Okuzeka
Photography vocabulary · Printing

DPI

Meaning in photography, with examples

/ˌdiː piː ˈaɪ/abbreviationCommon term

In photography, DPI means: Short for dots per inch: the number of ink dots a printer places in one inch. It is often used loosely to mean PPI (pixels per inch).

In Turkish: DPI, inç başına nokta

How it is used

Labs and publishers ask for files “at 300 DPI”, which really means enough pixels for 300 PPI at the final print size. Changing the DPI number in a file without changing its pixel dimensions adds no detail.

Example sentences

  1. The magazine needs all images at 300 DPI at the printed size.

  2. Your file says 72 DPI, but at 6000 pixels wide it can still print large.

Common collocations

  • 300 DPI
  • high DPI
  • DPI setting
  • DPI and PPI
  • resolutionThe amount of detail in an image, usually given as its size in pixels (e.g. 6000 × 4000) or as how many pixels or dots fit into an inch when printed.
  • printA photograph produced on paper or another material, such as canvas or metal, from a digital file or a negative.
  • megapixelOne million pixels; the unit used to describe how many pixels a camera's sensor records, as in a 24-megapixel camera.
  • test printA small or partial print made before the final one to check the colors, brightness, sharpness and choice of paper.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Printing

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: