Image DPI and Printing

[SteveEllis]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for a large format printer to print my own images onto canvas, but I am a little confused by the DPI required on the printer.

From the exif information I have an image 3504 Pixels wide and 2336 pixels high, 72 dpi.

How big will this realistically print? And what DPI do I need on a printer to get a high quality print.

I have a canon eos 20d, is there any settings I need to change to produce an image with a higher dpi?

Thanks,
Steve.

 

[D-50]

You'll need 300 dpi to print so if you want a high quality print your max size will be roughly 8x10. You should be taking you photos at a higher resolution than 72 dpi.

 

[SteveEllis]

Hmm, I've printed out a cropped image to A4 and the quality was awesome, maybe I'm reading the info wrong.

 

[Alpha]

Hmm, I've printed out a cropped image to A4 and the quality was awesome, maybe I'm reading the info wrong.

Then your standards for "high quality" probably aren't very high. If you're satisfied with the current performance, then what's the problem?

 

[SteveEllis]

I've taken a shot I really like and I was hoping to be able to make it poster size.

 

[astrostu]

dpi ≠ ppi

dpi = dots per inch, used when talking about how many dots of ink are laid down per inch

ppi = pixels per inch, used when talking about how many pieces of information are stored per linear inch

The rule of thumb when printing is that any resolution less than 150 ppi will result in an obviously pixelated print. Based on that, you could get a decent print that's up to ~15.5"x23" with that many pixels.

Most people, though, prefer to print above 200 or 250 ppi, preferring 300 as the "magic number."

As for dpi, most printers these days will not have dpi as a limiting factor. Most do over 1000 dpi. If the dpi is below 600 or so, run away, run very far away.