[imagino]

Hi,

i'm currently learning about technical aspects of graphic design and i was trying to learn all i could about pixels, i hope you guys help me because i'm self-taught & thus has many gaps in my knowledge.

I am having trouble seeing the 'BIg Picture' of things where all elements are included, i have read up on indivual topics but could not find an article that combines every element, i hope you could help me with that.
below are some questions i hope you can help me with:

1. Is monitor resolution (dpi) calculated by pixel dimension/actual monitor size(in")
e.g. on a 15" monitor (800x600), 800 pixel/11.4"(actual horizontal size) = monitor resolution(dpi)

I am confused because i read articles on net that describe that each monitor size has a 'correct' resolution. what do they mean by that when in fact resolution is calcualted by the above formula?

2. I read from sites that say Mac has monitor resolution 72 dpi & PC 96dpi? what does that mean & how does it related to the above? i thought monitor resolution can be changed by just based on which i choose (800x600,640x480..etc)

3. when we say pixel is larger on a big monitor, is it because in largers monitor there is 'less pixels per inch' thus each pixel appears to take up more space?

4. Regarding Pixelation: In layman meaning, Is it because when we try to output to higher ppi e.g. 72 ppi to 300 ppi, since there isn't enough 'detail' in 72ppi image, the device automatically enlarges each individual pixel of the 72ppi image? e.g. to a roughly 1:4 ratio (72:300). each pixel is enlarged to the size of 4 pixels?

5. i am considering of buying a new computer for graphic design, should i get a MAC/PC? what Graphic design implications for getting either one? it seems most graphic designers use Mac. why?

6. what are the considerations i need after buying & setting a new computer for graphic design? e.g. setting color profiles, resolutions..etc (to achieve waht you see is what you get)

7. Any other advice or links that would help paint the 'big picture' for me would also be much appreciated!

Thank You so much!!!!

Seth

[B0b]

you need to forget about size vs pixels - i run 1024x768 on my 15" but thats only because i test websites on it - it can go much higher - 1280x960..

my 2 main screens are running 1600x1200 (one on my 20" TFT native res) and the other on my 19" Mitsubishi 930SB which can actually go much higher in res..

the reason for such high resolutions is so that more can be seen on the screen at one time cutting down the need to scroll around..

in graphic design the need to be @ 100% of page size isn't very important vs painting a picture in painter or photoshop..

the reason everyone refers to Macs having a set 72dpi is because back in the day pre '95 Mac compatible monitors only ran at certain sizes - my old 16" Apple CRT has a fixed res of 832x624px. where PC's were limited by how big a video card you put in it..

when considering a monitor you need to look at the dot pitch - the spacing between each pixel, the higher the dot pitch the larger the gap, the less sharp the picture you're going to get - so a dot pitch of 0.26 on a 17" monitor is going to look more blured than 0.26 on a 20". the sharpest 17" CRT i ever used was my old IIYAMA Vision Master Pro 17" with a dot pitch of 0.24 this was back in 1996 and i used to run that @ 1600x1200 on my old PPro 233..

graphic design requires plenty of pallets to be open so screen realestate is a must if you want to see the page through the 8or9 pallets you have open.. i'd suggest you get the best 19" CRT or 20" TFT you can and get a smaller screen to put all your pallets on

CRT i'd reccomend the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 930 - its a little more expensive than ur average CRT but its an amazing screen and for TFT (LCD) i'd say the Formac Gallery 2010, again fantastic results from this display

Intel Mac or AMD PC? whichever OS you feel comfortable with really - i'd shoot for an AMD Dual Core / Dual CPU PC over a Mac - the same design apps are available and they work the same, just faster on a PC (you'll notice that apple have changed their marketing stratagy now they've gone Intel stating that Intel run Mac's are 4x faster than the old PowerPC chip Macs ) but AMD rules the roost atm as far as bang for buck goes

you can get an Opteron 148 and overclock it on air upto 3GHz..