Exporting to 72dpi/ppi by default

[PaoloT]

Hi,

This has been discussed here and there in multiple threads, but I don't think there has been an explicit request. So, here it is:

I would like to be able to set 72dpi as the default resolution of my exported images.

72dpi is a traditional way to match printed points and fractions of an inch. It has been (and maybe still is) the standard on the Mac.

While this may be irrelevant in some applications, where the size of an image is set by pixels, it is relevant in other cases, where an image is not associated to local measurements, and its size depends on the embedded resolution.

Dealing with 96dpi images, while still thinking at 72dpi, means that an image would result too small. This would cause loss of time trying to 'debug' the problem.

Paolo

 

[PaoloT]

I will renew my request, but go one step backward:

- When creating a new file from the clipboard, please let us set 72dpi/ppi as the default resolution in the preferences.

I'm doing a lot of screen captures, and having always to change resolution is depressing

Paolo

 

[PaoloT]

Another reason to default to 72dpi when resizing or exporting: this is the standard ppi resolution for the web. Defaulting to 96dpi means that you will have to change resolution nearly always. It is a way to make errors more likely, and in any case force (or forget) one operation more.

Paolo

 

[Alfred]

19 minutes ago, PaoloT said:

Another reason to default to 72dpi when resizing or exporting: this is the standard ppi resolution for the web. Defaulting to 96dpi means that you will have to change resolution nearly always.

Historically, 72 DPI is the standard on Macintosh computers and 96 DPI is the standard on Windows computers. But that all belongs to the days before ‘retina’ displays, and in any case it has no relevance to images for the Web (where everything is just pixels and there are no physical sizes involved).

[PaoloT]

50 minutes ago, Alfred said:

Historically, 72 DPI is the standard on Macintosh computers and 96 DPI is the standard on Windows computers.

72ppi for web images is a conventional size. It may be tied to the original resolution of the Mac display, but it is now totally separated from it. It's just a reference number.

It makes sense, since 1/72th of an inch is equivalent to one typographic point (1/12th of a pica). Not real measures we use anymore, but a conventional measure used as a reference.

For a suite dealing with printed materials, I would say that adopting the 72ppi reference would still make much sense.

Paolo

 

[Alfred]

11 minutes ago, PaoloT said:

It makes sense, since 1/72th of an inch is equivalent to one typographic point (1/12th of a pica).

It makes a lot of sense for print, for the reason you stated. It makes no sense at all for the Web, where an image displayed at FHD (1920 px × 1080 px) on a 26″ screen will physically cover four times the area of the same image displayed at the same resolution on a 13″ screen.

[garrettm30]

I typically go for 72dpi out of tradition, but just to be clear, the formal definition of CSS is 96 pixels equals 1 inch (see MDN here for a good reference on units). To see it in practice, I whipped up this very simple demo on CodePen where I have four boxes where the width for each is defined according to different units. You see that on the web, browsers treat 1 inch and 96 pixels to be equivalent.

https://codepen.io/garrettm30/pen/GRLjEJb

[PaoloT]

5 hours ago, garrettm30 said:

I typically go for 72dpi out of tradition, but just to be clear, the formal definition of CSS is 96 pixels equals 1 inch

Since a web image has no absolute size, I'm also inclined to use 72dpi as a reference, since it has a meaning in the real world.

My strategy with multichannel output is to use an image with a high pixel count enough, to be downscaled in a way to look good both on print and on the web. A multiple of 24 should make both 72 and 96 easy to manage without any decimal point. Not bad that 144ppi is the modern standard resolution on the Mac.

Paolo

 

 

[Alfred]

14 hours ago, PaoloT said:

A multiple of 24 should make both 72 and 96 easy to manage without any decimal point. Not bad that 144ppi is the modern standard resolution on the Mac.

144ppi is good because 144/72 = 2, but 144/96 = 1.5.

[fde101]

26 minutes ago, Alfred said:

144ppi is good because 144/72 = 2, but 144/96 = 1.5.

Agree, 96 = 4 * 24, 72 = 3 * 24, so need 12 * 24 = 288 to make this work.