What's the best size and resolution for a graphic that will be displayed using powerpoint?  Thanks!

it some what depends on the method of projection... if i'm presenting it off my laptop i do mine @ 1024 pixels wide x 768 pixels tall (16 bit colour - 92dpi) but then again, that's just me.

it also depends on the graphic style, are you asking "bitmap" images for background? flat colour data charts? 3d graident data charts? a mix of all three?

anyone else want to add?
retrocity

How would the best resolution and size differ for those different types of graphics?

The lower the resolution, the worse a gradient will look - it'll look chunky and posterized if it's too low-res.

What's the res of your monitor?

I've never done a PowerPoint presentation, but think about it - your monitor cannot display anytjhing larger than it's max resolution. So the "best" resolution would be what your monitor displays (1024x768, 1280x960, 1280x1024, etc.).

If you're thinking you need to have gigantic images, don't - your graphics card will have to re-size them smaller, and you will end up with unnatural jaggies/stepping which will look bad anyway.

And actually, size them to the specific window size you will be using in your presentation. Example: - your monitor can display 1600x900, but the window you will be using is only 1280x720 kind of thing. make al your images no larger than either 1280 wide, or 720 tall - get it?

Hope that helps - good luck-
-Lew ;-)

Attached Link: undressing mari

I think it is amazing what he accomplishes using PowerPoint.  His creative talent is incredible to me, with such an eye for detail.

What about dpi?  And what if the presentation is going to be projected?

72 or 96 - it actually doesn't matter since your monitor will display pxel width and height (1024x768 for example) even if it's  set to 600 dpi.

Thanks for the info.  What I'm really curious about is a projected PowerPoint presentation.  Does an image break up, develop noise, and pixilate like a photo does when the image is projected onto a large screen for example?

Believe it or not - the same rules apply. Find out the "projector's" resolution and you have your answer - many top out at 1024x768.

A few more professional versions (usually meaning ovr $1000) will be 1280x1024 or higher. Spend a few grand and you'll find most top out at 1920x1080 which is full-blown HD video - yes, the highest res HD is really that small.

And no - they're pretty faithful to the digital image - nothing breaks up because it's being projected so they should look just fine when sized right.

Hope that helps-
-Lew ;-)

I've created a few presentations for a laptop (1600x1200). Only to turn up and invariably find the projector is 1024x168 or less. There were no visible problems. The things are designed to be seen from a few meters away It might be worth phoning ahead and finding out the spec. but its not critical. Even if you overcompensate with 300MB tifs, the worst that can happen is a lag between slides. :biggrin:

So graphics produced around 150dpi at 1024 x768 should project fine.  Do I have that right?

1024x768 at... 600, 300, 150, 72, 96, 10, 1 - the dpi doesn't matter. It'll display an image that is 1024 pixels wide, by 768 pixels high. If your monitor is set to display 1024x768 pixels, it'll fill the monitor entirely regardless of dpi the image is set to.