Understanding File Resolution

File resolution is a very important thing to consider, especially when you are preparing something to be printed. A lot of people are not precisely sure what it entails, and that is okay. You do not have to be an expert at it to design your banner, but it does help to understand what it is. Most importantly, however, here you have to submit your final image at a precise resolution. Designers are encouraged to submit their sign at exactly 150dpi, wherein it will be printed at 1440x1440. That may seem like Greek right now, but in time you will come to understand exactly what it means. The most important thing to remember is simply to submit it at the proper resolution so that the printing will ultimately go as smoothly and clearly as possible. Continue reading, however, to learn the finer points of file resolution.

File resolution is incredibly important. Unfortunately it is something that many people to not understand unless they are either professional graphic artists or designers, or if they are more than passingly familiar with the art of designing graphics on the computer.

At different times and for different things, different resolutions are needed. For instance, for graphics which will just be displayed on a computer or on the Internet, then the resolution does not have to be as high as it will need to be for something that will be printed – like your vinyl banner.

Now, it is one thing to say that, in order to submit your final design to be printed into a banner, it needs to have a 150dpi. Understanding what that means is another thing altogether. To put it quite simply, resolution is a way of measuring just how finely detailed the dots which make up an image will be. It is calculated by dividing the amount of pixels in a picture by its actual physical size.

The corresponding number is measured in “dots per inch,” or dpi. However, the meaning of the number is ever changing, depending on what the graphic is actually being used for, such as whether it will just be used as a picture or whether it will be printed.

When you are saving an image in Adobe Photoshop or whatever other program you are using, the software itself typically gives you a standard resolution. For example, in Adobe, it is usually 72dpi. Thus you have to make sure to change it before saving it. You can do this by going up to “Image” and then scrolling down to “Image Size.”

There, you will be able to change the resolution size to whatever you want. Of course, like say, in this case you are going to want to change it to 150dpi. This is, however, extremely important, because the file resolution – or dots per inch – is never so important as when you are talking about printing an image. By saving your file to 150dpi, it will be able to be printed at 1400 by 1400.