Re: Resolution

Dear Mr. Pigz:

Although many prefer higher resolutions, the general thought is to make them
around 72 pixels per inch. This is sometimes referred to as "screen
resolution" though this would vary of course, depending on the screen. It
would be true for 600x800 monitors.

One must point out however, that we are talking about the final resolution
at the size the image will be used. Often a scan is made at a slightly
higher resolution, say 100 to 150. Then the image editing program is set to
reduce the resolution when the image is saved at the final size.

It is good practice to "size" your image as you scan--assuming your software
will let you do this.  This is mainly to insure that the image is scanned in
large enough in the first place. An example for those not having automatic
sizing/resolution features would be to determine the size the image would be
in the web page in pixels. Then divide by 72 to obtain the size in inches.
Thus an image that is to be 144 pixels wide would be scanned to two inches
at screen resolution.

If you scanned in at 150 pixels per inch, the image should be sized to
approx. one inch so that it would be the proper size when converted to
pixels. This can all sound rather confusing and that is why having a high
end program like Canvas or PhotoShop is so nice.  They do all this for you
without the math.

The thing to avoid is to enlarge the image for some reason after it has been
saved at 72 pixels per inch. It would not take much of an enlargement to
make the image appear blocky or "pixilated".

This 72 pixels per inch is a compromise between sharpness and downloading
time. Remember, an image having a resolution of 150 pixels per inch will
need four times as long to download into the browser as an image at 72
pixels per inch.

As most monitors are at 72 pixels per inch or less, there is little
justification for higher resolutions as the monitors will not be able to
take advantage of it. And just like they do with text, high resolution
monitors simply render the image smaller but with the same number of pixels.

By this time, I should have you almost as befuddled as I am.
Good luck and best wishes
Ted Temer
Temercraft Designs Redding, CA
temer(at)c-zone.net
www.temercraft.com/
www.newsredding.com/


> Hi....
> I was just wondering what the resolution  for images should be so that
they
> are clear enough on the internet.  Are there recommended resolutions for
> certain browsers, or are you just supposed to experiment and see?   Thanks
>

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