Collage size resolution question

[mom to 4]

I need to make two collages which will end up being 18 x 46 each for an open house at my kids high school. I want to make it to look like the photos are on a corkboard. I have thought of making 8 12 x 18's. I like the fact of having pictures overlap on to the collage underneath, so I have also thought of making one collage on my pse 18 x 46 and then flattening it and divide it into 4 12 x 18's . My question is: If I do THAT one large 18 x 46, can I still make my resolution 200 which is what I usually use for a 12 by 18?? Or do I need to bump it up because in making it I am using 18 x 46???? Gosh I hope that makes sense!!

[Chuck S.]

Colleen: Using 200 ppi as a resolution for printing is pretty good, albeit on the low side of what some would recommend. It should be fine for an 18 inch by 46 inch poster, though, because people are going to view it from a lot farther back than they would a small photo. From an image size perspective, you're also okay, because PSE has a limit of 30,000 by 30,000 pixels, and you're looking at "only" 3600 by 9200. The file size will be a little challenging, depending on the power of your machine: about 95 megabytes before adding any layers.

Long story short: using 200 ppi for the whole image sounds fine!

Chuck

[Codebreaker]

Colleen....

The printing resolution - in your case you chose 200PPI - should be the same for any size print you want to make. What's going to happen is that you'll need more pixels.

So your 12 x 18 at 200PPI will be 2400 x 3600 = 8.6Mpixels
and an 18 x 46 would be 3600 x 9200 = 34.5Mpixels.

Colin

[mom to 4]

Once I get the 28 x 46 done, I am going to select 12 by 18 segments and put them in a new file and print those segments out. I think it should work, I sure hope it will!

Thanks guys! Your comments are reassuring and you always teach me something I didn't know!