Minimum Resolution for Schtickers?

Hi, I am thinking of buying my girlfriend a schticker for her laptop (14" widescreen Asus) - what resolution will be required for it to look okay.

The image I want to use is 1680x1050 (I can't find a larger one).

 

At 1680x1050, the image would have to be shrunk down a bit to fit fully, though I would imagine they could do it cleanly enough, I guess 1440x900 or 1280x 800 would be ideal for a 14.1. Putting a high res image that looks great on a larger surface could lose fine details as you shrink it down.

 

They don't provide much information on the site as to what ratio the image should be (4:3, 16:10 etc), or even the minimum resolution

 

230 dpi will give you a nice photo quality print. If you can not get a res that high then call/email them and get thier opinion. Less than 230, you can still get decent prints, sometimes as low as 150 depending on how picky you are.

 

How do I work out the DPI?
1680x1050 / Area of Sticker ?

 

Unfortunately I have worked out the DPI to be 105
SQRT(1312^2 + 1050^2) / SQRT(12.5^2 + 10^2)
Diagonal Image Resolution / Diagonal Sticker Size?

Sticker Height: 10 inches
Sticker Width: 12.5 inches
Sticker Diagonal: 16 inches

250DPI @ 12.5x10 is erm...... 3125px wide!
I have enclosed a sample of the image - is there a way to resize it or will I have to go make a vector image myself... is there a way to do that automatically?

EDIT: Actually that might be wrong. PaintShopPro help informs me that in order to print a given DPI, the PPI should be 50% of it.
So in this case, 250DPI = 125PPI, which is 1562x1250....

 

That may still be ok depending on thier process/software.

Also keep in mind a print will show grain worse than your monitor but it can still be a good guide. If you have a large monitor (21" or larger) and the image looks good when full screen then it will look ok when printed on a good material with a high end printer.

Most of my printing experience comes from getting very high quality fine art and photography glicee prints done. I am very picky with them but I have had to settle a couple times for prints in the 200 dpi range and was still very happy with how they turned out (still good enough for resell).

 

I appreciate your help Circa.
I am viewing on a Dell 2007WFP (1680x1050) resolution, and the image looks good when full size.
Would a bicubic interpolation in Photoshop to a slightly larger resolution be better than sending the image "as is"

 

I am sure they have at least that quality software. Chances are they will do at least as good as you will 'fixing' an image, probably better. I would send it as is.

The reason I mentioned this is that they may (like the glicee printer I use) have much superior software as well as the experience to know what algorythms work best with what subject.

 

I think I will send it to them then, I will give feedback once it arrives!

 

letting them tinker with it is the best plan of action, good luck.

 

So I got my Schticker today...I ordered on 10th August, it was despatched on 13th August and I received it 18 August. Not bad from USA to UK for a custom item.

I am pleased with the quality, it works just fine for a graphic like I used, but a photograph would probably require something a bit higher resolution. I will try and take some pictures if I get the chance.