ATTN PHOTOGS and people KNOWLEDGABLE about PHOTOGRAPHY!

jax_the_beach_bride · May 1, 2009

I had a discussion with my photogs and told them that i wanted my photos to be at least 300 DPI... he suggested that 300 PPI (pixels per inch)is better... is that true? or should i stick with the requirement of 300 DPI... help would be really appreciated!!!!

Sascha Gluck Photography · May 1, 2009

Hi, here's a good article which explains the terms Dots per inch ( dpi ) and Pixel per inch ( ppi ) DPI and PPI Explained

I hope this helps....

jax_the_beach_bride · May 1, 2009

LOL that sorta helped... But which is better? I know I probably look crazy incompitent for asking but I really don't know

Evan Baines · May 2, 2009

You need to specify either pixel dimensions or a combination of PPI AND output size.

Here's what I mean:

PPI= Pixels per inch.

DPI= Dots per inch

PPI refers to file information.

DPI refers to the number of physical dots put down by the printer.

Sometimes, people erroneously call PPI DPI.

Here's a hypothetical:

I could give you a file with pixel dimensions of 3600 by 5400.

If I gave you a 300PPI file, that would be a 12" by 18" print.

However, I could change the PPI to 360 and suddenly you would have a 10" by 15" print. Your image file hasn't actually changed size: just the output relative to number of pixels.

Alternately, I could give you a 300ppi file, but if the file is only 360x540 pixels, you're only getting a 1.8" print.

Typically, most printers do best with 240-360ppi. 300ppi is a good standard number that's widely accepted. However, you should specify in any contract, if this is an issue, terms such as that you will be receiving "images suitable to make an 8x10" print at 300ppi." Just the PPI by itself is useless: you could receive 300ppi images unsuitable for anything but a wallet-sized print.