Hi, I know there are a lot experienced people here so, I'm hoping someone can advise me. How does the image size of a render in pixels compare with a printed image of the render? For example, if the desired printed size is 22 inches by 32 inches at 600 dots per inch does the image need to 13,200 by 19,200 pixels to produce this? How much scaling of the image can be done before you lose significant detail in the image? Is there a rule of thumb that professionals follow for this? A few more questions Poser is only capable of rendering and images that are 4090 by 4090 pixels. If a larger rendering were needed what package would be best for rendering the scene? It seems to me that if you are using a texture map that is 2048 by 2048 pixels big that have the object larger than this in your render does not make any sense. Is that correct? I know Im asking for a lot of information here but when I started playing with 3D graphics one of my hopes was to bring to canvas some of the images I was unable to do with a brush. Thanks, Thorgrim

Something to keep in mind is your image resolution -- default is 72. 72 is relatively lousy for printing. Pump that waaaaaay up, and you can enlarge an image to print without it pixelating or losing detail. CafePress asks for between 200-300 to print, I usually aim for at least 350 or more.

I'm drawing on memory here. I did some research on the topic about a year ago. Your first assertion is correct: multiply desired dimensions by dpi and that's what you'll need to render. I don't have any specs on other programs. Sorry. I think your assertion about the texture maps is also correct. At least that seems to hold true for some renders I've done with backdrops. Some rough dpi specs I seem to remember: 600 dpi - artbook/fine magazine quality 300-600 - art print quality 150-300 - poster quality If you're aiming to print on canvas, I would shoot for about 350-400 since the texture of the canvas would probably eat up any advantage of a higher resolution. You'll probably need to play around or get advice on what the best resolution is for a particualr paper.

Since Posers limit on image size is 4090 pixels ... At 600 dpi - maximum image size printed is 6.8 by 6.8 inches At 300 dpi - maximum image size printed is 13.6 by 13.6 inches At 150 dpi - maximum image size printed is 27.3 by 27.3 inches Is this correct or are there other factors involved?

"How much scaling of the image can be done before you lose significant detail in the image?"... You can't lose any detail if you re-size upwards... In fact, if you use a decent app like Photoshop or PSP, resizing upwards smoothes out visible pixelations nicely. It's a matter of personal taste, but I often use resizing for this reason alone (Improves the perceived quality of printed images in my opinion!. This approach is also handy for texture maps... but I haven't experimented to find out what is the largest texture map usable by Poser. Give it a try and see if you like the results.

You are never, ever going to need 600 ppi in a print, max would be: 420 ppi for 1440 dpi inkjet 350 ppi for highest quality offset printing 210 ppi for 720 dpi inkjet It's real simple, mutiply the ppi (pixels per inch) desired for the printer (you always figure from the printer, if you don't know how it is going to be printed I'd just go with 300ppi) X the print size = number of pixels required. If your scanning, just scan to get the right number of pixels. Forget about everything else, trust me, computer images are composed of PIXELS, there are no actual inches stuck in there, anywhere! PPI and inches are just a ratio derived from the pixel count, many get confused here.

Hi Folks! Thorgrim, I hope this goes without saying, but just in case-- Be sure that you retain an unaltered original of every image, and use a copy to do your editing. Once you alter the resolution of the original image (particularly if you go from a higher to a lower dpi), the digital information that is discarded to get the lower-count pixel map cannot be put back in simply by going back to a higher rez. Lots of my students make that mistake when processing images and end up having to render new originals. Peter (Dr Zik)

To get around the 4090 pixel limit, render as a 1 frame animation, you can then render bigger.

Excuse me if I seem a bit thick here, but are you saying that the ratio of dots per inch on the printer compared to pixels in the color image is roughly 3.4 dots square to 1 pixels. This is very helpful information guys, I appreciate the time you've taken to answer my questions.