Simple questions: What is PPI and does it matter? - Digital ...

Here's what PPI (Pixels Per Inch), also known as DPI (Dots Per Inch) or pixel density is and what makes it so important to our every day ... Search searchinput Categories Other Subscribe tutorial by CodrutNeagu publishedon 05.22.2017 Share: HaveyoueverwonderedwhatPPIis?Maybeyou'veheardcompaniestalkingabouthighDPIscreensandwantedtoknowwhatthatis?Whyaresomemanufacturersbraggingabouttheirhigh-enddeviceswithhugepixeldensityscreens?WhydoesPPImattersomuch,especiallywhenreferringtosmartphones?Readthisarticle,andyou'llfindoutwhatitmeans,whetherPPIandDPIarethesameandwhetherthismeasurementmatterswhentalkingaboutscreensofallsizes: WhatisPPI? PPIistheacronymfromPixelsPerInch.Itisaunitofmeasureusedtoquantifythenumberofpixelsfoundonasquareinchsurface.Togetaclearideaofwhatitmeans,imagineasquareinchthat'sdividedandorganizedinagridofcells.Eachandeverycellinthatgridhasapixelinside.Thenumberofcellsinsidethegrid,alsoknownaspixels,tellsyouthePPI. ppi,dpi,pixel,density Usually,thePixelsPerInchvalueisusedtomeasurethepixeldensityofdisplays,suchasthemonitoryouhaveonyourcomputerorlaptop,onyourTVscreen,andonyoursmartphone. However,PPIisatermthat'salsolooselyusedfordescribingthepixeldensityofscanners,camerascreens,orimagesthatarestoreddigitally.SomepeopleusePPIevenfortellingyoutheresolutionatwhichprintersprintonpaper. ArePPIandDPIthesame? PPIistheshortversionfromPixelsPerInch,andDPIistheabbreviatedversionofDotsPerInch.Commonsensewillprobablyleadyoutobelievethatthey'renotthesame.Andyou'dberight!Althoughbothtermsrefertodensity,andyoucouldeasilyconfusepixelswithdots(probablybecausethey'resotiny),PPIandDPIaredifferentthings.WhilePPIrefersmostlytoscreensanddigitalelements,DPIisatermthat'susedcorrectlywhenyourefertothingslikeprintedpaper. Theresolutionandthequalityofaprintedpaperarerightlymeasuredbythenumberofinkdotsinanygivencharacterordrawing.BothDPIandPPImeasuresimilarthings,butdotsarenotpixels,andpixelsarenotdots,soDPIisnotthesameasPPI. However,PPIandDPIareoftenusedtodescribethesamething.It'snotcorrect,butbigcompanieslikeGoogleandMicrosoftandmanyhardwaremanufacturersoftenusethesetermsinterchangeably,andthuspeoplestartedtousethemlooselytoo. DoesPPImatterwhenchoosingyourTV,computerdisplayorsmartphone? Yes,itdoes,anditmattersquitealot.Whenyougobuyanewsmartphone,orcomputermonitor,orTV,oranyothertypeofdevicethathasadisplay,youmightbetemptedtochoosetheonethathasthelargestdiagonalsize.It'sonlynaturaltogobigwhenyoucan,right?Butthat'snotalwaystherightchoiceandhere'sanexamplewhy: Let'ssaythatyouwanttogetanewsmartphone,andyouwantittohavealargescreen.Somethingbetween5.5"and6".Afterlookingaroundtheinternet,youdecidethatyoulikeSamsungGalaxyS8andSonyXperiaXA1Ultra.Moneydoesn'tmattertoyou-whatdoesmatterhoweveristhescreenofyournextsmartphone.TheSamsungGalaxyS8hasa5.8-inchdisplay,aresolutionof1440x2960pixelsandapixeldensityof570PPI.TheSonyXperiaXA1Ultrahasa6.0-inchscreen,aresolutionof1080x1920pixelsandapixeldensityof367PPI.Althoughtheybothhaveasimilarscreensize,theresolutionandthePPIpixeldensityoftheSamsungGalaxyS8aremuchhigherthanwhattheSonyXperiaXA1Ultrahastooffer.Thatmeansthattherearealotmorepixelsspreadacrossasimilarphysicalsurface,thescreen.Wecan'tdraw570pixels,oreven367,inanimagethesizeofaninch,becauseyouwouldn'tseethem.Buthere'sanillustrationofwhatdifferentPPIpixeldensitieslooklike: ppi,dpi,pixel,density Sowouldn'tyouchoosethesmartphonewiththehigherPPI,theSamsungGalaxyS8? AhigherPPI,orpixeldensity,meansthatyougetawholelotmoredetailforanythingthat'sdisplayedonyourscreen.Whichmeansbetterimages,betterfonts,smootherlines,orinotherwords,higherquality.Everybodywantsthat,right? WhendoesthePPIbecomesohighthatitbecomesmeaningless? AlthoughhigherPPIisalwaystheoreticallybetter,beforemakinganypurchase,youshouldalsoknowthattheeyesofmosthumansareprobablynotabletoperceiveanydifferencesinaPPIthat'shigherthanacertainlimit. Butwhatthatlimitiswhenthehumaneyestopsbeingabletoseemoredetailsonascreenandthepixeldensitystopsbeingimportant,isamatterofdebate.Fornow,neitherresearchersnorordinarypeoplecangiveyouastraightanswerandsaythat"pixeldensitybecomesmeaninglessafter,say,avalueof570PPI." However,accordingtotheFundamentalsofDigitalImaginginMedicinebyRogerBourne,itseemsthatthemagicnumberwouldbe400PPIifyoulookatanimagefoundatroughly16inchesor40cmdistancefromyoureyes.That'sbecausethehumaneyehas400sensorcellspermillimeterofretinasurface.However,peopleatSharpthinkthatthehumaneyeiscapableofseeingupto1000PPI,whichisconsiderablyhigherthanwhatelectronicsofferthesedays. Eizoalsohasanexcellentarticle,calledConfusedaboutHiDPIandRetinadisplay?―Understandingpixeldensityintheageof4K,inwhichyoucanfindafewtableswithdatathatshowwhatarethescreenresolutionsandpixeldensitiesusedtoday.Mostofthepixeldensityvaluesyou'llseeusedonmoderndisplays,betheysmartphonedisplays,tabletdisplaysorcomputermonitors,arecalculatedbythemanufacturingcompaniesdependingonthecommondistancesuserslookatthosescreens.Forinstance,asmartphonewithascreensizeof5.6inchesshouldhavearesolutionofatleast2560x1440pixelsandapixeldensityofabout525PPI.Pixeldensitymatters,butregardlessofwhatcompaniesmarkettheirproducts,don'tstartspendingmoneyuntilyouseewhatthescreenofyournextdevicelooks. WillyoulookforthehighestPPI? We'recurious:nowthatyouknowthatahigherpixeldensityisbetterthanalowerone,willyoutakeitintoconsiderationthenexttimeyoubuyaTVscreen,acomputermonitororanewsmartphone?OrwillyougoforthehighestsizenomatteritsPixelsPerInch? 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