Model to Print

[detbear]

Hey all.

I have a design that needs to be printed onto paper. It is a pop up book.

But I have never actually printed a template out from A:M.

I have an idea as to how to approach it. But I didn't want to waste any time on a method that doesn't

get the desired results.

Main thing is that I need to print the same physical dimensions as exists on the model template.

So if something on the model is say.....3.5 inches on the model, it needs to be 3.5 inches on the physical paper

print out.

Has anyone tackled a template printout from A:M??

 

[robcat2075]

The short answer will be to take the render from A:M into a photo app that can set the document's "pixels per inch" value such that the number of pixels in your image that represented one inch are now thought by the Photo app to be an inch's worth of space when you go to print.

In Photoshop the dialog looks like this. Notice that "Resample Image" is OFF. We do not want this operation to change any pixels.

 

A:M can produce a render with a known number of pixels per centimeter of model space by shooting the object in a chor with a camera set to "orthogonal"

It turns out that an orthogonal camera set to ANY resolution where width and height are equal and has "Focal length" set to 100 will have a field of view that is 200 cm by 200 cm

 

I have not tested this but I believe that means the width in cm of the field of view will equal 200 * (100/focal length)

 

[detbear]

Thanks RC. I will investigate this.

[robcat2075]

Kevin asks...
 

Quote

 

 

 

 

 

That chart presumes a standard of 300 dpi. But modern printers often do more... or less.  The original Mac printer did 72 dpi? Laser printers do 1200 dpi and yet print 300dpi documents appropriately, without shrinking them to 1/4 their intended size.

That is why the document you are printing needs to contain its own dpi ( or ppi) data so the printer driver can interpolate your pixels to the printer's dots.

 

Quote

 

According to that chart, 8.5 x 11 is equal to 2550 x 3300 pixels.

So how could this be rendered in A:M with Ortho. camera setting?

Could I set the camera like below I wonder. An Orthog. Camera at 100 focal length

and then set to 2550 x 3300?? 

 

 

The orthogonal camera set to "focal length" of 100 always sees a width of 200 cm (100cm on each side of the center) regardless of the  "resolution" that is set.

2550 pixels spread across 200 cm is only 12.75 per cm or 32.385 pixels per inch.

More to come...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[detbear]

So For instance, I have a small HP 2700 printer. 

My print doesn't have to be the most pristine......I just need it to print it

physically at the same width/ height as the models dimensions.

I found this about my HP 2700......

[detbear]

Not sure how 4800 x 1200 or less would attempt it.

[robcat2075]

What program are you printing from?

The DPI of your printer doesn't matter.

What matters is how many DPI your document believes itself to have.

 

Here are two JPGs printed out.

Both are 100 pixels wide but they print out at different sizes because they have different DPI information as part of the data stored in their JPG file format.

And I don't even know what the DPI of the printer is.
 

[robcat2075]

To make an orthogonal camera that sees a 8.5 inch wide view we can use this equation

width in cm = 200 * (100/focal length) 

or  width = 20,000/focal length

Algebra leads us to this equation... focal length = 20,000/width

 

convert inches...  8.5" * 2.54 = 21.59cm

We want a view width of 21.59 cm

20,000/21.59 = 926.35

inputting a focal length of 926.35 into the orthogonal camera creates this view which does appear to be 8.5 inches wide

 

You can put any pixel resolution into the camera and it will not change the width of the view.. The focal length is what changes the width.

If you put in a 2550 pixels that will render the 8.5" wide view with 2550 pixels.

However... A:M tags all renders with a DPI of 72. You will need to take the A:M render into a photo app that can alter the document's DPI setting as shown above and set it to 300