What is DPI

by Yogi P - September 6, 2023

What Is The Full Form of DPI?

Do you know what DPI stands for? DPI is an acronym used widely within the tech industry, with many people unaware of its meaning. It stands for ‘Dots Per Inch’ and is a measure of the resolution of an image.

What Is The Purpose Of DPI?

The purpose of DPI is to measure the clarity and quality of an image. It is a representation of the amount of pixels within an inch of an image. For example, an image with a DPI of 72 would have 72 pixels within an inch. Generally, the higher the DPI value of an image, the higher its quality and the sharper it looks.

Data and images with higher DPI are usually used in prints, while those with lower DPI are used on the web, due to its small file size. The maximum DPI of an image depends on the device used to display the image. For instance, a regular computer monitor only supports around 72-96 DPI, while printers can handle much higher resolutions.

Understanding The Different Types of DPI

The DPI of an image can be static or variable. Static DPI refers to the fixed resolution of an image, regardless of its size. Conversely, a variable DPI means that the resolution of the image changes according to its size. Generally, images are created with a higher DPI then scaled down to the desired resolution.

Conclusion

In sum, DPI stands for ‘Dots Per Inch’ and is a measure of the resolution of an image. It is used to measure the quality and clarity of an image, with higher resolutions usually resulting in sharper images with larger file sizes. DPI can either be static or variable- static DPI images are at a constant resolution while variable DPI images change based on the size of the image.