What Is DPI and Why Does It Matter?

DPI stands for Dots Per Inch. It is a measure of spatial printing, video, or image scanner dot density, and it represents the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch.

DPI vs. PPI

While often used interchangeably, DPI refers to printed dots (hardware), whereas PPI (Pixels Per Inch) refers to the pixels on a digital screen. However, in most consumer software, DPI is used to describe the print resolution of an image.

Why DPI Matters for Printing

If you try to print an image with a low DPI (like 72 DPI, which is standard for web), it will look pixelated and blurry. For high-quality prints, photographs, and professional documents, 300 DPI is the standard requirement.

How to Check and Change DPI

You can easily check the DPI of your images and convert them for print using our free Image DPI Checker & Converter.

DPI for Web

For images displayed on a screen (websites, social media), DPI does not matter. The screen only cares about the absolute pixel dimensions (e.g., 1000x1000 pixels). Adjusting the DPI of an image without changing its pixel dimensions will not change how it looks on a website.