Making CD's for galleries

[Carol]

Does anyone know the preferred or best image size for a CD to send (unsolicited) to galleries?

[dondougan]

Hi Carol,

Don't know that there is a 'best' for ALL galleries-- but what I do is make images that when viewed at 100% size/resolution will fill the maximum window of a browser on a 1024x768 resolution monitor. A landscape-format image 600-640 pixels high by 950-980 wide will just about fill the browser window in a common 15-inch PC monitor with a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. LCD monitors and MACs have somewhat higher screen resolutions, so this size image will look smaller on a full-size window on those type monitors.

I shoot lots of details of the piece from different views so the details also fill the same size monitor at that resolution, and there is usually plenty of room on a CD for several hundred images that size if you want to fill it up (though I recommend editing and being selective — very few are going to have the patience to wade through fifty images, let alone a couple of hundred).

Some galleries will have state-of-the-art computer processors & monitors which will seem to fly effortlessly through images of this size, but other galleries may be working with older equipment, so this seems to be a good average. Of course, this size/resolution of image is not going to print well at all — but it will look as just as good on the common-size monitor as one with 300 pixels per inch resolution. If they are using an LCD projector they might prefer higher definition, but sending the CD out blind means you want to let everyone easily open and review your images, right? That is my philosophy, anyway.

If you have a high resolution camera so you can take hi-res pictures you can always put a second folder of images with 300 or more pixels-per-inch resolution duplicating the images in the standard-size folder, that way those folks that have the top systems can luxriate in all that resolution if they want to. Just label the separate folders well so the galleries with less-new systems won't get frustrated and pitch the CD in File 13 out of disgust when they can't open the correct folder. . . <grin>

Don

www.dondougan.com

[ironman]

hi, Most everyone seems to want 1920x1920 images of no more than 1.8 Mbtes.
If you use CAFE, that's what they want.
Have a great day,
Jeff

[suburbanartists]

Why are these dimensions square? I just recently sent out cd that wanted 1240x1240. Of course pics are not square and i just resized (iphoto) to make 1240 the max length or width.

Cropping each pic to a square is a time comsumer.

Is it really what they want?

or is it a max. size setting?

Thanks Sub.