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Resolution and Image Size in Adobe Photoshop CS5

  • Dec 15, 2010
This excerpt from Adobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a Book discusses the differences between image resolution, monitor resolution, and output resolution.

Note: This excerpt does not include the lesson files. The lesson files are available with purchase of the book.

From the book

From the book

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a BookAdobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a Book

Learn More Buy

From the book

From the book

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a BookAdobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a Book

Learn More Buy

The first step in retouching a photograph in Photoshop is to make sure that the image has an appropriate resolution. The term resolution refers to the number of small squares, known as pixels, that describe an image and establish its detail. Resolution is determined by pixel dimensions, or the number of pixels along the width and height of an image.

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In computer graphics, there are different types of resolution:

The number of pixels per unit of length in an image is called the image resolution, usually measured in pixels per inch (ppi). An image with a high resolution has more pixels (and therefore a larger file size) than an image of the same dimensions with a low resolution. Images in Photoshop can vary from high resolution (300 ppi or higher) to low resolution (72 ppi or 96 ppi).

The number of pixels per unit of length on a monitor is the monitor resolution, also usually measured in pixels per inch (ppi). Image pixels are translated directly into monitor pixels. In Photoshop, if the image resolution is higher than the monitor resolution, the image appears larger onscreen than its specified print dimensions. For example, when you display a 1×1-inch, 144-ppi image on a 72-ppi monitor, the image fills a 2×2-inch area of the screen.

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Click to view larger image

NOTE

It’s important to understand what “100% view” means when you work onscreen. At 100%, one image pixel = one monitor pixel. Unless the resolution of your image is exactly the same as the resolution of the monitor, the image size (in inches, for example) onscreen may be larger or smaller than the image size will be when printed.

The number of ink dots per inch (dpi) produced by a platesetter or laser printer is the printer, or output, resolution. Higher resolution images output to higher resolution printers generally produce the best quality. The appropriate resolution for a printed image is determined both by the printer resolution and by the screen frequency, or lines per inch (lpi), of the halftone screens used to reproduce images.

Keep in mind that the higher the image resolution, the larger the file size, and the longer the file takes to download from the web.

NOTE

To determine the image resolution for the photograph in this lesson, we followed the computer-graphics rule of thumb for color or grayscale images that are intended for print on large commercial printers: Scan at a resolution 1.5 to 2 times the screen frequency used by the printer. Because the magazine in which the image will be printed uses a screen frequency of 133 lpi, the image was scanned at 200 ppi (133×1.5).

For more information on resolution and image size, see Photoshop Help.

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