Pixels & dpi

[Richard Ellis]

I never really thought about it - just assumed that pixels and dpi were the same thing. Can anyone explain the difference, and how they work together. Is it worth it to get a really high resolution printer?

Richard

[Jodi Frye]

Very basic;

http://users.adelphia.net/~craigschultz/tips_dpi_ppi.html

Above all else...be sure it's a ' Photo Printer ' and not a printer that says 'can' print photos...these tend to be mostly office all in ones or basic office printers that do an OK job at printing photos but tend to suck alot of ink while doing so.

Names in Photo Printers;

HP
Canon
Epson

PS Photo printers can also be used as office printers for word documents.

[Richard Ellis]

Thanks, Jodi. I already have an adequate Canon, but have seen a newer model, the i9900, which prints 13 x 15's, with 8 tanks, at 4800 by 2400 dpi. Not sure how often I would really need it, but it sounds nice!

Richard

[ThomasT]

I have the canon Pixma with 2 tanks and thats 9600x2400 res.. I love it but I now have a slide scanner so I am trying to build a dark room in my closet!!

Thomas

[Jodi Frye]

Yes it sounds nice. When it comes to purchasing something like this it's best to do some homework ahead of time...for instance, is the large Canon Photo paper readily avaliable in your area ? Check the prices of the inks, is this something you can afford everytime a color runs out ? How often will you actually be printing photos this large and how often can you afford to replace the ink cartridges ? ( large photos at high ppi=$$$ ink )

Kind of like buying a Lamborghini. Sure it's real nice but can you afford the insurance ? Can you afford the parts ? Can you make that payment every month ? How often will you need to drive 130 mph ?

So it's your call.
Here is a link on Photo printer reviews;

http://www.steves-digicams.com/printers.html

[ThomasT]

The good thing is I only use it when my color slide isn't working so I just scan the film in! and the cartriges are very small and I think the cost was like 32$ each... I dont use it for printing unless I am trying to send to to magazine.

Thomas

[Richard Ellis]

Jodi, those are the questions I asked myself, which is why I don't have it!

I guess the answer is that the pixel is the basic unit. If the printer resolution is greater than the pixels/inch, then you just get two (or more) printer dots for each pixel. This means that having a printer with greater resolution than the ppi you normally use doesn't buy you anything in terms of better quality. Make sense?

For example, my printer's resolution is 4800 X 1200 dpi. Presumably this means that a square inch can be 5,760,000 pixels! Also why can I get greater resolution side to side than I can get on each 'line'

Questions, questions, but I've come to the conclusion that the real issue is pixels, and that any decent printer will do the job.

Richard