Preparing a photo for the internet and printing are two completely different things. While similar details like resolution and clarity might transfer, certain things need to be accounted for when preparing an image for printing.
In this article, we’re talking about what is DPI, how it matters and how to change it in Photoshop.
What does DPI do?
Simply put, DPI stands for Dots Per Inch and controls the amount of ink dots per square inch of an image. This is irrelevant to digital screens but is important for print quality as printers understand images in dots instead of pixels.
If the DPI is too low, the image will be smaller and won’t exactly be a high-quality print, and hence, it’s generally preferable to work with as high a DPI as possible.
For example, if you print a 720-pixel wide image at 300 DPI, the resulting image will be 2.4 inches wide. The same image printed at 120 DPI will be 6 inches wide.
Also read: What causes error 205 in Lightroom and Photoshop? 5 Fixes
How to change DPI in Photoshop?
Most image manipulation programs will allow you to change a photo’s DPI. Here’s how to do it in Photoshop.
Step 1: Open your image in Photoshop, head to the Image menu and click Image Size.
Step 2: Enter the DPI value in the Resolution field. If you don’t want your image to be upscale (change size based on the DPI resolution), leave the box unchecked. Upscaled images are often low-quality and require additional enhancement. Click OK when you’re done.
The final image will be bigger or smaller based on the final DPI resolution, just like it’d be bigger or smaller if printed.
Also read: How to change the canvas size in Photoshop?
