Resolution (ppi)

[samuele3032]

Hi guys,

I have just a stupid question about the resolution on one of my projects.

Does it make a difference if I export one of my files from Indesign to Jpg with a resolution (ppi) of 150 instead of 200? Is there a reason why InDesign suggests to select either 150 or 300 and not 200ppi?

Thank you so much

Sam

[Derek Cross]

The Effective PPI is the resolution measurement you need to know (see the Links panel) . Between 250 to 300PPI is a good choice for printing on to coated stock (for around printing 150LPI).

[rob day · Accepted solution]

Is there a reason why InDesign suggests to select either 150 or 300 and not 200ppi?

You can enter any number between 1 and 2400—you don't have to use one of the defaults.

Is the jpeg for a web/screen or print project? If it is for web set your document's page dimensions to the desired size in pixels, and export at 72ppi. In that case the exported jpeg's pixel dimensions will match your page's pixel dimensions. If the project is for print export to PDF.

[samuele3032]

It is meant to be part of my portfolio(digital) that I've to send to a university. Usually, I would just keep the resolution at 300, but they want only files that are smaller than 2mb.

[Derek Cross]

For digital work you only need the image dimensions (in pixels), the resolution is irrelevant.

[JonathanArias]

digital illustrations? what are you sending? You placing flat .pdf files in indesign? Or art files ex: .ai, psd?

[samuele3032]

Sorry I don't get this, when I'm exporting it with 72 ppi it turns out quite blurry, in contrary with when I'm selecting150 or 200ppi. So it does make a difference, doesn't it?

JonathanArias  I put in InDesign only .ai and conventional images.

[rob day]

Sorry I don't get this, when I'm exporting it with 72 ppi it turns out quite blurry, in contrary with when I'm selecting150 or 200ppi. So it does make a difference, doesn't it?

The exported pixel dimensions would depend on your page dimensions. If your document setup is the default print Letter (11"x8.5"), InDesign defines it in pixels as 792x612 px. So, if the jpeg export is to 72ppi the resulting pixel dimensions will also be 792x612. If you export to 300ppi the pixel dimensions will be 3300x2550 (11x300=3300, 8.5x300=2550)

You can also setup a document to a specific pixel dimension, and in that case the export at 72ppi will maintain the document's pixel dimensions (web browsers or HTML pages have no PPI property). I might decide the highest screen resolution of my target audience is 2400px wide and set the page accordingly:

[JonathanArias]

i had to submit my portfolio to art school for the masters, and i had lots of .ai files.

i first made .pdf files from the .ai files and than place that in indesign. it helped bring down the file size of the final .pdf.

[Eugene Tyson]

No reason why they suggest 150 or 300 - it's just a value an engineer would have assigned to the panel options. I read before that a lot of times the engineers would need to make a decision on what to do - and it's usually a 50/50 choice.

i suspect the person working on this dialog box set the resolutions to be 72, 150, 300 for easieness.

But as pointed out - you can insert whatever value you like.