Photoshop question about printed size, DPI, etc

[sdsumike619]

I have to design a poster, however, I don't know what its printed size will be; probably around 28" tall by 22" wide. If I want to create this in photoshop, what should the DPI be? Does the exact size have to be specified when I create the document?

[poisondeathray]

Check what your printer / print shop uses. A common setting is 300dpi

So if you used a 300x300 pixel document, it would be 1 inch x 1 inch when printed, 600x600 would give you 2in x 2in, etc....

[Cornucopia]

He's right, but you can figure it out more easily: tell photoshop to use Inch/Cm units instead of pixels in determining the size. Then set your DPI (DPC?) first, and then put in the desired size-the pixel count will be worked out automatically. Really don't know what size the poster is supposed to be? Go to a poster shop and measure the usual ones available.

Err on the large side. It's much better to have to size down than to have to size up (quality-wise). Sure it uses more RAM/HD space, but everybody's got plenty of that these days, eh?

Scott

[rallynavvie]

How are you creating it? Are you importing images from other sources? Creating your own images within Photoshop entirely?

If it's all going to be text and line art I would recommend Illustrator instead of Photoshop. Even if you're bringing in some images Illustrator tends to be a little easier for people to create posters and such with. The downside to Illustrator is that it isn't meant for editing those imported images as much as Photoshop is so it would depend on what you're creating.

Also make sure to overbleed your poster if you're getting color or images right up to the edge of your 22x28" poster. This helps when trimming. Usually a 1/4" bleed is enough. Then output to PDF to bring to your print/copy shop as there will be less chance they'll mess it up as a PDF. PDF supports crop marks for your bleeds too. 300dpi at actual size should be fine for most any print output.

[sdsumike619]

I ended up making it 8x10 at 600dpi and no one has complained about it, so I guess I did alright