DPI measures how big those pixels, or dots, are when they’re printed.

Without changing the image’s pixel dimensions, that image would appear larger or smaller on different monitors-and would even look different on the same monitor at a different resolution setting.Ī pixel (which is short for “picture element”) is the smallest unit of measure on a grid displaying a digital image. When someone asks you for a web image that’s, say, two inches wide, they’re estimating how it would appear on their own monitor. Web pages are measured in pixels, not real-world units such as inches.

When someone converts an image to 72 DPI, they’re adding an extra step with no benefit.

In print, pixels per inch and dots per inch impact the size of an image on a page. The misconception about resolution in digital images bound for the web is that they must meet a certain number of dots per inch. The process of sizing images for the web is often misunderstood. Yet many people go through the trouble of setting their images to 72 dots per inch ( DPI). Images on the web are measured in pixels. From proper alignment to getting just the right amount of white space, sizing photos and graphics properly beforehand is essential to creating a balanced look. It's basic math-just divide the number of pixels by the DPI.The size of an image in a website layout is important. Print the same image at 180 dpi and it will be 10 inches wide. So, if you print an 1800 pixel wide image at 300 dots-per-inch, the printed image will be six inches wide.

A pixel in a digital image is equivalent to a dot in a print. Most good home printers can output at 300 dpi, which is the recommended minimum for high-quality printing, and professional printers much higher. In simple terms, a higher DPI means a higher quality print. You need to understand how DPI works because it controls the two most important things in printing: The DPI setting determines how many dots the printer drops onto every square inch of the image-300 dpi means 300 dots of ink, while 150 dpi is half as much. DPI stands for 'dots-per-inch,' and is a specification for printing and for setting the print resolution of an image.Ī print is made from millions of tiny dots of ink.

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