Saving Images in PS6

resolution and size for printing

[DXL]

I was working on some graphics to be printed for someone, keeping the resolution at 200 dpi.

The PSD I'm working with has a document size of 3.5 inches by 2 inches (700 x 400 pixels at 200 dpi resolution).

When I save the PSD as a .jpg, it will save it at 200 dpi, but the image size is still 700 x 400 (document size remains the same, 3.5 inches by 2 inches). Because I don't really print stuff (only do website graphics at 72 dpi), I want to make sure when this guy prints the graphic it will indeed be at 3.5 by 2 inches when it comes out (business card size).

Also, Photoshop always warns me when I save directly from PSD to JPG (as opposed to "save for web", which automatically sets the dpi at 72) that some features of that graphic will be lost. I never notice a difference, what exactly is lost?

[korkus2000]

I would save it in a different format than jpg for printing. jpg is a lossy compression meaning that it will lose some information to compress the file. Other formats like gif and psd are lossless meaning they do not lose any graphic information when saving and compressing. I would use a standard print format like tiff. you can find out from the printer which format he likes.

You can also view print size from the view menu to see what it will look like in perportion. If you save the jpg at 100 percent quality it should do well though and keep the resolution.

[DXL]

If I'm not mistaken, though, GIF can only save as high as 256 colors, offering an image not as sharp as a .jpg. You aren't saving for web, granted, but I always though jpegs gave you the best clarity.

With regards to PSDs, I avoid printing with them because in the past if a font was not available on the computer I was printing it from in photoshop, it reverted the font in the image to a default one. Or maybe I thought it did.

[tedster]

If you handed off a .psd file with a text layer you could have run into font problems. But if you rasterize the text layer (turning the font into pixels), then no font is needed.

Korkus has steered you 100% right with the TIFF format. It's lossless (even if you use LZW compression) and it holds a wide color gamut. A jpg file that's not very compressed may also be just fine. Several printers I've worked with lately asked me for jpg files.

Again, as korkus said, the best bet is to ask the printer what they are most comfortable with.

You're also correct about the gif format's limitation of 256 colors. However, if the image doesn't need more colors than that, it can look a lot "sharper" than a compressed jpg which ends up with subtle compression artifacts.

[choster]

what exactly is lost?

You lose things like layers, layer effects and styles, paths, editable text and fonts-- you basically lose all of Photoshop's editing extensions to the image, even though the appearance of the "finished" image may not noticeably change.