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Dare to be different (and correct): Set photo ppi to 300


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I am so tired of seeing the 72 ppi when I choose to set up a document for screen distribution. This is an error or myth that seems almost impossible to kill!

There is no ppi for a screen project. It does not influence how an image is displayed. Only the number of pixels count.

An image of 300x500 @ 10 ppi will be displayed exactly the same as an image of 300x500 @ 5000 ppi. The only place where ppi makes sense is in print projects.

So pleace, let us get rid of the 72 ppi thing?

Also - please observe that I am using ppi - not dpi. Dpi is wrong. We are working with pixels, not dots.

And finally - changing ppi does not change the size of an image or document. How is that for bait? ;-)

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There's a couple/few threads about this already. I would say you are (mostly) correct.

That said, I'm gonna go make some popcorn and watch the responses—that will/maybe come from a particular person...be prepared for a bunch of hooey, bogging down in senseless semantics and rambling.

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2 hours ago, MikeW said:

There's a couple/few threads about this already. I would say you are (mostly) correct.

That said, I'm gonna go make some popcorn and watch the responses—that will/maybe come from a particular person...be prepared for a bunch of hooey, bogging down in senseless semantics and rambling.

:-) I am actually expecting it. After 20 years in broadcast TV and after training countless of people in editing, I have probably heard most of it before. I am also a photographer and media consultant. But yeah, I'll get my popcorn as well. Or some BBQ on the side here (I live in Brazil, and it is summer here).

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4 hours ago, rubs said:

On a side note, I think 72 used to be the native screen resolution for old Macs. Windows defaults are 96 dpi (or ppi?), not 72.

The important word here is old. And I actually do not think it ever really was either 72 or 96. Remember - in those days, you had cathode ray monitors - I remember those 21 inch monsters very well after dragging them up and down stairs in building without elevators. They did not have pixels at all.

And yes. It is definitely called ppi :-) It was just as valid then as it is now: neither ppi or dpi has any relevance for images that will end up on a screen. Only the size of the image (in pixels).
Dpi is also a reference to the old days. And to a specific printing process. So if dpi is relevant depends on what type of printing you are going to use.

The reason why ppi is correct is that it simply refers to how many of the pixels in an image will be fitted within an inch on the media you are printing on - no matter what process you are using. If you are dealing with a professional service, they will most likely translate this into the process/system they are using - and they prefer to get a good image as a starting point for this. This is difficult to understand for people that do not have sufficient experience in this area. But the software should use the correct terms so that people do not get confused jumping between different software.

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I imagine ppis/dpis may still be relevant for screen work when/if you are placing or dragging an image file onto your artwork or converting from another format. Other than that, I agree it's not important at all.

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50 minutes ago, rubs said:

I imagine ppis/dpis may still be relevant for screen work when/if you are placing or dragging an image file onto your artwork or converting from another format. Other than that, I agree it's not important at all.

It depends a little on how the software treats it. I absolutely prefer the way Photoshop deals with it over Affinity Photo.

Even if you choose a web project, Affinity Photo will treat two different DPI settings differently. In Photoshop, you will get the transform function on any image you drag in, so you can position and size it correctly. This should be the preferred method in Affinity photo as well. It does not really matter what the DPI is - you need that photo to fit your document - no matter what :-) I still need to learn where to find the transform function in Affinity Photo.

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