Rangefinder Magazine
November 2004

Fred Miranda’s SI Pro v1.1 by Michelle Perkins

It’s a simple reality of digital imaging: Sometimes you just don’t have all the pixels you need. This is frequently the case when printing large images, but it’s also a factor with more spontaneous photographic styles where looser compositions mean that images may need to be cropped (sometimes significantly) to present them most effectively. This can leave you with a deficit of data—and in need of image-enlargement software.

Both Mac and PC versions of SI Pro can be purchased at www.fredmiranda.com/.	Going to File > Automate > SI Pro opens an interactive dialog box with intuitive settings.

Genuine Fractals (www.lizardtech.com) is the granddaddy of image-enlargement software and the one that photographers are probably most familiar with. Using some clever math, it provides results that are usually quite satisfactory. There are, however, some significant drawbacks. First, when it comes to workflow, using Genuine Fractals is just plain awkward. The software requires you to open your image in Photoshop, then save it in a proprietary file format. Reopening the formatted file triggers a dialog box in which you set the specs for the enlargement of the image. Then you wait—and you may wait quite a while. If you have a lot of images, you have to handle each one individually, since Genuine Fractals doesn’t fully support batch processing. If you want to work with 16-bit files, you’re just plain out of luck. Finally, there’s the cost—a whopping $237 for the top-of-the-line version (more economical versions are available, but with limited functionality).

In the years since Genuine Fractals was introduced, several other products have also entered the marketplace. From Extensis (www.extensis.com), pxl SmartScale retails for $199 and permits images to be upscaled to 1600 percent of the original size. PhotoZoom ($49) and PhotoZoom Pro ($129), from Shortcut (www.trulyphotomagic.com), employ a proprietary scaling strategy called S-Spline technology to evaluate the sharpness and evenness of the original image and enlarge the image based on this data.

One of the newer entries, introduced in late 2003, is from photographer Fred Miranda. Miranda designed his SI Pro v1.1 image-enlargement plug-in to provide top results while addressing the shortcomings of other programs. Amazingly it does so for only $19.90! But don’t let the bargain price fool you—this is a powerful, time-saving plug-in that provides terrific results.

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SI Pro employs a strategy called “stair interpolation” (the “SI” in the product name). Stair interpolation maximizes the functionality of Photoshop’s bicubic interpolation algorithm by applying it in a sequence of small, progressive steps. As most Photoshop users know, using bicubic interpolation in big doses tends to make an image softer; applying it in small steps, however, greatly diminishes this effect. Additionally, SI Pro allows you add sharpening to compensate.

The SI Pro plug-in is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh systems (including OS X) and can be used with Adobe Photoshop 5.5, 6.0, 7.0, and CS, as well as with Photoshop Elements 1.0 and 2.0. Once the software is purchased via Miranda’s web site (www.fredmiranda.com), you receive an automated email containing a password and link for direct download.

Installing the software is easy. First, quit Photoshop if you have it open. Then, on a Macintosh, simply drag the plug-in file (“SI Pro”) into the Automate folder (in Photoshop CS, this is located on your hard drive within the Photoshop application folder at Plug-Ins > Adobe Photoshop Only > Automate). On the Windows platform, double-click on the “SI Pro Installer.exe” file and follow the instructions in the SI Pro Installer Setup windows as they appear.

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Using the plug-in couldn’t be easier. In Photoshop, SI Pro supports 8- and 16-bit images and can be used in all available color modes, so it’s available for every image—even ones with layers. After opening the image you want to enlarge, simply go to File > Automate > SI Pro. The dialog box shown below will appear. (Note: This screen shot was created in Photoshop CS running on Macintosh OS 10.2, but the functions are identical when using the software on the Windows platform.)

At the left side of the window is the original size of your image, including the pixel dimensions (original width by original height), document size and resolution. There is also a drop-down box that allows you to switch the units of measurement from English to metric.

On the right-hand side of the dialog box, you enter your specifications. You can choose to enlarge by percentage, paper size or image size. When enlarging by percentage, you simply enter a value greater than 100 percent. If you know the final dimensions at which you plan to use your image, you can set them in the “Size for Paper” field. SI Pro will automatically maintain the aspect ratio of the original image, so once you enter one dimension, the other setting will appear. You can also set a margin to adjust the final image size for printers that don’t feature edge-to-edge printing. If you know the final pixel size you need, you can enter it in the Set Image Size field (again, the aspect ratio will be maintained automatically). It should be noted that SI Pro v1.1 can be used only for enlarging images. Miranda offers a different product called Web Presenter (or WP) Pro for downsizing images. This also sells for $19.90 and has the same compatibility as SI Pro.

The final step in using SI Pro is the selection of sharpening and intensity options. The default setting is No Sharpening, but you can also add specially formulated sharpening to your images during the interpolation process. There are three built-in stair interpolation intensity options. The Normal option is the default setting and is designed to run quickly while providing excellent interpolation results. The Coarse setting provides the fastest performance and interpolation that is still very good. The Fine setting provides the best interpolation, but at a slightly slower speed. The user’s guide for SI Pro recommends against using the Fine setting with any sharpening and cautions against using it at all on slower computer systems.

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Unlike Genuine Fractals and some other image-enlargement plug-ins, SI Pro can be used in actions and batch processes. This is an important feature if you regularly need to upscale images to the same set of standard print sizes and resolutions.

Ultimately, no image-enlargement software provides a replacement for legitimate image resolution. Still, SI Pro offers a great solution for those occasions when you need to significantly crop or enlarge an image. For situations where you are shooting images you know you will need to enlarge, you can improve your results by turning off any in-camera sharpening (since upscaling will also enlarge any artifacts) and applying any needed sharpening in Photoshop after enlargement.

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Could you achieve the same results by manually applying a sequence of small enlarging steps in Photoshop? Sure—a lot of photographers do. But why bother? SI Pro streamlines the process so effectively and comprehensively that you’ll probably find it’s the best $20 you ever spent.

Michelle Perkins is a professional writer, designer, and image retoucher. She has written for PC Photo magazine, and is the author of Beginner’s Guide to Adobe Photoshop and Traditional Photographic Techniques with Adobe Photoshop (both from Amherst Media).

Captions:

For the following sequence of images, this beautiful full-length portrait (10x10 inches at 300dpi) was dramatically cropped, keeping just the faces—an area of just 1.4x1.4 inches at 300dpi. Different image-enlargement programs were used for the sake of comparison.
1. Original wedding image taken by Rick Ferro
2. Cropped 1.4x1.4-inch image
3. Photoshop bicubic
4. Photoshop bicubic sharper
5. Genuine Fractals

Using SI Pro, the same image was enlarged to the same specifications as in the sequence on page 26. With No Sharpening selected, the image was upscaled using the Coarse, Normal and Fine settings. For the final image in this sequence, the Normal setting with High Sharpening was employed (compare this with the previous image also done at the Normal setting but with no sharpening).
6. SI Pro Coarse—no sharpening.
7. SI Pro Normal—no sharpening.
8. SI Pro Fine—no sharpening.
9. SI Pro Normal—high sharpening.