The Meaning of DPI
Understanding what DPI has to do with your printer can help you better understand how your printer deals with images sent from your computer. DPI is short for Dots Per Inch. You will see DPI quoted in both computer monitors as well as in regards to a printer. This article will focus only on the printer’s DPI.
DPI is about resolution or how sharp an image will be when printed. The printer of course has to place the right amount of ink in that dot to make up an image. Printers are measured by their DPI which is given in the form of a number. Simply put the higher that number is the better your images will look once they are printed. Wikipedia is a great resource for understanding DPI.
The ability of your printer to produce clear and detailed images is influenced by it’s print head. There are three different print head technologies. The first was Dot Matrix. This print head used rods that strike a ribbon containing ink. These printers DPI is anywhere from 60 to 100. The next type of printer is the inkjet printer. The print head in an inkjet printer uses a nozzle and it releases the ink through this nozzle. Inkjet printers are faster and have better resolution. Their DPI is anywhere from 300 to 600 or 700. Finally we come to the laser printer. The print head in the laser printer uses toner that is applied to the paper by a controlled electrostatic charge. The resolution of a laser printer is superior to that of the inkjet. The typical DPI numbers for a laser printer are in the range of 600 to 1900.
Knowing your printer’s DPI is important especially when you are printing images that need to have a higher resolution to be useable. While the printer is important in the equation you should not overlook the resolution of the image that you are printing.