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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Help! Need to calculate min resolution for poster.
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06/21/2007 05:02:19 AM · #1
Hey guys, I know there are some great brains here so I hope you can help me out!
I've been asked by a prospective client for a photo which can be displayed at 3m x 2m at a viewing distance of 1.5m away.
What resolution do I need?!
Ideally, I could do with knowing the resolutions for minimum quality and excellent quality.
Cheers,
Bob!

Message edited by author 2007-06-21 05:02:38.
06/21/2007 06:58:39 AM · #2
heyah, bob! there may be others with more experience that know the rules of thumb, but my experience is that it depends on the image. whenever i see them, i always scope out those poster-sized ads (usually in airports, busstops, metro stations), and i'm constantly amazed at how many low-res images get used. they look decent at a glance, from 3+m, but closer in, you can see obvious pixelization. it really depends on the amount of detail in the image.

i'd suggest printing out 100% crops at 8x10 at various resolutions (300, 200, 150, 72) and then deciding what works best for the image.

on the other hand, i always deliver everything at 300dpi ;-)
06/21/2007 07:41:48 AM · #3
The mos important thing to realize is that nothing is worse than pixelation. You'll have to scale the image to make sure that doesn't happen. When you scale it, you'll still get a blurry image up close, but it will look more like a film based poster, with lots of little grainy dots.

Based on your camera, id try scaling the image to about 20 000 pixels on the long side, and printing at a resolution of 150-200 dpi. From 1.5 M away, this should be clear enough.

Originally posted by BobsterLobster:

Hey guys, I know there are some great brains here so I hope you can help me out!
I've been asked by a prospective client for a photo which can be displayed at 3m x 2m at a viewing distance of 1.5m away.
What resolution do I need?!
Ideally, I could do with knowing the resolutions for minimum quality and excellent quality.
Cheers,
Bob!


Message edited by author 2007-06-21 07:42:59.
06/21/2007 09:12:39 AM · #4
Bob, do you know what printing process will be used to make the print? That will ultimately determine what your resolution needs to be.
06/21/2007 09:21:25 AM · #5
With a viewing distance of 1.5 meters, you probably don't need any more than 100 dpi (about 40 px per cm). So with a long dimension of 3.0 meters (300cm), you might try upsampling to 40*300=12000px. Use "bicubic smoother" for the interpolation. Then try printing out a small area of high detail, and viewing it at the 1.5 meter distance.
06/21/2007 10:54:38 AM · #6
Thanks for the replies,
12,000 to 20,000 pixels, yikes!
I'll see how it goes...
06/21/2007 11:26:01 AM · #7
Originally posted by BobsterLobster:

Thanks for the replies,
12,000 to 20,000 pixels, yikes!
I'll see how it goes...


I have heard that Genuine fractals does a veyr good job at upsizing.

here It is not cheap but may be worth the purchase depending on how much you are getting and if you may do this again in the future.
06/21/2007 11:35:41 AM · #8
I have been sucessfull at 24x36 at 150dpi jpegs with great looking posters. 300dpi not that much different viewing at that distance. psart
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