When talking in megabytes, concerning the size of an image, a file size can be 2.1 megabytes while the image size is 25 megabytes. When looking in a folder that has a list of images in it, the images may have a notation next to them as to how much room it is taking up on your hard drive, i.e. 2.1 megabytes. That is the file size. After opening a 2.1 megabyte image, it is then taking up a certain amount of memory (RAM), i.e. 25 megabytes. Some programs show this figure in the status bar at the bottom of the program window.

The language our staff often uses to differentiate between these two "sizes" is "file size" (hard drive space occupied) and "uncompressed image size" or "expanded image size" (RAM occupied while image is opened in a photo program).

That is the best we can explain it. We are still learning, ourselves.

Interpolation is an artificial means of increasing the dimensions of a digital picture. Send us photos in their original size. Do not interpolate to increase picture size.

A photo taken/scanned at 1600x1200 pixels and then artificially enlarged to 2272x1704 is never going to achieve the quality of a photo taken/scanned at 2272x1704.