Print to scan to print => loss of Quality?

I am a novice in manipulating images.I have a general question.

If I scan a 10x13 image using normal home scanner and then take a
smaller say 8x10 print out from a digital lab then is there any loss
in quality?

Basically, is there any loss in quality if I scan and get it printed.
How does this vary with changing the size of picture.. from higher to
smaller.. or if i retain the same size.

I have some big portraits got from the studio that I want to get in
smaller sizes and am wondering the cheapest solution for them. Anybody
has any experience?

Thanks,

 

If I scan a 10x13 image using normal home scanner and then take a

If you are using a consumer-grade flatbed, scanner, yes. (If you are using a
high-end scanner, the answer is still "yes," but the scanner will capture a lot
more information from the print, so it's unlikely to be an issue.)

No matter how you reproduce the image, there is likely to be some loss of
quality. A professional custom photo shop will probably make an internegative
of the print, then print additional photographs from the interneg, which will
usually give excellent results.

What do you need the duplicates for? How critical is the quality? If you're not
extremely critical, a scan and print should be fine.

 

"Mukesh Chugh" asked:
"...
I have some big portraits got from the studio that I want to
get in
smaller sizes and am wondering the cheapest solution for
them.
...."

If you are actually concerned with getting a high quality
reproduction, order them from "the studio" and pay their
price. Anything *you* do with re-photographing them or
scanning them will have noticeable quality degradation ...
unless you actually have professional level equipment and
techniques.

"Mukesh Chugh" also asked:
"...
If I scan a 10x13 image using normal home scanner
...."

I don't know of *any* "normal home scanner" that will scan
an image that large.

 

Yes, any generation, especially on a home scanner, will produce poor
results from the original. Drum scanning would do it, but if you could
afford that, you would'nt be trying to dupe the original, would you?

You need to go read the contract you agreed to when the photographer
took the original shots, I believe you will find what you're trying to
do violates the photographer's copyright, and most local labs will
refuse to shoot another's work unless you have a signed release they can
verify. And they *do* watch each other's back - especially if the studio
put a watermark or logo on the shot, like a lot of them do. There's a
reason they do that, and you just discovered why.

Unless, of course, you negotiated with the photographer for the
negatives...but if you had those, the lab could print you any old size,
right?

Don't rip off the photographer.

To get a scan that would print decently from a lab, you'd need to drum
scan it, or get an interneg shot. A drum scan that size, at 300 dpi,
will probably run you a couple hundred bucks at a decent shop. How much
are smaller reprints from the photographer? Matching a photograph
digitally will cost you more than just buying smaller prints of the
original - and it's ethically wrong in your circumstances.

Yes, buy smaller sizes from the studio that shot them, don't violate the
original photographer's copyrights. To me, as a professional
designer/illustrator that works with pro photographers, what you're
proposing is the same as scanning money and printing it, or making fake
IDs. The only way I'd be comfortable with you doing this is if the
photographer is dead, or is allowing you to do it.

What do you do for a living? How would you feel if someone was ripping
you off for your hard work?