Screen-Captures

[Fletch]

I have a customer that is puting 'Screen Captures' in their InDesign layout, and is wondering why they are low-resolution. After I explained the whole '72 dpi' thing to them, they're asking how to do it so it will look Great. To my knowledge, the best method is to create a screen simulation of each 'Screen-shot' desired. Is this correct, or is there another way?

[Kevin@Kodak]

Strangely, the easiest answer is to simply use a bigger screen. The screen capture file size is limited by the size of the desktop you are using. If you use a 30" Cinema Display at the highest resolution, you'll get a much larger image file (2560x1600 pixels) than if you use a 17" iMac. I'm not sure if there's an easy way to simulate an even bigger display size or higher resolution.

However, you may want to also adjust your screen fonts to something larger, so that text doesn't disappear on such a large desktop - but it's the easiest way to meet the need you describe. Simulating an image would allow you higher res, but would be a real pain to do well for most applications.

[sgirard]

Like Kevin says, the first thing is to make sure you're putting as many pixels on screen as you can. It is really a combination of your display and your video card that determines this. You should be able to get at least 1900x1200 on a modern system; more if you have a nice setup.

From there it is just like any other image. Absolute number of pixels is the important factor.

[Cory Smith]

I thought snapz pro would allow you to take high resolution screen shots.

Snapz Pro X | Ambrosia Software, Inc.

they offer a free demo.

[Fletch]

I appreciate the time and knowledge.

[gordo]

You can also upsample the screen capture in PShop. Double the resolution by going from 72 dpi to 144 dpi using the "Nearest Neighbor" option works very well.

best, gordon p

my print blog here: Quality In Print