welcome…try this
g ballard "Resolution for inkjet prints?" 6/13/04 5:16pm </cgi-bin/webx?14/0>
Actually, in particular, see Jeff Schewe’s and Bruce Fraser’s posts on that thread.
I’ll risk putting in an extra 2¢ at the risk of starting a flame war…
If your ultimate goal is 11×14 press images you won’t need 1200, but definitely don’t go down to 300 at 8×10! You’ll need enough of the original data for 300 dpi at 11×14. You can’t put it back into the document later. Once you’ve downsampled the data is gone.
1200 dpi should give you enough data to get high quality prints from press at 32×40 inches. If you think you may want to print at that size some day, keep the full 1200 ppi in your files, even if it’s a pain for now. If you want to downsample for faster printing at this stage, make a copy of the finished file at the lower resolution. Don’t get rid of your high resolution version.
Regarding: "Epson Inkjet as 8 by 10s at 1200 dpi, So I have concluded that the images in Photoshop should probably also be 8 by 10 and 1200 dpi."
DPI does not equal PPI. Until your post is restated in correct terminology it will not make sense, and responses are likely to be skewed by misinterpretation. E.g. an Epson SP 2200 prints at 2880 x 1440 dpi resolution, but the maximum effective ppi file to print from is generally considered to be in the range of 360 ppi. I suggest that you restate the question.
That said, in general [a] do not upsample from your scanner, and [b] do not downsample either if you can help it.
Thanks for all the info.
Both the scanner menu and photoshop tell me i am at 1200 dpi so that’s why i said it in my own post.
The printer i am using right now is actually the low-end, Epson multi-function CX5400 that came free with my G5. The ink is archival quality which is essential to my work. The prints that come out of the Epson look far better than they did when i started out by using an HP photo printer. Also, the HP prints stuck together when placed in a pile.
I have the printer set up, not by numbers, but by the highest quality photo settings for premium plus photo paper. afrter experimenting with kodak and fuji paper, i am using the fuji paper.
So I guess I’m not sure if knowing when to set ppi versus setting dpi is really relevant to my current situation.
Many thanks to the advice given by johnf. Yes, maybe i will eventually go up to 32 X 40, so i’ll just keep the huge files i have at 1200 dpi until i really know what the galleries want. That was the precise reason I chose to go as high with resolution as i could at the start of this process.
Regarding: "Both the scanner menu and photoshop tell me i am at 1200 dpi"
Admittedly the ppi/dpi thing can be confusing, mostly because many otherwise competent folks often misuse the terminology, probably because most of the time the misstatements don’t matter. E.g. if I tell someone to set their Epson printer at 2880 ppi, they will go to the print settings and select 2880, not noticing that it is 2880 dpi, not ppi, so no harm done.
However, your query gets to issues that do involve the differences between ppi and dpi.
Your files are not 1200 dpi; once digitized, images are in pixels per unit of length: pixels per inch or pixels per cm. I don’t know what your scanner says, but PS does _not_ tell you dpi (go to Image Menu/Image Size). I suggest that you RTM regarding ppi vs. dpi and perhaps search for the threads that discuss dpi and ppi.
If I may add my 2 cents on the "1200" ppi issues.
Pixel professionals think in pixel dimensions (how many pixels tall by wide). This tells them the size of the file.
a 1000×1000 ppi image could be "low" rez, 72 ppi, 14-inch file — the same file could be — a 1000×1000 ppi "high" rez, 1200 ppi, 1-inch file
They are both equal in the eyes of the professional (and converting from one doucment size to the other, in this example, loses no information because the actual pixel dimensions have not changed)…
The point of my linked thread discussed the recommended maximum resolution one should send to printers. Epson printers was recommended not to exceed 360 ppi (in most cases).
One general rule is to scan at the optical resolution of your scanner. I scan my Epson 2450 at 2400 ppi (and target pixel dimensions)…then I change the file document resolution to suit my target ppi and file document dimensions.
You may want to get a copy of "Real World Scanning" by David Blatner.
and photoshop tell me i am at 1200 dpi
Photoshop deos not have the term dpi in any dialog.
If you are refering to the image size box, that’s resolution at ppi (pixels per inch or centimeter depending on your selection in the resolution pop up menu).
If you want to experiment with different resolution outputs, then alwasy make a duplicate of the original and utilize the duplicate for your experiments and even your actual output.
Always duplicate the original so if all goes bad you always have the original.
I also use the CX54000. I like it for several reasons, the multifunction and its desk real estate savings, the resolution, and the print quality. I don’t particularly like the software because it tries to be too user friendly. I want to be able to control every aspect as i used to be able to do with my old Umax.
Anyway, the dpi of the printer function is used to produce the Epson proprietary stochastic screen function, i e 2880 x 1440 produces a cell of dots that produce the apparent resolution of the print which will be some where around 100 or more lpi.
If you are going to use inkjets for art prints, you need to thoroughly understand them, and the meanings of the spi, ppi, dpi, and lpi terminology.
I work in a prepress dept. and 1200 dpi is way over kill! 300 pdi (at full print size) is plenty, but 450 dpi is better and still a workable size. For fine art prints, find a printer that prints on archival rag paper, there’s a place in Cleveland called Repros Inc. that does this.
dpi or correctly ppi is determined by output screen lpi…there is no one perfect res. 300 dpi is bandied about because 150 lpi is a common mid ground in repro, and if its a bit low then the loss in quality is barely imperceptable.
That said, some outputs dont have screens, some have extremely high screens, and some types of effects can negate screens almost but still be damaged by low resolution. If you have small areas of extremely high contrast (say on a duotone art print) you may find a higher res is required bacause you may be closer on the scale to printing high res "line art" than "contone".
The softer (lower contrast and range) the image, the lower the res you can use, the higher, go high.
I would suggest a run of prints, ranging from 200dpi up to the upper limit of the output of a range of images so you can compare.
