[at-l] Megapixel Madness

[lparker@cacaphony.net (L. Parker)]

Part of what is happening here is that printers, especially computer
printers do not necessarily produce their best output at 300 dpi. Everyone
just automatically assumes that since the printer is capable of printing 300
dpi color, then the best print quality will be at that resolution.

This isn't so. More important are the line screen and rasterizer of the
driver software or RIP (Raster Image Processor). Believe it or not,
commercial print houses typically generate output only in the 150 to 200 dpi
range. But they still do this from a file that was 3000 to 4000 dpi to start
with.

Most of the discussion here has centered on the camera from a photographer's
point of view, not from a graphics professional's point of view.

Frankly, unless you are a photographer for Life or National Geographic,
almost ANY digital camera will produce sufficient quality for a magazine
spread.

Lee I Joe