During a CorelDRAW Unleashed Training Session last week, I was working with clients who hoped to create to export a single file from CorelDRAW for all methods of output.

Each of the files originates in CorelDRAW and it is exported as a PNG file for use in a printed book, a PowerPoint slide show and various electronic training tools. All of the files are designed in a 4:3 ratio and the size when placed in the printed books is 3.6 inches wide. If we output the PNG files so they are exactly 300 dpi for printing, the width would be 1080 pixels.

Prior to the training, the PNG files were output at 2250 pixels wide. All of the detail was wasted when printing. It also make PowerPoint slide shows with 300 or more slides much larger than needed. We debated long and hard to find the perfect bitmap dimensions and the final result was 1280 x 960 pixels. It is still more than 300 dpi for printing, but will dramatically drop the size of the PowerPoint files. We strongly considered 1024 x 768 but worried it might not provide enough quality for the PowerPoint files projected at higher resolutions.

We also decided the page size in CorelDRAW should be 8 inches wide by 6 inches tall. As the vast majority of the graphics are designed completely with vectors, the PNG files can always go to a larger size in the future as needed. In the graphic shown above, I’ve listed a variety of measurements that fit perfectly in the 4:3 ratio. Not only did the training improve the proficiency in CorelDRAW, it developed a complete workflow for the graphics they create.