(10 inches * 128 dpi) * (6 inches * 128 dpi) = 1280 * 768 (8 inches * 128 dpi) * (6 inches * 128 dpi) = 1024 * 768
For businesses investing in printing and scanning resources, it’s important to understand the project requirements. Balancing cost and output, and ensuring the right resources are applied to the requirements, isn’t always easy.
Investing in the wrong technology or services can mean wasted money. Implementing the wrong solution can put your business at risk and leave employees struggling with an inadequate solution.
We’ll look at dots per inch, or DPI, and how businesses can use it to determine the scope and requirements of printing and scanning services. We’ll also look at DPI as a baseline measure for certain industries and requirements, so you can scale and budget your services.
What Is DPI and How Is It Used?
DPI, or dots per inch, is a measure of the resolution of a printed document or digital scan. The higher the dot density, the higher the resolution of the print or scan. Typically, DPI is the measure of the number of dots that can be placed in a line across one inch, or 2.54 centimeters.
The higher the DPI, the sharper the image. A higher resolution image provides the printer and printing device more information. You can get more detail and greater resolution from an image with higher DPI.
A lower DPI will produce an image with fewer dots in printing. No matter how powerful your printer is, a low-resolution image doesn’t provide enough raw data to produce high-quality images. The ink will spread on the page, making the edges look fuzzy.
Similarly, a monitor will measure the pixels per inch, or PPI, of a video display. Typically, a printer must offer a higher DPI to match the color quality and resolution of a video display PPI. This is due to the limited range of colors in a print job.
DPI Printing and Industry Standards
Let’s review a few standards and guidelines for using DPI in printing services. Keep in mind, you’ll need a better, and more capable, printer or print service to deliver higher-quality and high-resolution printing output.
1. Low-Resolution Images
For business purposes, low-resolution images are suitable for scanning text documents and storing records digitally. Internal office communication can be reproduced with a low resolution, but anything used outside the office should be higher than 150dpi. After all, the printing quality needs to represent your business.
2. Medium-Resolution Images
Medium-resolution images have between 200dpi-300dpi. The industry standard for quality photographs and image is typically 300dpi.
For businesses, producing an
A good rule to follow is when in doubt, select a higher dpi for your material.
3. High-Resolution Images
Most businesses consider 600dpi and higher to be a
Keep in mind, there are diminishing returns for increasing the resolution of an image. Any print above 1,200dpi will deliver improvements that are practically unnoticeable to the naked eye. You won’t be able to see any difference between documents. Only professional photographers or artists with highly detailed work will need resolution that high.
Other Factors That Influence Print Quality
DPI isn’t the only factor that determines the resolution and print quality. Often, these other factors can have more impact on quality and resolution.
For example, sometimes users will change the resolution of an image in software like Photoshop. This will increase the DPI, but it won’t change or increase the quality of the image. The pixels in the image are larger, resulting in a pixelated, almost unprintable, image. This is known as
The printer, and ink used in the printer, can also
Selecting the right DPI printing services and office technology is important. Dots per inch is one factor that can influence the efficiency and cost of print services. It’s important to identify your business requirements and scanning and printing needs before selecting print services.