dpi?

He has: 1,016 posts

Joined: May 2002

Hi,

I haven't done many "real" print jobs and I have a customer that wants the pictures to be at least 300dpi. I know dpi is the quality, but I thought I ask to make sure. So... what exactly do I need to deliver?

Mark Hensler's picture

He has: 4,048 posts

Joined: Aug 2000

I don't consider 360 dpi isn't really that special. You can get paper for 720 dpi, and that should work for better quality papers and such.

If they want to print high quality pictures, you need to get photo paper. My dad just ordered some...
hp new and improved premium plus photo paper, glossy - 8.5x11 - 20 sheets - $17.99
hp everyday photo paper, matte - 8.5x11 - 100 sheets - $14.99

I don't think that it's work the price difference between glossy and matte, but my dad ordered it anyway. The matte looks just as good, IMO.

Mark Hensler
If there is no answer on Google, then there is no question.

He has: 1,016 posts

Joined: May 2002

You've misunderstood me. I meant, is there anything I need to do (i.e. have pictures at least X*Y in size or change anything in Photoshop, etc)?

Mark Hensler's picture

He has: 4,048 posts

Joined: Aug 2000

In photoshop, you'd create a new image and select the demensions of the paper your going to print on. (Actually, you'd probably set it to the printable area on the selected page size.) Then select the DPI.

Where are you getting your material from? (scanner, digital media)

If your getting your material from a digital media, you may have to do a little fudging with the image. I believe it's called re-sampling an image.

I've not done much printed work either, so I can't be much more help.

Mark Hensler
If there is no answer on Google, then there is no question.

He has: 1,016 posts

Joined: May 2002

I'm creating designs for pre-paid phonecards, so it's not paper size or anything like that.

He has: 296 posts

Joined: May 2002

Then you should just be able to set the DPI when you create a new image and go.

Mark Hensler's picture

He has: 4,048 posts

Joined: Aug 2000

phone card? Then I'm guessing your doing the printing elsewhere. Call them and ask the demensions of the cards, and the DPI.

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

Hi, I'm sorry but I've refrained from answering this question since I haven't done a huge amount of "real" print work before (one project, very large scale). I was hoping that someone who had more experience in this area would be able to answer the question.

Since you will be dealing with a printing company (which is what "real" print job would naturally mean!), the best thing to do would be to phone them up and ask about the details. That includes image size, dpi and file format - in my (limited) experience, printers tend to prefer some file formats over others (tiff is good). There may also be other things to be aware of like colour information etc. CMYK vs. RGB colour could be an issue and I'm really sorry but I don't know much about that either. CMYK is generally used for print work in order to get colours right.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I feel really bad about it, really Wink

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