If an image is displayed on your screen or printed on the page in low-res (short for low resolution), that means you are seeing a low-grade quality. Some graphics are just low-resolution to begin with, such as graphics made in the paint file format at 72 dots per inch. Some graphics are created as complex, high-resolution images, but you may choose to display them on the screen or print them in low-res just to save time, since it takes longer for a screen or a printer to create the high- resolution version.
For instance, if you are producing a brochure on your computer and in the brochure you have several high-resolution photographs in full color, it can take a long time to turn pages or change views. So you can choose to view these images in low resolution while you are working, just so you can move around the screen faster. You can choose to print them in low resolution just so you get an idea of the look of the brochure without waiting to reproduce the entire high resolution images.
The lower the resolution, the less information there is in a given amount of space (in a square inch, for instance). It may mean that each pixel in that square inch of the screen is not providing enough information to resolve the image clearly, or it may mean there are less printed dots per inch on the page.
Dinesh Thakur holds an B.C.A, MCDBA, MCSD certifications. Dinesh authors the hugely popular