Quote Originally Posted by Meridius View Post
When starting to make a map, it's important to decide on what DPI and what size you'll want to print your map. Because the size times the chosen DPI will be your minimum resolution. So let's say you want to print a map at a large size 12" by 18"... at 300 dpi printing that's a whopping 3600 by 5400 pixel file (in digital camera terms that would be a 19,44 megapixel image). That's why deciding your print size before making your map is important... because my computer will die a thousand painful deaths if I attempt something as big as that.
This is why I started this thread! I engaged a huge project on my PC cause I wanted to develop a world that I could have professionally printed. I read a few posts and it was suggested that I create the project at a 300 dpi resolution so that it would print well. So I started a Photoshop file at size 7200 x 7200 pixels and 300 dpi (24 square inches). My laptop can handle the file size and even the hundreds of layes (just takes 5 min to save it!). I thought I was setting this up correctly but after trying to test print it, I was confused about how the final was going to appear. I noticed that when I print on my home printer, I get a smaller version of what I was seeing on the screen and the quality was terrible. I test printed at Kinko's (pro) at 150% and 200% and they started looking good. This is all very confusing. I naturally assumed what I was seeing on the screen in PS7 was what I was going to get in output. This is not the case and I cannot figure out why there is a difference or what the quantative change is. I don't think it has anything to do with how I set up the file. The digital display of the image and the acutal print output just do not match in size ratio. I am beginning to think that the digital display is enlarging the image by 20-50% and the print output is in its correct size specified by the file.