Mike 1017 Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Does an ALPS printer have the ability to clean up and magnify an object? Example. I have an old picture that was taken outside of my house during Christmas 1964. The picture is shot through the front window and you can see our Christmas Tree. I can see the ornaments and the tinsel on the tree. I still can make out lettering on the ornaments. But not sharpe enough to read them. Example. I can see the numbers and letters on a license plate, but I cannot read them. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 An ALPS printer wont help you with that (you could print a larger version of the same image, as you could with any printer, but it wont clean it up or add any quality to what you're printing) - but it could likely be enhanced with Photoshop or similar. A good (that is, as high resolution as possible) scan of the photograph would be a good starting point, and then the image can be worked with from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 alps printer does not do anything more than print. What you need is a graphics program.....but even that will not create clear image from a fuzzy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcarfan27 Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 39 minutes ago, CabDriver said: A good (that is, as high resolution as possible) scan of the photograph would be a good starting point, and then the image can be worked with from there Even a good scanner is limited by the quality of the original photo. If there is weak detail on the pic, there will be no improvement in scanning and enlarging it. In other words, if the ornaments are illegible on the old photos, they won't be any better by digitally converting them. Sorry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Actually, what we're looking for here is 'upscaling', which is absolutely a thing: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom/super-resolution.html Hard to say for sure without seeing the actual image(s) in question, but it IS somewhat possible to make a fuzzy image crisper, and often even SHARP and restore missing detail, which would maybe be enough to achieve what is being asked for here... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 1017 Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 Thanks Guys for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted November 16, 2022 Share Posted November 16, 2022 (edited) No, there is this badly conceived notion that one can just scan a decal sheet and start cranking out reproductions. This can be done using an inkjet or laser printer to some extent, but the decal quality is limited and only as good as the original image. The decals using this method are transparent so unless you are putting them on white, the underlying color will come through altering the decals. It is also not possible to resize more than a tiny amount without lowering the quality of the image. ALPS printers are desirable not because of their having greater resolution. The design of ALPS printers is rather antiquated and most modern ink jets and laser jet printers have better resolution. ALPS are desirable primarily because they have the ability to print opaque colors, specifically white, but also metallics. Unlike ink jet and laser jet that print in one pass, ALPS print in multiple layers. This requires that an image be broken down into layers which can not be done with just any drawing program. You can not just scan and print with an ALPS, as a jpeg image will not work well. You have to use a vector based drawing program like Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, or GIMP (a free, open source drawing program). There are few short cuts so it can take hours to do even simple designs, but the upside is vector based programs are not pixel based so they can be easily rescaled with no loss of quality. Making quality decals is far more labor intensive than most people grasp. Drawing the image is just the start, they also have to be sized and then adjusted to account for the shape of the object they are being applied to. Decals for a Ford Crown Vic will not necessarily work for a Chevrolet Caprice or Dodge Charger. Edit, sorry I went way off on a tangent that is really unrelated to your question. Edited November 16, 2022 by Aaronw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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