DIS Output, Archiving & File Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A photographer needs to deliver 4K images for billboard printing at 300 PPI. The billboard is 10 ft × 20 ft. What is the minimum pixel dimension on the long side?
- 7,200 px
- 72,000 px (Correct answer)
- 3,600 px
- 14,400 px
Correct answer: 72,000 px
20 ft × 12 in/ft × 300 PPI = 72,000 pixels on the long side; however, large-format viewing distance allows lower PPI in practice.
Question 2: Which PDF/X standard is specifically designed for blind exchange of digital advertising files between agencies and publishers?
- PDF/X-1a (Correct answer)
- PDF/X-3
- PDF/X-4
- PDF/A-1b
Correct answer: PDF/X-1a
PDF/X-1a requires all colors to be CMYK or spot, all fonts embedded, and no RGB or transparency—ideal for predictable ad exchange.
Question 3: When exporting from Lightroom for web delivery, which sharpening setting is designed to compensate for the softening effect of resampling?
- Output sharpening set to Screen at Standard amount (Correct answer)
- Capture sharpening in the Detail panel
- Creative sharpening with a luminance mask
- High-pass sharpening via Photoshop
Correct answer: Output sharpening set to Screen at Standard amount
Lightroom's Output Sharpening > Screen applies edge-targeted sharpening calibrated to compensate for the softening introduced during downsampling.
Question 4: What does the term 'bit depth' determine in a printed digital image file?
- The physical size of the print
- The number of tonal levels available per color channel (Correct answer)
- The rendering resolution of the output device
- The total ink volume deposited on the substrate
Correct answer: The number of tonal levels available per color channel
Bit depth defines how many discrete tonal values exist per channel; 8-bit gives 256 levels, while 16-bit gives 65,536, enabling smoother gradients.
Question 5: A studio uses a NAS RAID 5 array for active project storage. What is the minimum number of drives required for RAID 5?
- 2
- 3 (Correct answer)
- 4
- 5
Correct answer: 3
RAID 5 requires a minimum of 3 drives: data is striped across all drives with parity distributed so any single drive can fail without data loss.
Question 6: Which file naming convention element is most critical for maintaining chronological sort order in a digital archive?
- Photographer's initials as a prefix
- ISO 8601 date format (YYYYMMDD) at the start of the filename (Correct answer)
- Sequential number at the end of the filename
- Camera model code in the middle of the filename
Correct answer: ISO 8601 date format (YYYYMMDD) at the start of the filename
ISO 8601 date placed first (YYYYMMDD) ensures files sort correctly in any file system by year, then month, then day.
Question 7: In Photoshop's 'Save for Web' (Export > Save for Web Legacy), what does the '2-Up' view enable?
- Simultaneous editing of two separate documents
- Side-by-side comparison of the original and compressed version (Correct answer)
- Splitting the canvas into two independent layers
- Exporting two files at different resolutions simultaneously
Correct answer: Side-by-side comparison of the original and compressed version
2-Up view shows the original image alongside the compressed preview so you can evaluate quality loss versus file size reduction before exporting.
DIS Output, Archiving & File Management 3
A photographer needs to deliver 4K images for billboard printing at 300 PPI.
The billboard is 10 ft × 20 ft.
What is the minimum pixel dimension on the long side?