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Photoshop 911 FAQ and Short tips

What's the best resolution for a Photoshop file for output as a 35mm slide?

(from a Macworld attendee...)

My first suggestion is to ask at your service bureau. They'll be able to dictate which format they can use most readily on their equipment. There are a dozen or so film recorders on the market and they all can use very different file set-ups to yield the same results.
 

Remember aspect ratio: 3 to 2 (landscape layout, 3 wide by 2 tall) Most film recorders will give good results at 300 dpi. If you're really going for large projection you may want to push the size to 1500x1000 (pixels) to help eliminate tell-tale pixels.

To some film recorders the resolution makes no difference. You also might run into some bureaus who will ask for an exact "page" format. In that case, you need to follow those instructions.

Some advocate the use of TIFF to save time rastarizing but many film recorders can't utilize the TIFF format. Others will want the files placed in Persuasion or Quark XPress.
 

My bureau utilizes anything I send -- which is usually Illustrator files. They do the conversion for me and I don't have to fool with it. They convert to 9 (648) x 6 (432) at 300 dpi, and load the files into the queue of their recorder (Lasergraphics Mark II). The slides always look good, and I've spent a minimum of time and fuss. (I use the Color Imaging Center in Washington D.C. - 202 - 293 - 7414)

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