Get the right resolution (ppi) when printing
As a graphic designer I have gone to press and printed on many different types of output devises and printers. This includes everything from an ink jet printer to an off-set sheet feed printer. I want to give a quick overview on some of the typical settings used in the print industry and when printing at home:
- Ink Jet Printer (typical at home printer): 200-240 ppi
- Color Copy (kinkos style): 180-240 ppi
- Digital Printer or Variable Printing (usually used in small print runs): 240-300 ppi
- Going to press (usually used in larger print runs): 300-350 ppi
I know the suggested ppi I outlined above are general and there are many other factors to consider when printing a photograph or a document; so when going to press you should contact your printer for their suggested specifications. However, there are times when you don’t know where to start and you just need a quick reference. For those that are interested here are a few more guidelines:
- Newspaper Ad 170-200
- Average Magazine & Brochure 200-266
- High End Magazine & Brochure 250-350
- Annual Reports 260-350
- Fine Art & Coffee Table Books 300-350
The reason many people do not just print everything at 300 ppi is the file size can become unnecessarily large. This can make working on the layout more difficult as the computer struggles to render the layout. Also, delivering the layout can become more difficult the larger the file. However, making the file too small, or reducing the ppi to a level that makes the file size too small, will make the final design, or photograph, loose details in the final print.
Gary, when I was in printing back in the early 90s we used to talk about “line screens”. For example, a newspaper might be a 65 or 80 line screen, and a magazine a 133 line screen. Is this ppi similar to that?
Craig L-P
Great question!!!
As you noted, line screen is typically used when going to press; and is still used by printers today.
Line screen (lpi) is “similar” to ppi by the fact the ppi and line screen are related to the resolution. Although the typical user will not set line screen because a service provider will usually request a file at a certain resolution. In setting the ppi, the user is providing a certain line per inch. Also, ppi is used with resolution-dependent images (raster images )—the number of pixels that occupy a given space must be defined. Whereas, ppi is not used with resolution-independent images (vector images).
Typically, you’ll want 1.5-2 times the line screen (lpi) in pixels per inch (ppi).
Here is a chart related to line screen and ppi:
Newspaper ad: (85lpi) 130-170 ppi
Average Magazine & Brochure: (133 lpi) 200-266 ppi
High End Magazine & Brochure: (177 lpi) 265-350 ppi
Annual Report: (177 lpi) 265-350 ppi
Fine Art and Coffee Table Books: (200lip) 300-400 ppi
Since we are talking about resolution, I want to add another definition related to resolution, dots per inch (dpi). Dots per inch (dpi) is used when referring to number of dots an output device is able to produce within an inch, representing the resolution of the device. This relates to the image when printing. If an output devise prints at a higher resolution (dpi) and the image does not meet the minimum dots per inch, you loose quality, or the image will look “pixelated”.