Tue Sep 23, 2003 4:27 pm
Your answer depends on a couple of issues.
First, what does 'reasonable quality' mean to you? For some people it means that the image holds up when looking at it from a distance of two inches while wearing a jeweler's loupe. For others it means that the picture is pleasing at normal viewing distances.
Second, how much important detail is there in the image? Images, such as portraits, can be blown up much larger than images such as groups shots where one would like to see facial details.
Many people consider 150 dpi to be about the lower limit of acceptability for a printed image. At that pixel/dot density you could make some 5"x7" prints. Smaller would be better.
A lot is going to depend on what sort of software the printer uses to up-size your files.
Prints are cheap (at least here in the US). Take in a couple of samples and see what you think. If you can see 'pixels' - little squares - your printer doesn't have a clue.
Further, (and you probably now realize this) - always shoot full rez with your camera. Always save an untouched version of the image right out of the camera. If you had done that you would now be thinking about printing 3 meg images, not .78 meg images.
And, with time, software and your skills will improve. It's always nice to be able to go back to square one and start over.