Today I wanted to geek out a bit on image resolution as it’s something that seems to be a little misunderstood. You probably have heard the terms DPI (dots per inch) and PPI (pixels per inch) before when submitting images to a graphic, web or ad agency. Both terms refer to resolution but they are not the same.
So what are the differences between to two? Well…
DPI is the number of printed dots contained in 1 inch of an image printed by a printer
PPI is the number of pixels contained in 1 inch of an image displayed on a computer screen
For printing, DPI is used to determine the size an image will be when it’s printed. Where it can get a little confusing is when you increase or decrease the DPI. Increasing the DPI will make the image smaller and decreasing will make it larger. Just something to boggle your mind when printing an image on your home or office printer where there are choices such as 5×7, 8×10, 11×17 etc.
In the digital realm, PPI represents the quality or the image you see. For example if an image contains less pixels it will look blurry or pixelated with details being lost. If an image is already small in size with fewer pixels you cannot scale it up and expect it to look better. Unfortunately there is no “just Photoshopping it” to remedy the problem.
Regardless of application, it’s always best to get your images in the highest possible resolution so that they can be sized down and cropped to work versus trying to work with a small size. If taking photos yourself make sure your settings are at the highest they can be and you’ll be all set on best resolution.