Post by jasonk on Jan 19, 2015 18:46:00 GMT
I posted this as part of a reply in another thread in another forum, but figured it would be of general interest:
Here's an interesting read about resolution:
photo.stackexchange.com/a/48719
What it boils down to is, what matters is "pixels per degree of visual arc", not "pixels per inch". When you print larger, people are going to stand back more, so a lower DPI isn't going to matter. You don't need Mercedes print ad resolution on a mural that's 20 ft x 10 ft. What matters is PPD (pixels per degree). A "low"-ish resolution image (say, 8MP) should look fine at normal viewing distances when printed at any size. For now I've picked 2400x3000, which gets you 67PPD at a 45 degree viewing angle, and works out to 300 DPI at 8x10.
Here's an interesting read about resolution:
photo.stackexchange.com/a/48719
What it boils down to is, what matters is "pixels per degree of visual arc", not "pixels per inch". When you print larger, people are going to stand back more, so a lower DPI isn't going to matter. You don't need Mercedes print ad resolution on a mural that's 20 ft x 10 ft. What matters is PPD (pixels per degree). A "low"-ish resolution image (say, 8MP) should look fine at normal viewing distances when printed at any size. For now I've picked 2400x3000, which gets you 67PPD at a 45 degree viewing angle, and works out to 300 DPI at 8x10.