is there a formula or something to follow when rendering in poser for print. I need to print some images for sale at a 16" x 20" size and can't figure out what size to render at to keep the picture sharp and clear

The short answer is - as big as possible. I believe the max size for Poser renders is 4000 x 4000, so you should really aim for that. Forget the DPI settings, they pretty much have no part to play. A 4000 x 4000 render is the same resolution, no matter whether you set the DPI to 72 or 7200. There are some exceptions, but AFAIK, they relate to older type printing processes. No doubt someone here can offer corrections and further clarification.

The maximum render size in Poser 4 is 4096 x 4096. The minimum is 2 x 2. The Poser 5 Firefly engine can supposedly render larger images. I'm giving it a try right now: a simple 4800 x 6000 portrait at 300 dpi, Production Mode quality, with shadow maps. This might take a few minutes ... I'll report back shortly.

go to Photoshop or anything similiar , type new with 16 x 20 inch and go to image size u can see the pixel size go to poser and set that PS say in image size But if poser can handle the pixel size , try cheating with maximum pixel size poser5 can handle , but with double or more large DPI of ur print project ( 300 dpi in photoshop is enough for print job) , and in Photoshop open new file with 16 x 20 inch 300dpi , open too the file u `ve rendered , select all ,drag to 300 dpi , now u can play with scale to fit with ur project

The maximum render size for Poser 4 can be bypassed by rendering as a one frame animation. Set up an animation with the size you want your final piece to be, and render a one frame animation as an image file.

Attached Link: http://host1.bondware.com/~syydr/messages.ez?forum_id=2&Form.ShowMessage=30362

Ok...I posted a message...then deleated by accident..trying again... The render settings in Poser are for PPI(pixel per inch)not DPI(dots per inch(but Sam is correct in it making no differance here). DPI and PPI,while having a strong influence on each other,are two seperate sets of figures and are not interchangeable(but most people talk as if they are the same thing).At this link you'll find some very good advice on prints from Poser(link is to the Art Talk forum at RNDA). Talk with your print shop/service bureau and see what they need to do the output.A good one will often have softwear (like what I use GenuineFractual)that will do a better job of resizing than Photoshop alone. SWAMP

The largest/longest/widest diminision would be 4096, the smallest/shortest/thinest diminision should be in proportion to the largest. I suggest you make sure the proportions of the work window are correct for the 16 x 20 size. It will prevent surprises like having to trim art off the sides of your work, or having to to enlarge the image more than intended to fill gaps. Be carefull of background resolations (they tend to blurr). If you put backgrounds in postwork carefull of low res (again you get blurring). If you are going to enlarge images a lot, you might consider a Fractal program. Note you can set up photoshop to let you work with a CYMK colors, in RGB mode (so you can use filters etc), IF CYMK is required for printing.

The 4800 x 6000 render in Poser 5 turned out fine, by the way. It only seemed to take forever.

Oh, and I was wrong about P4's maximum render size; it's 4090 x 4090. Not going to repeat this experiment soon ....