Thank you Jonathan Ratzlaff for you timely answer on camera pixel count vs DPI. Jonathan said that for a 1200 x 1600 pixel camera, you can print a decent 6 x 8 photo. Does anyone know what size this will print if I increas DPI to 600, or even 1200? Is there a standard formula that one of you smart techs might know that can give us all access to print size vs printer DPI resolution?

-- Brad Haimbaugh (bradhaimbaugh@hotmail.com), May 08, 2000

Answers

Brad, If you have 1600 pixels in one dimension, and you print at 200 ppi (pixels per inch), you will create a picture 8 inches in that dimension (1600/200). Increase the ppi count to 600, and you get a finished image that is 1600/600 inches (2.67"). Do the same calculation for the other dimension of the print.

The confusing issue is that you are printing in pixels/inch. That is frequently referred to as dpi (dots per inch). That is not the same thing as printer manufacturers refer to. Printer manufacturers talk about dpi ratings such as 1440 or 720. That is the actual number of droplets of ink that the printer can lay down per inch. It takes many of these dots to form a pixel. Don't let these numbers cause you to get confused when calculating the size of a print. The more dots you print per pixel, the better the quality of the print you MAY (???) get. But, it has no effect on the size of the print.

-- Steve (MilwaukeeChrome@aol.com), May 08, 2000.