FAQ: Why is there a posting format? Where did the 800 pixel wide limit come from? Why are there size limits?

ANSWER: You can always go as long as you want ONE way - for example 800 wide and 10,000 tall is pretty common for big projects - take a look at the examples I posted - Slinksky's is posted at 850 x 10895 pixels

The size of an online post is dictated by monitor resolution, which varies from user to user. For example, my flatscreen is set to 1280 x 1024.

Here are some common monitor resolutions: 640×480, 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1600×1200, 2048×1536...and so on.A person with an old computer and monitor might have it set to 600 x 800 which is really small...the largest image you could view without scrolling would be 760 x 420.The most common res is 1024 x 768 and max image size for that is 955 x 600

The 800 pixel image width limit is a compromise, used by web designers worldwide. It allows a wide range of users to view content without scrolling horizontally.If you go to Apples website, you will see the width of the content set to 750 pixels. We usually cut off 50 pixels or so from the max because there are always other things crowding the viewer space. Better to be safe and allow for a little wiggle room.Now, you see more and more people designing for the 1024 monitors - and that would give us another 150 pixels, or a width of 900 to 950 pixels for images, web pages, photos.

If you bought a computer lately or a laptop, you probably have even higher res.So...the rule of thumb. To be safe in emails and general use, use the 800 x 550 size. Or, extend ONE of those dimensions so there is scrolling in one direction.For instances like page layout or things with detail, then consider going to 950 wide for images.

You can also stack horizontally. Create a canvas 550 - 600 high (not 800!) and 3000 wide to start, and place the images on it. An example of what this would look like on a webpage is here http://www.jeffprentice.net/newindex/sd.htm

There are web limits to width and height. You will get a warning in photoshop about exceeding web limits.

Finally - all monitors are limited to either 72 dpi or 96 dpi. Make sure all images are resized to that dpi or ppi, then change and adjust the actual pixel widths of the canvas.

Hope this explains why we came up with these numbers to begin with -For double page layout try 950 wide, and if that is too small try a super wide canvas with the images, and another option would be to have 2 posts...one for the page layout pieces requiring a wide canvas...the other a traditional stacked canvas size of 800 wide 3000 high (to start). You can always add more canvas in one direction if you need it!

It is up to each artist and designer to make sure the presentation is perfect - if you cant see something in your design, figure out a posting solution.