). 

[monicasigmon]

We don’t sharpen our images and we print EVERYTHING!  And oftentimes, really LARGE! The Sony files always look great.

[pm-r]

Like Tony, I don't often add sharpen to my images, but when I do, I'm all in with the Topaz products for sharpen, de-noise, and AI.  Just go easy, especially at first.  A tiny bit of sharpen is cool but adding too much can bring the wicked jaggies into play.

[pm-r]

I was just thinking about your question some more, and I realized that converting a file for print requires more attention on the color gamut side of things than sharpen.  Even though this wasn't your question, even if you shoot RAW or jpeg like me, you have to move the color gamut into the smallest version of sRGB in order to get the best results when printing.  This is the case for real photographic light sensitive paper or ink jet output.  Many people like to use the larger Adobe RGB setting during capture (if you are shooting jpegs like me, this is an option) but then you have to convert to sRGB prior to hitting print.  So you have to pay close attention to your color settings before you output to make certain that you are on sRGB.

[CarolineJensen]

We don’t sharpen our images and we print EVERYTHING!  And oftentimes, really LARGE! The Sony files always look great.

That is so awesome! 

[CarolineJensen]

Like Tony, I don't often add sharpen to my images, but when I do, I'm all in with the Topaz products for sharpen, de-noise, and AI.  Just go easy, especially at first.  A tiny bit of sharpen is cool but adding too much can bring the wicked jaggies into play.

I like Topaz as well! 

[CarolineJensen]

I was just thinking about your question some more, and I realized that converting a file for print requires more attention on the color gamut side of things than sharpen.  Even though this wasn't your question, even if you shoot RAW or jpeg like me, you have to move the color gamut into the smallest version of sRGB in order to get the best results when printing.  This is the case for real photographic light sensitive paper or ink jet output.  Many people like to use the larger Adobe RGB setting during capture (if you are shooting jpegs like me, this is an option) but then you have to convert to sRGB prior to hitting print.  So you have to pay close attention to your color settings before you output to make certain that you are on sRGB.

Oh yes! Thank you for this! 

[DonSmith]

Once I size the print, I visually check it so it is not over-sharpened. The Sony a1 files are so sharp that oftentimes I leave well enough alone. If not, I use Topaz Sharpener AI on a separate layer in PS and mask out anything that should be soft like water and skies.

[CarolineJensen]

Once I size the print, I visually check it so it is not over-sharpened. The Sony a1 files are so sharp that oftentimes I leave well enough alone. If not, I use Topaz Sharpener AI on a separate layer in PS and mask out anything that should be soft like water and skies.

That is a good point. I have found that any sharpening can be too much sometimes on some areas! 

[MattK]

We don’t sharpen our images and we print EVERYTHING!  And oftentimes, really LARGE! The Sony files always look great.

Honestly, the need for print sharpening is less and less these days. Images are so sharp right out of the camera there is little need. I honestly don't sharpen my photos in most cases. I shoot a lot of wildlife, and run Topaz noise reduction on them, which cleans up the noise and does a nice job of adding a little sharpening after too. Glad to see I'm not alone. But what's funny is that sharpening is ALL anyone asks me about. I've always thought if it's sharp out of the camera it will always look sharp. And if it's not sharp out of the camera, there's nothing you can do to make it look sharp! 🙂

[-AJB-]

Maybe its because I still shoot with my nex-6, but I believe all images require some sharpening whether its for screen or print. If any of your images are being printed traditional lithography, sharpening your images appropriately, will make your images pop off the press sheet. Here’s a helpful tip for sharpening in Lightroom: hold down the “option” key (mac) while adjusting the different sharpening sliders in the menu. This will change your image to B&W to show you exactly where the effect is affecting the image. My camera is old, lol, so noise reduction is also kind of critical. 

[MauroLopez]

I sharper just a bit for prints and less for web. I try not to "sharpen" so much with contrast/clarity, I try to keep my photo light and airy as possible with natural details.

[pm-r]

Topaz, period.

[DonSmith]

The latest Sony cameras produce such a sharp file that I find myself sharpening less and less. When I do need to sharpen, I use Topaz Sharpener AI