Monitor vs. Printer

[Presence]

Hi all, ok we all know that monitors sit at about 72 dpi for the most part, I am working on a business card for a client at about 600 dpi because they want some serious detail in the logo, the thing that I am worried about is I go and put in all of this time and it won't even show up in the print, I can barely see the details in my monitor when I scale the image to business card size on my screen.

Am I going to get better resolution in the print, or is safe to bet that if I can't see it scaled down in the computer I wont be able to see it post.

[Adam]

printers have dpi too; find out how many the printer you'll be using can handle, and that should be some kind of indicator. Most new inkjet and laser printers can handle 1200x1200, or thereabouts. As far as readability/etc, if you can't read something at life-size on your screen, then chances are it will be hard to read in real-life. its easier to remove detail than add it though, so it might be easiest to go ahead and do the full detail, then print an example and see what your client thinks.

[Presence]

Thanx adam, I printed it out on my little hp here at home and could see the most important details and my printer, sucks! So that has to be a good sign.

[infin8_1ne]

the dpi (dots per inch) of images that you see on the web is 72, but if you print something that you have downloaded you will notice that the qality of the image seems degraded, thats because print resolution is about 300 dpi, if you are working in 600 then you shouldnt worry too much about losing detail in the logo. :chug:

[Chris Beatrice]

That's right, the fact that you can't read it on your monitor at "100%" (if 100% means print size) doesn't mean anything.

If you can't read it at 100%, when 100% means pixel for pixel (i.e., in Photoshop it says "100%" at the top of the sheet), the detail is simply not there and you will never be able to read it.

Also, unless the cards are ultimately going to be printed on an inkjet (which is unlikely), you may get even better detail on a real offset press.

I've done some business card work, with very tiny print, and I, too, set it up at 600dpi. As long as you can read it when you zoom in to 100% (pixel for pixel) view, you'll probably be able to read it in the final print.