For you computer savvy folks: a question about screen display resolution

[michrennie]

My coworker insists that computer monitors can't display anything with a higher resolution than 72dpi (and therefore, she knocks everything down to 72dpi no matter what it was before

Comments

[alanpartlow]

It's always more complicated. First, it depends on what resolution you have set for your monitor. I keep mine at 1440x900. In theory, 72dpi is the standard screen resolution for an image, but it gets tricky when you introduce text. A Mac monitor displays text at 72dpi, but a PC takes 96 pixels to display the same text. I'm guessing that you're on a PC and that's why 72dpi text looks fuzzy or jagged, because it has been enlarged. To further complicate matters, it also depends on your browser. Internet Explorer actually enlarges text one or two point sizes, which adds to the problem. The same text can appear four different ways depending on your machine and browser combination.

What to do? If an image contains text, it is better to save it at a higher resolution (150-200). It will not significantly increase the file size.

Of course I'm no expert on this, but this is my understanding of it.

[paleoman]

Wow, I learned something today. Thanks.