Kornit’s Digital Printing Glossary
Dots per Inch (DPI) Definition
Dots per Inch (DPI) Definition
Dots per inch (DPI) is a measure of spatial printing, video, or image scanner dot density, in particular the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch. DPI is used to describe the resolution number of dots per inch in a digital print and the printing resolution of a hard copy print dot gain, which is the increase in the size of the halftone dots during printing. This is caused by the spreading of ink on the surface of the media. Up to a point, printers with higher DPI produce clearer and more detailed output. A printer does not necessarily have a single DPI measurement. It is dependent on print mode, which is usually influenced by driver settings. The range of DPI supported by a printer is most dependent on the print head technology it uses. The DPI measurement of a printer often needs to be considerably higher than the pixels per inch (PPI) measurement of a video display in order to produce similar-quality output.
Visit Kornit Digital to learn how its systems decorate with optimal DPI for cost-efficient production without sacrificing the quality of the finished piece.
