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72 dpi?

M

Magicland

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 25, 2009
17
0
Hi

I'm applying for a graphics design education and we are to send examples of our own creative works.

I've done plenty of photoshop and illustrator stuff, but I never really had to compress anything, and when you go from 300 dpi to 72 dpi it kinda kills quality, but you're only allowed to use 72 dpi when sending your files

I just don't get it? i know it saves file size, but it screws up the image

ps. hi i'm new
 
72dpi is the standard screen res. I'm assuming work will be seen on a screen rather than printed.

If you're that concerned over the dpi, just ensure the overall image size remains the same so theres the same number of pixels ie 1000x1000 @300dpi gives the same pixel density as 1000x1000 @72dpi but the 'print size' will **increase** accordingly instead of the other way round as you're finding.
 
Probably because they want to keep e-mail size attachments under control.

Send them as 72dpi, but also upload them at full quality to an image hosting website and include the links in your e-mail so they can view the artwork in better quality. :)
 
If you have an image 10cm across at 300dpi and reduce the res to 72dpi the image size will increase to roughly 50cm. Effectively not reducing anything apart from the dots per inch. Less dots per inch means a physically larger image if you dont take any of the pixels/dots away.

What you need to do is keep the dimensions at 10cm but reduce the dpi to 72 by unticking the resample image box.

This will then reduce the physical size of the image (and filesize) but it will remain a good size on screen to be viewed without losing quality on screen. If you went print it after doing this it would be tiny and look crap. So make sure you keep the original.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks. that solved. I knew it couldn't be right. Pretty smart actually

I have another proble though. Since we're only allowed to have 10 pages in the pdf file we send, i'd like to place more one psd file on every page

So if i had two posters, i'd like to place them next to each other on the same page. I tried using Indesign for this, but that again screwed up the resolution

So is there a way to do this in Acrobat? or what?

I guess my real question is, why does the quality fall when i "place" the pdf files in an Indesign document? and how to fix?
 
Magicland said:
I guess my real question is, why does the quality fall when i "place" the pdf files in an Indesign document? and how to fix?
Click to expand...

You can combine PDFs in Acrobat. Or you can do it in InDesign.

The quality does not lose when you place the pdf in InDesign, it's just a preview so your computer won't slow down when you have too many images in the booklet. Try placing the pdfs in InDesign and exporting it as a pdf, it should be fine.
 
Have you exported the InDesign file as a .pdf yet, or are you looking at the screen?
If it's on-screen, InDesign by default renders images as "typical quality". To change this, in the View menu, under Display Options, chose "high quality display." That should fix it, although high quality can cause your machine to be really laggy if it's older, or if the document has a lot of large images.
 
don't put too much stuff in your portfolio.
ten pieces will be sufficient. any more will be redundant.
use only your absolute best works.
if you think you have 20 best works, find the 10 that you love the most.
 
You must be doing something wrong if reducing the dpi degrades the quality. Either the 300dpi files arent actually sized for print so 72dpi makes them too small to see or you confused indesign's preview of the file or are trying to put those files in another high res document. There should not be a decrease in quality at all on screen when changing it to 72dpi, it would only jack up the printing quality.

If they are asking for a 72dpi file and you uncheck resample image when changing the dpi they arent going to like getting a massive 4000 pixel file in 72dpi, the whole point of asking is so that people dont send them print sized files.
 
well i guess that doesn't matter since you resize them anyway in Indesign?

Anyway, you're probably right, It'd be overkill to throw everything I've ever done in.

Okay, so how do I combine them in Acrobat?


Thanks for the help all :)
 
likeavaliant said:
don't put too much stuff in your portfolio.
ten pieces will be sufficient. any more will be redundant.
use only your absolute best works.
if you think you have 20 best works, find the 10 that you love the most.
Click to expand...
As a Motion Designer/3D Artist by day and Digital Multimedia Instructor by night, I totally agree to avoid too much. Ive had many students/applicants throw everything but the kitchen sink (unless its an 3D simulation using particles) during interview and youd be suprised how fast the interviewers start to phase out :p
Keep it simple and yes show your best.
If your not sure what your best is, make friends in the design community and ask them what they think is best.
Also research your target. If your applying at a Corporate level then maybe hold back on the crazy drug induced creative...yes it has happened :p
LOL!
 
heehee said:
If you have Acrobat Professional, go to File > Combine files
Click to expand...

hmm yes... but then they appear to be on 2 different pages. One above the other..

What I would like is a blank page where i could place 2 poster besides eachother. This would also help if i want to show the sketch of something and then the final product next to it
 
Logos

Would it be alright to include a full page of logos to show diversity or should I stick to one or two?
 
Magicland said:
Would it be alright to include a full page of logos to show diversity or should I stick to one or two?
Click to expand...
Ive seen creators do that. Sometimes they pick one for a full page explanation as to why they created it. A breakdown of the design of it to be exact.
 
AlexisV said:
Send it at 150 or 300dpi.

As long as the file size is decent, are they going to care?
Click to expand...
its sometimes the perception of the creator that gets in the way of things. When Im teaching I notice students get all caught up with resolution size but not for the right reasons. Ive had all types go thru the pain of keeping things at 72 or 300dpi. If was teaching print I can see that being a major topic but I do mostly Motion Design and 3D. we live in pixels :) texture maps are kept at high resolution dependant on final output and camera view.
if I was looking at artwork (print design) Id be more inclined to see the vector work and how its been put together. I also like to see a creators ability to use layers. but then thats my picky attitude :)
 
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