Another great video Trent - I wish more clients would understand this subject, so many times I've gotten asked to "just use that 640 x 480 image I sent you and print it at 20" x 17" please." - Um no, just no.
Thanks, that really helped clear up some things. For a follow-up topic, would you mind speaking to resolution when exporting raster images for web use? Higher resolution images means larger files, but how small is too small for high-DPI screens like retina displays? If I have, say, 400px of space to fill in a web design, what size image should I export to so an JPG or other image format looks good on a nice high-DPI screen? I still struggle with that 😕
This covers the basics, but you left out at least two important ways how DPI is used in Affinity apps. Firstly, regarding the difference it makes between Affinity's 100%, Actual Size and Print Size zoom modes, and secondly regarding the Export persona while exporting out graphics for high-DPI/retina displays @1x, @2s or @3x sizes.
You didn't mention where 300 and 72 come from. The earliest printer that I remember that printed at 300 DPI was the Apple Laserwriter. Some dot matrix or inkjet printers might have, but not from Epson. Epson printed in multiples of 90, and still does. 72 comes from an early screen, maybe 13. On CRT monitors, the individual dots were easily seen. On my 50" TV screen, I need a magnifying glass. a 4K 32" monitor has smaller dots, more per inch.
My Canon printer says it's maximum DPI is 2,400 x 1200 dpi - I use RAW images which I then resize but now I see your video, I am not sure I'm doing it correctly - what would you do in this case - we do large format prints on canvas eg 100x100cm- canvas bleeds more than board or card so I usually go slightly lower on resolution than for up close things like our brochures and books. Would love your opinion if you have time. @TechnicallyTrent
If you followed Trent's advice that DPI and PPI are the same, you'd create your images at 1200 DPI. But that's wrong. Your printer does not likely have green ink so how does it represent a green pixel? It mixes multiple dots of yellow and cyan ink to represent a single green pixel. So DPI is higher than PPI. Your 2400x1200 DPI printer is probably fine with 300 PPI images.
@@JamesOblak my images that print 100cm (approx 39inches) are roughly 11700px so that works back to 300dpi, which is what I use as a standard, although sometimes I print some of my artworks at 240dpi and it looks great too. I think this is because it's on canvas and 'bleeds' but it depends on the image, detail, and linework in the paintings. Do you have any comments on that? I am no expert just find it all fascinating and obviously would like to produce the best quality image possible for my collection.
Hi @peterpharoahartist, I found some discussion of this topic here that may help, and maybe others can provide more info: www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread66955-2.htm I believe that 2,400 x 1200 dpi is for the individual color droplets that can mix to form the final colors. If I was printing on those surfaces, I'd still stick to the simple formula of figuring how out big my image needs to be to support 300 DPI at a given size. I also think experimenting with test prints will be essential. Hope this helps!
@@peterpharoahartist You have two things that can affect that general 300 ppi rule. The first is what you already see with ink bleed/over-saturation on canvas or paper. You can test how much ink bleed happens in your print medium by preparing a 100x100 pixel black and white graphic with 50 single-pixel black vertical bars interspersed with 50 single-pixel white vertical bars. Print one copy of this image at 100 ppi (a one inch square), another at 200 ppi (a half inch square), and another at 300 ppi (a third of an inch square). If the smallest version of that image file (300 ppi, 1/3 inch) shows solid black on your medium because of ink oversaturation, then there is no need to prepare images for that 300 ppi resolution. I'm guessing that the 200 ppi version of the image probably still shows vertical bars on the print medium. The other thing that can affect the 300 ppi rule is the distance that the eye observes the art. This 300 ppi assumption is that the viewer is holding the piece at arm's length. If you're printing posters that may not be seen so closely, you can get away with lower resolution.
@@TechnicallyTrent Took a look at the link - thanks very much - I think what we've been doing produces a great result and we're probably not going to get it any better but that's fine because the Canon is a really great printer!
...or at least let's talk about PPI. This video does not help the clueless designer that has a 4800 dpi stochastic screen ink jet printer and thinks that they need to prepare their images at 4800 dpi. Serif Affinity does a great disservice to its users by labeling the resolution as DPI instead of PPI. And this video perpetuates the misinformation by ignoring PPI.
Really clarified the difference between pixels and dots. Nice! However, it would have been even easier to follow this video if you had turned on rulers first. Th rulers would have shown the dimensions of everything you were doing in your chosen units: pixels, inches, whatever.
PPI relates to your computer monitor's resolution. The relationship between the image pixel density and your monitor's PPI will determine how much real estate your image will occupy on your monitor's screen when the image is at 100% zoom. PPI, pixels per inch, is a monitor thing. DPI is related to printing on a physical object. Two very different concepts.
@@Bob-The-Guy you're making it worse. :) PPI is not simply a monitor thing. PPI is also related to printing a physical object. That's why there is a physical measurement (inch) in "PPI". Most of what this video covers is really PPI, not DPI. If you follow this video's information and have a 4800 DPI ink jet printer, should you really prepare your images at 4800 DPI? Certainly not.
The "inch" in PPI refers to an inch on your screen. Once upon a time, it was feared that we'd have to worry about the pixel density of all these different devices (monitors, phones, tablets, TVs, etc...). So this concept of Pixels Per Inch (PPI) was invented to help explain how an image would look on different monitors. Turns out, it doesn't really matter. The best approach is to look at the recommended file size for your desired digital platform (Facebook image, Instagram image, Shopify header, etc...) and just use that. Or err on the side of making the image too high res and let the device scale it down. I'll try to make a follow up video for this.
@@TechnicallyTrent I agree. You can zoom your project to make it fit on your monitor easily so PPI is not a big deal. Devices will compress larger files to fit.
@@TechnicallyTrent If what you believe is true, why does Photoshop, GIMP, Krita, Painter, and so many other apps define image size in PPI instead of DPI? What do they know? :) Your laser printer says it is capable of 1200 DPI but you know you'd never create an image with 1200 PPI (or your DPI) for it. This is why it is important to understand the difference between PPI and DPI. The reason why we have a general rule about "300 PPI" for print is because we know the LPI is generally 133 to 150 and we need the extra image data (PPI) to effectively downsample to that lesser line screen (LPI) in offset printing. The offset printing output device likely uses 1200 DPI to produce that 150 LPI screen from the 300 PPI image data. I'm more critical of Serif's refusal (as the developers explained in their forums) to use the proper PPI terminology than of your perception of the concept and presentation in your video. I know you need to simplify this concept for the Affinity audience. I'm hoping Serif eventually learns.
Another great tutorial. Thanks Trent for explaining this. I never understood resolution and DPI. Now it is all clear.
First time I understood the explanation, thank!
OMG!!! I think I finally understand😊
Thank you so much!
Am eager to hear your recommendations for upscaling.
Another great video Trent - I wish more clients would understand this subject, so many times I've gotten asked to "just use that 640 x 480 image I sent you and print it at 20" x 17" please." - Um no, just no.
Thanks @chrissh9001! Yes, unfortunately some clients don't understand how resolution works and have unrealistic demands.
Thanks Trent for a very much needed tutorial ! -- I look forward to part II 🙂
Thank you so much Trent. This was so informative.
Thanks, that really helped clear up some things. For a follow-up topic, would you mind speaking to resolution when exporting raster images for web use? Higher resolution images means larger files, but how small is too small for high-DPI screens like retina displays? If I have, say, 400px of space to fill in a web design, what size image should I export to so an JPG or other image format looks good on a nice high-DPI screen? I still struggle with that 😕
Hi @grizfan93, thanks for the suggestion. I am making a follow-up video on this topic, so I will try to address it there. Stay tuned :)
@@TechnicallyTrent Woo! can't wait, thanks for all your great help 😀
I understood that. the DPI is is related to the size of the picture if being printed.
This is a really helpful video - thank you!
Ahhhhh now it all makes sense! Thank you
Very useful! Thank you!
Very informative and helpful. Thank you so much.😊📚
No problem!
Thank you
This covers the basics, but you left out at least two important ways how DPI is used in Affinity apps. Firstly, regarding the difference it makes between Affinity's 100%, Actual Size and Print Size zoom modes, and secondly regarding the Export persona while exporting out graphics for high-DPI/retina displays @1x, @2s or @3x sizes.
Thanks for the additional details, @juurstudio! Yes, there are some other subtleties of DPI, but I wanted to cover the basics in this video.
You didn't mention where 300 and 72 come from.
The earliest printer that I remember that printed at 300 DPI was the Apple Laserwriter. Some dot matrix or inkjet printers might have, but not from Epson. Epson printed in multiples of 90, and still does.
72 comes from an early screen, maybe 13. On CRT monitors, the individual dots were easily seen. On my 50" TV screen, I need a magnifying glass. a 4K 32" monitor has smaller dots, more per inch.
Thanks for the background info! I was familiar with the numbers but never knew exactly where they came from.
@@TechnicallyTrent Google the resolution of the Epson P600.
Just for the fun of it.
My Canon printer says it's maximum DPI is 2,400 x 1200 dpi - I use RAW images which I then resize but now I see your video, I am not sure I'm doing it correctly - what would you do in this case - we do large format prints on canvas eg 100x100cm- canvas bleeds more than board or card so I usually go slightly lower on resolution than for up close things like our brochures and books. Would love your opinion if you have time. @TechnicallyTrent
If you followed Trent's advice that DPI and PPI are the same, you'd create your images at 1200 DPI. But that's wrong. Your printer does not likely have green ink so how does it represent a green pixel? It mixes multiple dots of yellow and cyan ink to represent a single green pixel. So DPI is higher than PPI. Your 2400x1200 DPI printer is probably fine with 300 PPI images.
@@JamesOblak my images that print 100cm (approx 39inches) are roughly 11700px so that works back to 300dpi, which is what I use as a standard, although sometimes I print some of my artworks at 240dpi and it looks great too.
I think this is because it's on canvas and 'bleeds' but it depends on the image, detail, and linework in the paintings. Do you have any comments on that? I am no expert just find it all fascinating and obviously would like to produce the best quality image possible for my collection.
Hi @peterpharoahartist,
I found some discussion of this topic here that may help, and maybe others can provide more info:
www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread66955-2.htm
I believe that 2,400 x 1200 dpi is for the individual color droplets that can mix to form the final colors. If I was printing on those surfaces, I'd still stick to the simple formula of figuring how out big my image needs to be to support 300 DPI at a given size. I also think experimenting with test prints will be essential. Hope this helps!
@@peterpharoahartist You have two things that can affect that general 300 ppi rule. The first is what you already see with ink bleed/over-saturation on canvas or paper. You can test how much ink bleed happens in your print medium by preparing a 100x100 pixel black and white graphic with 50 single-pixel black vertical bars interspersed with 50 single-pixel white vertical bars. Print one copy of this image at 100 ppi (a one inch square), another at 200 ppi (a half inch square), and another at 300 ppi (a third of an inch square). If the smallest version of that image file (300 ppi, 1/3 inch) shows solid black on your medium because of ink oversaturation, then there is no need to prepare images for that 300 ppi resolution. I'm guessing that the 200 ppi version of the image probably still shows vertical bars on the print medium.
The other thing that can affect the 300 ppi rule is the distance that the eye observes the art. This 300 ppi assumption is that the viewer is holding the piece at arm's length. If you're printing posters that may not be seen so closely, you can get away with lower resolution.
@@TechnicallyTrent Took a look at the link - thanks very much - I think what we've been doing produces a great result and we're probably not going to get it any better but that's fine because the Canon is a really great printer!
Let's talk about dpi vs lpi to really confuse people :)
Ha, I'm worried the topic is already confusing enough :)
...or at least let's talk about PPI. This video does not help the clueless designer that has a 4800 dpi stochastic screen ink jet printer and thinks that they need to prepare their images at 4800 dpi. Serif Affinity does a great disservice to its users by labeling the resolution as DPI instead of PPI. And this video perpetuates the misinformation by ignoring PPI.
Really clarified the difference between pixels and dots. Nice!
However, it would have been even easier to follow this video if you had turned on rulers first. Th rulers would have shown the dimensions of everything you were doing in your chosen units: pixels, inches, whatever.
Where is the discussion of PPI? This video is helpful but it is still misleading.
PPI relates to your computer monitor's resolution. The relationship between the image pixel density and your monitor's PPI will determine how much real estate your image will occupy on your monitor's screen when the image is at 100% zoom. PPI, pixels per inch, is a monitor thing. DPI is related to printing on a physical object. Two very different concepts.
@@Bob-The-Guy you're making it worse. :)
PPI is not simply a monitor thing. PPI is also related to printing a physical object. That's why there is a physical measurement (inch) in "PPI". Most of what this video covers is really PPI, not DPI. If you follow this video's information and have a 4800 DPI ink jet printer, should you really prepare your images at 4800 DPI? Certainly not.
The "inch" in PPI refers to an inch on your screen.
Once upon a time, it was feared that we'd have to worry about the pixel density of all these different devices (monitors, phones, tablets, TVs, etc...). So this concept of Pixels Per Inch (PPI) was invented to help explain how an image would look on different monitors.
Turns out, it doesn't really matter. The best approach is to look at the recommended file size for your desired digital platform (Facebook image, Instagram image, Shopify header, etc...) and just use that. Or err on the side of making the image too high res and let the device scale it down.
I'll try to make a follow up video for this.
@@TechnicallyTrent I agree. You can zoom your project to make it fit on your monitor easily so PPI is not a big deal. Devices will compress larger files to fit.
@@TechnicallyTrent If what you believe is true, why does Photoshop, GIMP, Krita, Painter, and so many other apps define image size in PPI instead of DPI? What do they know? :)
Your laser printer says it is capable of 1200 DPI but you know you'd never create an image with 1200 PPI (or your DPI) for it. This is why it is important to understand the difference between PPI and DPI. The reason why we have a general rule about "300 PPI" for print is because we know the LPI is generally 133 to 150 and we need the extra image data (PPI) to effectively downsample to that lesser line screen (LPI) in offset printing. The offset printing output device likely uses 1200 DPI to produce that 150 LPI screen from the 300 PPI image data.
I'm more critical of Serif's refusal (as the developers explained in their forums) to use the proper PPI terminology than of your perception of the concept and presentation in your video. I know you need to simplify this concept for the Affinity audience. I'm hoping Serif eventually learns.