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Subject:RE: At what resolution should I capture? From:"Susan Ahrenhold" <sahrenhold -at- winspc -dot- com> To:"'Lisa Wright'" <liwright -at- uswest -dot- net>, "'TECHWR-L'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 13 Jun 2000 15:56:04 -0400
Lisa - Graphic resolution can be really tricky. The answer to any question
has to be "It depends." Optimum output depends on how you are capturing
information into your computer, how you size the graphic, and then on how
you are outputting it.
The main points to know are:
1. We capture screen shots in bitmaps, which are defined in dpi (dots per
inch). The standard resolution you see on your screen in Windows is 72 dpi.
Therefore, if you are simply putting a smallish screen capture into online
help, the resulting help file or presentation will contain a full size
screen capture, so capturing at 72 dpi is all you need to do.
2. If you shrink a graphic in your word processor, the dpi increases. If you
increase the size of the picture in the layout, the dpi decreases.
3. Complications come in when you are creating paper output. When I worked
in magazine publishing, we captured at 600 or 1200 dpi, and output was
printed at 2400 dpi. This gives really pretty pictures, and REALLY large
graphic files.
Most office printers nowadays print at 300 to 600 dpi. 72 dpi may look
adequate, or fuzzy, on this printer.
The only thing I can guarantee is that your output will look different when
you send it directly to the Docutech than it does on your office printer.
4. If you are creating a PostScript file (or a PDF) you are adding another
level of complication because another program is touching your graphics
file.
Resolution: I would suggest that you test screen captures at various
resolutions with your printer, to see what combination of factors works best
in your particular situation.
