Product overview: onOne Software's Genuine Fractals 6 is included with their Plug-In Suite 5, or can be purchased on its own as a separate plug-in. From the description on the box: "Genuine Fractals is the industry standard for image resizing. Renowned across the photographic and printing industries for its ability to increase image size well over 1000% without the loss of sharpness or detail, Genuine Fractals is the choice of professionals." Plugs 'N Pixels takes a hands-on look at Genuine Fractals and reports the results below.
		Here's a problem you'll run into often: You have a lo-res image and need to fill a large format layout. Or, to make an analogy, you have a meatball and need to make a meat loaf out of it! In digital imaging this process is known as interpolation (a "hamburger helper"-like process of adding pixels in between existing pixels to artificially beef up the results), or to "up-res". Chances are your image editor (whether it be Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc.) has an internal means of upsizing a small image to a larger size. Depending on your needs, these processes will be acceptable. But for demanding professional situations you're better off using a product dedicated specifically to this task. That's where onOne's Genuine Fractals 6 comes in. Going back to its original development in the mid-1990s, Genuine Fractals has been known throughout the imaging community for its ability to acceptibly salvage otherwise severely undersized images. Let's take a look at how you use Genuine Fractals and what it does to your images. It's a little tricky to show this process onscreen where images are usually downsized before use; the best results tend to be achieved in real world print-based workflows. But you'll still get some idea of the power behind this plug-in. First, you'll want to perform any needed tonal and creative effects adjustments on your image. If your original is layered, that is not a problem, as image, type and adjustment layers are handled as is. My sample image (shown full frame, above right) is of a police helicopter (also known as a "ghetto bird") circling the hood. I shot this at the maximum reach of a 12x zoom and it still wasn't enough to grab a tight image of the chopper – a perfect example of why we need products like Genuine Fractals. In Photoshop I accessed Genuine Fractals from the onOne menu (you can also use the onOne Extension palette via the Window menu) and entered the desired dimensions of the final image. (Note: Depending on your printer brand, you may wish to work with a final resolution value between 240 and 300ppi.) I chose an extreme blowup of 30x40 at 300ppi (a 6521% increase!) to illustrate how Genuine Fractals cleans up a pixelized mess. Compare the 100% detail crop at right with the screenshot above and you'll see the smooth results. If you're not trying to push the envelope as I was, just access the Document Size Presets, choose your desired realistic image size (between 4x5 and 40x60 inches), then use the resulting composition guides to crop your image. That's pretty much it! You can follow up with adding texture and grain as well as sharpening to restore realism and a natural look to your processed image (see these and other settings in the screenshot at right). So how does Genuine Fractals work its magic? Most image editors offer standard Bicubic Interpolation for upsizing images, which is a means of averaging neighboring pixels and choosing a filler pixel color based on these values. This method is fast but only looks at pixels, not the edges of a subject. The result is a softening of the overall image. Genuine Fractals takes a different approach, using patented algorithms that search for repeating patterns in the image (known as "fractals") and scales these patterns to larger sizes than otherwise practical using traditional methods. What's New in Genuine Fractals 6 Gallery Wrap feature By adding a small margin built from a reflected or stretched portion of the edge of your image, this feature prevents loss of the main image area when mounting a canvas print on a wooden frame. (Requires Photoshop) Tiling feature Is your printer too small to output the large wall-sized art you have in mind? Genuine Fractals can prepare your enlarged image for tiled printing by dividing it into smaller pieces to fit on the paper size and with the overlap setting you specify. Batch Processing Improved in version 6, the batch processing engine can handle a folder full of different-sized images, resizing them to a consistent size with full control over the size, resolution, file formats, file names and saving locations, color space and watermarks. (Requires Photoshop) Use as a plug-in from within Aperture and Lightroom (Lightroom requires Photoshop) Texture presets Makes adding texture to the results easy The onOne Extension palette (accessible from within Photoshop via the Window menu) is also shown at lower right and is a great way to speed up the process. Genuine Fractals is supported in Mac OS-X 10.5 or 6 (on G5 or Intel hardware), and Windows XP through 7 (on Pentium 4 or better hardware). onOne's various software tools are designed and priced for more serious users, as opposed to those just toying with family photo effects at home. Separate from the Suite, Genuine Fractals is priced at $159.95. A 15% discount is available on either edition as well as the entire Suite or any other onOne product (use coupon code "PANDP"). The Suite is the best deal at $599.95 for six high-end plug-ins.•
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