Mosquito profile resolution question

[BLOWHARD]

The pedant in me wants to say it's Pixels Per Inch on screen

I just say dpi because that's what most people called back when it was dots per inch
But your point and mine are the same, it's the number of pixels rather than how many per inch on screen.

Never been asked for 360

American Showcase does their page submissions in 360, or they did in the 90s at least

So for printing, the image needs to be in CYMK color mode and saved as a Tiff file

Only worry about CMYK if you're doing 4 color printing, that is 4 plates, one each for C, M, Y and K. Most people are doing hi quality ink jet or giclée which basically amounts to a fancy name for ink jet these days.
Always keep that PSD. TIF is always the best to use if it's a flattened image for printing but if you're going with Ink jet, a JPG at 10-12 (in Photoshop) compression range is pretty damn good quality for Ink Jet.
Chances are, if you go the pro printing route, the printer will specify what is needed, and sometime they would rather do the CMYK conversion themselves. Best just keep those PSDs and worry about print formats when the time comes.

[inkworm]

you forgot to mention the golden rule...only flatten copies.

Once you have flattened and closed that is when you'll need to edit the layer.

[briyeo]

Thanks again, I hear what your saying, for what I'm doing a good quality inkjet print from a tiff file would be good enough quality, I can see the sense in that.

Another question that came to mind regarding printing, what is the best backgound for a profile print? Is it simply a case of white background and the choice of white paper, are there any alternatives?

Thats enough daft questions from me, I'll go back to my drawing board now.

[briyeo]

Thanks again, I hear what your saying, for what I'm doing a good quality inkjet print from a tiff file would be good enough quality, I can see the sense in that.

Another question that came to mind regarding printing, what is the best backgound for a profile print? Is it simply a case of white background and the choice of white paper, are there any alternatives?

Thats enough daft questions from me, I'll go back to my drawing board now.

[Clint Mitchell]

The Giclee or inkjet Giclee using very good Epson 10 colour inkjets have seriously come a long way in the last few years. I think they look much better than normal 4 colour process. Ask for a paper sample pack from the printers you may choose as most will be forthcoming with this request.

Check out these guys: Spectrum Photo (UK)

[BLOWHARD]

I like white for backgrounds, but it's really up to you

[ernymodule]

I get asked more and more often for 600dpi - and I do 2 or 3 illustrations a month, sometimes double-page spreads, so you can imagine what it does to the file size!But that's for magazines - typically 300dpi is good enough. RGB or CMYK? If I'm sending stuff to a publisher, I generally send RGB TIFFs - never JPGs - and let them handle the conversion - RGB colour space is bigger than CMYK so they've got more to play with, and you never know what settings they use (different printers will have specific CMYK profiles). You can always turn on CMYK preview to see the difference.
Once you flatten the image you'll need a background colour so white is probably the best bet. However, having said all that, I've had good results from RGB PDF's, so that might be the best route to go if you're not sending stuff to publishers, but having them run off as prints. To be honest, find a format that works for you and go with that - it can turn into a complete can of worms if you really get into the printing business!

[GrubbyFingers]

I agree with Clint. Don't bother changing to CMYK. The computer thinks in RGB and works faster in RGB. When you change the file to CMYK, the file itself is still RGB in the background and all the colour info is still RGB, it is just reinterpreted by the computer to show you a simulation of how it will appear in CMYK.

The only reason can think f to change it to CMYK is if you are giving the file to someone else to print and you want to control the final conversion. Even then, the RGB-CMYK conversion should be matched to the printer it is going to be run out on. Every printer has a different colour space and therefore different colour
conversion tables.

I run my prints to my own, calibrated, inkjet printer straight from the Photoshop layered RGB files with a custom ICC conversion table set. What I see on screen is what comes out of the box!

I hope that hasn't muddied the waters for you.

Graeme.

[inkworm]

I just send a flat psd file in rgb unless otherwise specified and that only happens with one client, who seems happy with jpgs.

[Clint Mitchell]

600dpi must mean they are covering themselves for any possible larger/better quality usage in the future. It gives them space to breath for any future applications. Essentially at 600dpi the artwork that they have paid you for is in effect future proof....