It all depends on what resolution you hope to achieve in the final print and that depends, in part, on your anticipated viewing distance. (Highway billboards can look great at 100 yards...)
The vast majority of photographers are unknowingly content with amazingly low resolution, but high acutance prints.
For an explanation of the difference between resolution and acutance, see Sean McHugh's tutorial on sharpness:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/sharpness.htm
Consider this: Even with a camera like the 16.61 MP Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, the 4992 x 3328 pixel capture, when put to paper at 360 ppi without resampling (which is equivalent to a print resolution of 5 lp/mm when taking into account resolution lost to Bayer algorithm and AA filter), will only yield a 9.24 x 13.87-inch print.
9.244 inches * 360 ppi = 3328 pixels
13.866 inches * 360 ppi = 4992 pixels
So anyone out there who's routinely making 360 dpi 9x13-inch prints (without cropping) from a 16.61 MP sensor is limited to a maximum print resolution of 5 lp/mm, but a young adult with healthy vision can appreciate resolutions as high as 8 lp/mm when viewed at a distance of 25cm (9.84 inches) - and some experts, like Ctein (if he deserves that designation), would argue that even higher resolutions can be distinguished by the naked eye.
We could make "sharp" 20 x 30-inch prints from a 16.61 MP sensor, but they'll be "sharp" only by way of acutance (edge sharpness), not by way of resolution (fine subject detail), because at 20 x 30, the actual subject detail will be diluted to something less than 2.5 lp/mm (less than half the resolution enjoyed in a 9.24 x 13.87-inch print from 16.61 MP).
But that's perfectly OK as long as your audience stands twice as far away from the print that's twice as large.
In other words, your "desired print resolution" can be cut in half when you're willing to assume that your audience will view the print at a distance of 20-inches instead of 10-inches.
It amazes me how few people in photography forums are willing to declare, or even consider, their anticipated enlargement factor, desired print resolution (and the latter variable's dependency on viewing distance) when discussing factors that affect "sharpness".
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Mike Davis
http://www.AccessZ.com