We live in a highly technological world. Now we have access to many tools and information and everything is just one click away. You can start your own business online, you can promote the services you offer, and you can find other collaborators or freelancers ready to help you with what you need. Everyone is using the internet and its benefits to their advantage now. However, you have to learn how to do this properly. And one of the things you have to learn about is image resolution.
Image source: Unsplash
Preparing your photos for print and the web is essential as their quality says a lot about you and what you offer. Image resolution plays a vital role in how your photos are perceived, whether they are viewed on a screen or printed on paper. And if what you do relies heavily on this, then you have to discover more about standard image resolution, the right resolution for the web, high resolution vs web size, and others. As resolution, often measured in pixels per inch (PPI) or dots per inch (DPI), dictates the clarity of an image, let’s find out more about this.
Resolution for Web
When you start preparing images for the web, you should focus on optimizing file size and not on achieving high resolution. This should happen while maintaining acceptable quality. You can learn about ppi for web and the most appropriate one according to your goals so that you can adapt your resolution. Large, high-resolution images can significantly slow down website loading times. Which, in turn, affects user experience and SEO rankings.
So, you have to find a balance between clarity and file size. But before this, you have to set your photos and decide which is the final version you want to upload online. You may want to edit some of them, so you should do this beforehand. If you want to learn how to remove background from picture on iPhone, you should know that there are apps to remove the background from photos. These help you do this easily and faster so that you can focus on adapting the resolution of the photos for the web.
So, what are the things you should consider?
Set DPI to 72
One of the things you have to keep in mind is that a DPI of 72 is generally sufficient for web images. As screens display images based on pixel dimensions, not inches, you should know that modern screens typically display at this resolution. A higher DPI might not improve on-screen appearance, but it will increase file size unnecessarily.
Resize Images
You should resize images depending on what are you using them for. For example, a full-screen header image might be sized at 1920×1080 pixels. While a smaller image for a blog post might only need to be 800×600 pixels. This way, you reduce file size without sacrificing quality.
Compress Images
Two of the most used formats in the web images include JPEG and PNG. JPEGs are perfect for photographs since they can be quantized and thereby provide very small file sizes. For images with an alpha channel or large uniform areas of color, PNG is superior. If you want to optimize even further, use the new formats such as WebP which offers the best quality images but is smaller in size.
Resolution for Print
When you would like to print your pictures for an exhibition or just for framing them to be exhibited in a lounge, then it will be beneficial to look at the dimensions for the printout. Obtaining high resolution is especially important to obtain pictures with a high level of detail. What you should know is that the standard in most of the printed pieces including the brochures, magazines, and photographs is 300 DPI. How is this standard set? Well, the human eye typically cannot discern individual dots in a printed image at this resolution, resulting in a smooth, continuous-tone image. Here are a few tips and tricks you should consider.
Set the DPI
Before printing, confirm that your image is set to 300 DPI. Most photo editing software, like Adobe Photoshop, allows you to adjust this setting under the image size or export options. A higher DPI means the printer will place more dots of ink per inch, leading to finer detail in the printed image.
Choose the Right File Format
For the print, it is highly recommended to use those file formats that retain the best image quality. TIFF and JPEG are used mostly and the resolution can be anything starting from 72 DNIC and ending with more than 300 DNIC. As has already been mentioned, TIFF files are lossless, which is why they contain all the necessary information necessary for a high-quality print. JPEGs can also be used, but save them at the maximum quality setting.
Consider the Printing Process
If, for instance, you are designing your project for a commercial printer, you’d like to know more about their specifications. Some may require images that are in CMYK color profile rather than images that are in RGB color profile. CMYK is a color model commonly used in printing, including ochre media, to make certain that colors come out as wanted.
Final Thoughts
Effective management of image resolution is one of the most significant concepts to consider when it comes to producing high-quality images whether in screen medium or even printed media. While creating a performance image, it is always important to ensure that certain characteristics of the used media are strong and striking enough to create a good impression of the image.
