Digital Scrapbooking GiRLs

Learning to Adjust Document Size in Photoshop

This tutorial was created when I came across a Shutterfly-ready quick page freebie. In the Shutterfly world, a “12×12″ layout, is actually printed at 11.95″ inches at 300 dpi, or 3585 pixels. You could easily take the quick page and have it printed at your usual digital printer, and IF they are dilligent, chances are, they will output your file at 12×12″. However; that is not always the case, so to avoid any problems, it’s always best to prepare your files to print at 100%.

Here is how to adjust document size in Photoshop (CS3).

• Open your document in Photoshop, and save it under a unique project name.
• Go to Image > Image Size

• An Image Size window will pop up, and in it you will see the pixel dimensions, and document size. See how in this example, the pixel dimensions are 3585 pixels, and the document is sized to 11.95 x 11.95 inches at 300 dpi.

• Uncheck the “Resample Image” box

The Image Size dialogue box should now look like this, with the “Resample Image” unchecked, and all three variables in the “Document Size” area linked.

• Change the document dimensions — width or height variable — to 12″. You will see that the other dimension has adjusted accordingly, and the “resolution” has dropped to 298.75.

• Click the [OK] button.

That’s all there is to it. Now when your document is printed at 100%, it will be printed at 12.0 x 12.0 inches. Don’t worry, the slightly lower resolution is still fine.