Art Media

The Rock of Gibralter.

Just throw a picture of a Mountie or a Marine in there.

Atlas, perhaps? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_(mythology))

there is alot but I thik

shield or a huge bodyGard

Resolution is tied directly to the quality appearance of your image. Resolution is the measurement of dots per squares inch (dpi). There is a lot to process when covering this topic. This article will be for beginners and novice.

For general commercial printing, there are two common resolution requirements. 300 dpi for color and grayscale images and 1,000 dpi for black and white bitmap (mode) images. While many scanners, cameras and programs support higher resolutions and you would think the higher the resolution the better image quality, the science of printing is driven by rules of Lines Per Inch (lpi) and how technology handles processing of files.

Here's where it gets a bit sticky to understand. I'll tried to explain it has best I can while giving you some techno info.

Color and Grayscale Images.

The 300dpi resolution rule applies to color and grayscale images only.

Bitmapped Images.

In general bitmapped images should be saved at 1,000 dpi. If you have a black and white, bitmapped image, the resolution should be set to the resolution of the output device. With that said, most people do not know the resolution of the output device without talking to the print service provider. Generally, however, the accepted resolution is between 800 dpi and 1,200 dpi.

The reason behind this lays in the human eye. The human eye at 800dpi begins to process a perfect lines and curve. At 1,200 dpi, the eye cannot distinguish a higher quality.

Vector Images:

(Images created in applications such as Illustrator, CorelDraw, FreeHand, CanvasDraw)

Because of how technology works when it comes to printing, any image created within these programs are considered device independent and will print at the printers resolution thus providing excellent image quality.

Generally most print shops (as of 2008) will print anywhere from 200 to 300 lpi. Back in the 90s' it was 150 to 200 lpi.

To answer a popular question I get - If you import a color or grayscale image into a vector apllications, does it become a vector graphic - NO. It simply becomes a color or grayscale image placed within a vector file. The same rules above would still apply.

Resolution for other technologies ******************************

For web creation, the standard is 72 dpi.

For consumer level ink jet printing, generally 150 dpi prints fine. This is highly dependent on the printing device itself.

For posters and large banners, it is best to ask your print service provider. Generally I have heard resolutions ranging from 100 to 600 dpi.

For digital photos sent to Photo Processing centers, contact those centers.

Hope this helps. Richard Perez