Good printing resolutions?

JHarris1984

Any one have a guide for good printing resolutions?

ex. What can a 800x600 be printed at without any degradation?

colourbox

JHarris1984 wrote:

Any one have a guide for good printing resolutions?
ex. What can a 800x600 be printed at without any degradation?

Well it depends on the printer. The resolution depends on the printing technology. It can range from 75dpi for a cheap laser printer to 360 dpi for the very best quality on the very best inkjet. Start with the printer or service you're using and go from there. So for instance, if you were printing on a printer that does well at 200dpi, then the optimum size for your 800x600 example is the size that returns 200dpi. 800/200=4, and 600x200=3, so on that particular printer the optimum size is 4x3 inches. Some inkjets like 240dpi, so to get a good 8x10 on one of those you would theoretically need (8*240)*(10*240) which is 1920x2400 pixels which is 4,608,000 pixels which is 4.6 megapixels. Realistically, it depends on whether the picture was properly focused and sharp to start with. If not, its real resolution is actually lower. If you know a few Photoshop tricks, you might be able to push it a bit too.