Dpi Calculator

The DPI calculator also referred to as the mouse DPI calculator, is used to calculate the dots in one inch of the display. The diagonal size can be entered in millimeters, centimeters, and inches. Using the overwatch DPI calculator, you can use the advanced options to choose an operating system as well as several make and models from various companies.

The advanced options for the operating system include Windows, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, OS X, Chrome, and SDI. There are multiple devices available to choose from when you select a specific operating system. Choosing from this advanced option will automatically update the resulting pan with the resolution and size of the screen.

What is DPI?

DPI stands for dots per inch. It is like PPI, each calculating the grainy dimension of an image. DPI would quantify the total points with an average length of 1 inch as the name implies.

In modern digital displays, the value is directly related to PPI, as each pixel represents one dot in the image, but not always a 1:1 correlation. When you are speaking of an ink printer, the defaults are usually DPI instead of PPI.

Since DPI means the amount of ink dots per inch in a printer, and that is regardless of the image resolution, which is to be printed. The dot per inch can be lower or higher than the pixel per inch of the image depending upon the characteristics of the printer.

How is DPI calculated?

Select an image on your computer for which you need to calculate the DPI. Or you can also calculate the dots per inch for a computer or laptop screen. If you have selected an image, go to its properties and check its resolution, or if you are about to calculate DPI for your computer screen, find out the resolution of your screen in the display options or graphic properties. Note down the resolution which you would have found in pixels because this resolution will be used to complete our calculation.

Next, you will need the height and width of your image or screen. Measure the height and width by using a ruler and note down.

Example:

Suppose we have an image with \(1200 \times 1080\) resolution, 8 inches wide and 5 inches long.

Horizontal: \(1200 \text{pixels}\)

Vertical: \(1080 \text{pixels}\)

Width = \(8 \text{inch}\)

Height = \(5 \text{inch}\)

We will calculate horizontal and vertical DPI separately. Divide the horizontal pixels in your image by the width of the image and vertical pixels by the height of the image.

Horizontal Dots per Inch = \(\dfrac{1200}{8} = 150\)

Vertical Dots per Inch = \(\dfrac{1080}{5} = 240\)

DPI explained with an example

Suppose you have a printer that can print up to 300 dpi. You have an image of 1800 x 2800 with 5 MP. Suppose the page on which you want to print the image is seven inches in size. Remember that this size is measured diagonally.

The pixel density is 554.8 PPI, much greater than the pixel density of your printer. That printed ink dot can display more than one pixel of the image so that the printing process loses its resolution.

When you conceive of the same case and have a great 1000 dpi printer, the situation goes backward. There are now multiple ink dots in each pixel. A general recommendation is to limit the dot per inch on the printer to the multiple of the image's initial pixel density or to an integer fraction to prevent errors that occur when pixels are interpolated, and color values are estimated.

Why is DPI important?

The number of pixels, resolution, picture scale and many more are related to plenty of misconceptions and can make us sometimes quite puzzled. And to make matters worse, DPI and PPI are often interchangeably used, making it even more difficult to comprehend.

DPI is essentially important for printing purposes and printing devices. There are several color dots that are used to replicate image colors by printers. It is also used for display resolution, while PPI may also refer to displays. PPI is all related to resolution and digital picture scale and it can be calculated by PPI calculator.

Most of us now display our pictures in digital format and seldom print them. But even a 42 MP sensor provides us a 16.5"x 17.7" picture when printed at 300 dpi when prints are needed. It raises a question about printing in big formats.

DPI depends on the size of the screen or image. If the size is bigger, the DPI will be smaller. You have to step back to see the whole picture in bigger sizes. The advertisement signs are therefore printed at 15dpi. You have to stand far apart if you want to see the whole billboard. And you won't see the big color spots from a distance, and the quality will not be compromised due to this. Instead, it delivers high quality when we see them from far away.

150 dpi is used to print glossy magazines. You rarely open the magazine and believe you can see the dots, and the quality is poor. The same applies to 72-100dpi computer displays. Although there are 300dpi Apple retina displays. Fine art printing is done at 240dpi.

DPI / PPI is a crucial way to get an idea about how sharp a display actually is, but it is only one of many factors. There are those who depend on human nature, apart from the technology that would need a complete book,

The distance from the viewer can affect the pixels perceived. Therefore, where there is the same pixel density for a cell phone or a large screen, the large screen will become crisper as usual from a longer distance. That is why large screens with significantly lower pixel densities can show a higher level of display. For this purpose, posters are printed on a much smaller dpi than magazines in the print world. The disparity between pixel densities above a given threshold cannot be seen from our eyes.

Difference between DPI and PPI

PPI stands for pixels per inch, and DPI stands for dots per inch. Let's compare both of them to understand the difference between them. While talking about displays, there is no distinction because the pixel is known as the dot of the screen. Whether comparing PPI to DPI outside the displays or when contrasting at a deeper level, things are a bit more difficult.

As we gave an explanation of printing an image on paper, we discussed the variations between PPI and DPI. It comes from the distinction of the physically identical level of pixel and dot. A pixel is the lowest physical space unit if we are talking about digital technology, exactly the same as the dot.

Yet things get more complicated in the physical world of digitalization. A screen is a physical object linking the digital or virtual world to our true reality experience or you can say analog reality experience. In the case of a screen, a pixel is not a single dot but consists of three different dots, which are red, green, and blue in color, with their wavelength being the same. In this situation, the differences between pixels and dots begin to break down, and the distinction between PPI and DPI makes sense once again.

This is particularly evident when we see pentile screens of the matrix. The resolution that is viewed is ultimately lower because the subpixels that makeup one pixel are not equal in size. In this case, you go beyond plain semantics and differentiate between PPI and DPI that are truly important.

How to convert 300 DPI to pixels?

Converting 300 dpi resolution to pixels can be explained with an example. Suppose the vertical size of our image is 15 cm vertically and 20 cm horizontally with 300 dpi. Which means it has a 15 x 20 cm of resolution. Let's convert this image to pure pixels.

\(1 \text{ppi} = 1 \text{dpi} = 1 \text{Pixel Per Inch} (25.4 mm) \)

First of all, convert the resolution of each side in pixels. Unit of the measurement should be converted to millimetre before converting the resolution in pixels:

Vertical =  \(15 cm = 150 mm\)

\(\dfrac{(300 \text{dpi} \times 150 mm)}{25.4 mm} = 1771.65 \text{pixels}\)

Horizontal = \(20 cm = 200 mm\)

\(\dfrac{(300 \text{dpi} \times 200 mm)}{25.4 mm} = 2362.20 \text{pixels}\)

Total Pixels= \(\dfrac{(1771.65 px \times 2362.20 px)}{1000000} = 4.18 MP\)

DPI Viewing Distance chart

This is the chart for the perfect viewing distance from a screen of an image with a minimum resolution to see it clearly.