DPI and The Best Print Resolution

Have you ever wondered why when you print off your logo on a document from your office printer, it never looks quite as good as when you had your stationery professionally printed, even though your printer is set on the highest quality setting? Well this has to do with the resolution of your printer, compared to a professional machine, but even professional printers can skimp on the resolution so make sure you are happy with the finished product.

The resolution of printers, scanners, monitors and digital printing presses are measured in dots per inch or DPI. The higher the resolution, the better the quality, however, the resolution, and the DPI needs to be high, or at least consistent, throughout the printing process to achieve a quality result.

For example, if your printing project involves photos which have been scanned into the computer, the DPI setting of your scanner needs to be high enough to transfer a high quality image. Even if your printing project is printed in a high DPI resolution, if the photos are of a poor resolution to begin with, the end product will not look to be of high quality.

Also, if you are viewing a proof on the screen at the printer’s or the designer’s, make sure you see a physically printed copy of your document too. This is because even if the project has been designed at a high resolution, with photos and images of the highest quality, the resolution shown on the screen may not be the same as that of the printer, from where you will get your finished product.

Colours can also change depending on the resolution, as the DPI changes the amount of colour used to convey the image or the colour you chose. So while you may have chosen a deep rich red colour for your printing project, at a low resolution and with a low DPI, the colour looks nowhere near as rich.

For more information about checking on the resolution and DPI of your printing project at every stage, contact Worchestershire Print now.