CREATIVE EDGE · IMAGE RESOLUTION

An image can look perfectly sharp in an email and fall apart when you put it in a layout. Before I do anything to the file, I want to know how big it needs to be and where it’s going. An image that works for a little spot on a web page may have a very different job on the cover of a white paper.

Start with the pixels you actually have. If an image is 600 pixels wide, it can print two inches wide at 300 pixels per inch. Put that same image six inches wide and you’re down to 100 pixels per inch. The file is exactly the same. You’re just asking those pixels to cover more ground.

This is where DPI and PPI get tangled up. People say “send me a 300 DPI image” all the time. What they usually want is enough pixels to print the image at the size it’ll actually appear. PPI measures how densely the image pixels are packed at that size. DPI refers to the dots the printer lays down. For most print pieces, 300 PPI at the final size is a good starting point. If the printer gives you a spec, use it.

For web and social, look at the width and height in pixels. A 1200-pixel-wide image still has 1200 pixels across whether Photoshop says 72 PPI or 300 PPI. Changing that number alone gives you exactly the same image on screen. If you’re building for a high-density display, give the image more actual pixels to work with. An image displayed 600 pixels wide can use a 1200-pixel-wide file for a 2× display.

And yes, you can make a small image bigger. Sometimes interpolation gets you something usable, especially if you only need a modest bump. But if the lettering is already mushy or the details in someone’s face are gone, an upscale can only make a guess at what was there. Check the result at the size you’ll actually use it. That’s usually where you’ll know whether you can live with it.

If I can get the original, that’s where I start. For a photo, that might mean going back to the full-size file instead of pulling it out of an old deck. For a logo, I’ll ask for the vector. “Can you send me the original?” is often the quickest fix for a resolution problem.

I hope this gave you something to think about. More from the Steve Blender soon.

To be continued.