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High-quality graphs are often needed for publication in scientific journals or for use in presentations. STATISTICA offers tools for producing such graphs, and they can either be copied and pasted or saved as an image. This article will discuss some best practices for obtaining optimal quality from STATISTICA graphs.

Before the high-resolution graph can be either saved as an image or copied to a document, it should first be customized. STATISTICA offers extensive graph customization options that can be used to obtain the desired effect before saving the graph. These options include changing the color and patterns of plot objects or the background of the graph, and changing font style, size, etc. Graphs can be converted from color to black and white. A company logo can be inserted. The possibilities are endless.

STATISTICA contains a global option for controlling the Dots per Inch (DPI) resolution of graphs that are sent to STATISTICA reports or copied and pasted into other applications. This option will affect all graphs created in STATISTICA. On the Home tab in the Tools group, click Options to display the Options dialog. In the tree view, under Graphs, select Display. In the options pane, select the Create Clipboard/Report/Metafile images at a printer resolution check box in order to adjust the default resolution. This option affects the graph resolution when, for example, you intend to copy and paste the graph into a document such as Microsoft Word. Enter the desired resolution in the DPI box.

STATISTICA graphs can be saved in a variety of formats including Bitmap (BMP), JPEG, Portable Network Graphic Files (PNG), Metafiles, Enhanced Metafiles, PDF, GIF, and TIFF. Each format has its own set of strengths. Many publications have specific requirements for file formats.

For obtaining higher print quality for these file formats, select the Create Clipboard/ Report/ Metafile image at a printer resolution of check box located in the Save As dialog to adjust the DPI resolution; this option becomes available when an appropriate format is selected. Enter the desired resolution in the DPI box. This resolution will be seen upon printing the graph or file containing it. When comparing a JPEG, for example, at 600 DPI and 900 DPI, the dimensions are larger for the 900 DPI file.

Screen resolution may be the main goal. The Portable Network Graphic (PNG) file is a good choice for a quality screen display. These images can be inserted into a Microsoft Word document. The graph below is the Descriptive Statistics Summary 1 graph, saved as a PNG. All the default settings for graphs were used.