Help with specifics of a big format picture and printing?

You do not state what size you want the print to be. The 72 PPI number is just the default number your camera is outputting with the file, it really does not mean anything.

I did some checking in Photoshop with your size specs. Even if the photo is changed to 300 PPI, this results in a print 34 in. wide by 11 in. high. At 240, the size becomes 42 in. wide by 13 in. high. This is with no resampling done, so image quality is not affected at all.

So just how big do you want to print? With your base pixel dimensions of 10184 x 3240 you should be able to get a print made practically any size you want with excellent quality. Just be sure you are using a quality printing service. Use a pro photo lab. Mpix is one of my favorites, though they are rather limited on pano print sizes.

steve

ADD: 10 ft x 3 ft will put you at 84PPI without upresing, and that could create some quality problems. However, practically any decent res up program and RIPS software as used by a pro lab can typically increase a photo at least 2 to 3 times over and still maintain excellent quality. A 3 times res up will put you at 240 PPI at your 10 ft print size, which should be more than good enough. Even only up sizing the photo twice will give you over 160 PPI, and at a 10 ft print size, that should be all you need. So bottom line, I still think you should have no problem getting a quality print at your chosen size.

The number 72 means nothing here, it is not any actual number or setting that makes a bit of difference.

One thing nobody remembers is viewing distance. Ever seen a highway billboard? You think they are printed at 300 DPI? Depending on the image, it's more like 1 DPI. And yet you see the image properly, because you are far enough away that you don't see the individual dots.

The same with your wall size mural. If you expect people to walk right up and put their noses against the print, then you need all the resolution you can get. If you expect them to stand back and look at the pic as a whole, you don't need nearly as many dots.

Modern inkjet printers don't use fixed size dots, and you are not limited to a mere 300 dots per inch. Laser printers use a fixed dot size, so there is a hard limit with them.

Talk to your printer. Ask them the best way to prepare your image for printing on their equipment. Ask them where you can see examples of similar work to yours, and how that was prepared.

I think you will find that even printed at 72 dpi, your image will be just fine.