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A-10 Desktop Color Primer
The resolution of a raster image, along with its bit depth and physical
dimensions, determine its file size. The following table shows the file sizes of
color raster images at different dimensions and resolutions.
In this table, the shaded areas indicate that 200 ppi is typically the best trade-
off between image quality and file size. However, higher resolutions (e.g., 250
to 300 ppi) may be needed for offset printing, when quality is of the utmost
importance, or for images containing sharp diagonal lines.
To find the best image resolution for your purposes, make test prints of some
raster artwork at different resolutions. Start with a high-resolution image
(400 ppi) and save versions at progressively lower resolutions, down to 100
ppi, using a pixel-editing application such as Photoshop. Always save a copy
of the original high-resolution version in case you need to revert to it. The
high-resolution data cannot be recreated from a lower resolution version.
File size at:
Image size: 100 ppi 150 ppi 200 ppi 400 ppi 600 ppi
RGB/CMYK RGB/CMYK RGB/CMYK RGB/CMYK RGB/CMYK
3"
x 4"
0.4/0.5 MB 0.8/1.0 MB
1.4/1.8 MB 5.5/7.3 MB 12.4/16.5 MB
5"
x 7"
1.0/1.3 MB 2.3/3.0 MB
4.0/5.3 MB 16.0/21.4 MB 36.1/48.1 MB
8.5"
x 11"
2.7/3.6 MB 6.0/8.0 MB
10.7/14.3 MB 42.8/57.1 MB 96.4/128.5 MB
11"
x 17"
5.4/7.1 MB 12.0/16.1 MB
21.4/28.5 MB 85.6/114.1 MB 192.7/256.9 MB