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May. 1, 2019
How do I use resolution for printing?
- First, let's start with what is resolution and what is its importance in printing graphic designs? In printing, we have what we call DPI or Dots Per Inch which refers to the output resolution of a printer and PPI which means Pixels Per Inch that refers to the input resolution. DPI or Dots Per Inch refers to the physical dot density when it is printed out.
- A pixel is a single and smallest element of a picture that your photo is divided into. It can only be one color, and a photograph consists of a grid of thousands of pixels varying colors that make up your image. You'll be able to see the pixels if you open a photo in a photo editing program and zoom in until you see blocks of colors.
- Printed images are generally made up of tiny dots of color and how many DPI the printer can produce defines the printer's resolution. The higher the resolution, the smaller the dots, and the better the quality of the printed image.
- Different printers have different specs and different printing technologies. And that is why there are some printers that give out better result than that of the others even if the image that they are printing has the same resolution. Meaning, aside from making sure that the resolution is at it's best, you also need to consider the printing technology that will be used in printing the image to ensure the best quality of the output. Even though some printers with 300-dpi can deliver better results than that of some 600 dpi printers.
- How does resolution affect the output of printing? Sometimes, when we download an image on the internet and we print it out, it does not come out as clear as when you were seeing it on your computer screen. The reason is that it simply does not have enough pixels on most internet images that allow them to print in high quality.
- The term image resolution refers to how many pixels of your image will fit inside the paper when printed. The number of pixels that will be printed is known as the resolution of the image. Image resolution is a very important factor, especially when printing graphics designs or images. It affects the overall outcome of your project.
- Now, how can we determine the "good" or "best" image resolution? For a standard size photo of 4 inches by 6 inches, the image resolution should at least be 300 pixels per inch. The size should at least be 1200 pixels wide by 1800 pixels high or vice versa depending on if it is portrait or landscape. Meaning it should have a total of at least 2,160,000 pixels. That should be no problem for most digital cameras in the market today.
- When it comes to displaying images on the screen you need fewer pixels than you do for printing. It is because the required density of pixels on the screen is lesser than that for printing.
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