Which Render present?

[stefan.e.karlsson]

Hi, i have modelled a loghouse placed in a winterlandscape.
I shall make a sign for outdoor use in size A0. Which render preset shall I use
to be able to produce the sign in good quality?

[Fletch]

Simple answer is that 4000 pixels wide would look good on any large board.

A0 = 841 x 1189 mm = 33.1 x 46.8 in

150-200px per inch should be plenty at that size.

It all depends on distance of viewer to the board.

Subject: Resolution for Printing

[Fletch]

Printers like to give out overly-conservative resolution requirements.
It is best for you to do some experimental test prints to find what is right dpi for your needs.

Glossy magazines are printed at 300dpi. Glossy magazines are printed for a viewer who is 12-16 inches (30cm-40cm) from the printed paper. So, dpi is a function of viewing distance. The more distant a viewer is from the image surface, the lower the required resolution. This is a topic which has been discussed many many many times here and on all other rendering forums and photography and graphic design websites. Time to do a little google search? Essentially, the bigger the image is printed, the lower the dpi which is needed. I would never go higher than 200dpi for a large image, and for wall-sized or bill-board sized images, no more than 150dpi. Your computer screen is 72dpi - and it looks pretty good, don't you think?

What size do I need for my rendering? what size image do I need? #largeresolution #highresolution #largeimage
Subject: Print resolution and Large or Maximum size
Subject: Large Image
Subject: Max Rendering Size
Subject: Resolution for Printing

300dpi is overkill. (unless viewed by holding in the hand) 150-200dpi is plenty.
the bigger the board, the more distant the observer, the lower the dpi (do you think they print signs at 300dpi?)

Subject: Render Size

300 dpi = glossy hi-res magazine
200 dpi = great 11"x17" presentation paper size
150 dpi = good 11x17 presentation paper size
72 dpi = web display or large format
18-50 dpi = very large format

see also miguel's tip for large format presentation.

300 dpi for large presentation is laughably ridiculous.

If the sign is 144" wide (12') 72x144= 10368 pixels wide. I think that will be quite a challenge for rendering.

I would suggest rendering at 3400px, blow just a small portion of it up to the site sign's actual size so that you can see a preview. Try the same also for 4000px.

Another great tutorial about presentation resolution.

[SpookyChick]

This is good advice Fletch is giving here. Unfortunately, once in awhile you will run into cases like trying to sell prints-on-demand through a site like ArtStation. They insist that your images be 300dpi, MINIMUM resolution, and when you select (or try to select) a print size for your image which would drop below 300 dpi, the system itself rejects it, and refuses to allow that selection. Annoying, to say the least.

They're kind of a special case though.

In general, I'd recommend a service like shutterfly which just takes your jpg images without arguing. I've done sevearl prints through them at 200 dpi which have turned out beautifully, and are now gracing the walls of my studio, so yeah, printers are way over conservative. In fact, sometimes, too high a resolution can be a little bit detrimental to the image, reducing details to a point you would need a microscope to see them.