DPI - what is it? How to configure DPI

To the question of various abbreviations and incomprehensible technical terms. DPI - what is it? This reduction is known to designers, informatics, those who have ever worked with the image. This term was also heard by gamers with their cool special mice. Now we will try to understand this abbreviation.

Options

If you ask on the Internet about DPI, what it is and where it is applied, you will get several answers at once. After all, there are three transcripts of this reduction:

• Deep Packet Inspection is a provider tool that collects statistics, checks network packet filters and their contents.
• Discounted Profitability Index is an economic term that is responsible for the ROI indicator.
• Dots per inch - from English translates as "dots per inch".

This is the last option we will consider.

Resolution

Speaking specifically about DPI, it becomes clear that it only means a unit of measurement. But what? It turns out to find out the image resolution and apply this abbreviation.

The resolution itself is an indicator that indicates the number of pixels (pixels) per unit area. Most often, this indicator is applicable to digital images, but it is used in the work with the granulation of photographic film, photo paper, etc.

So, if you need to save the data in a graphic file with the desired scale and print it all, then most likely DPI will come to the rescue. This value indicates the number of dots per inch. If you have a resolution of 300 dpi, respectively, it is 300 dots per inch.

Example

Another example is to understand how this value works. Suppose your picture has a resolution of 350 dpi. You need to transfer it to paper size 10 by 10 cm. In terms of inches you will get 3.9 x 3.9 inches. To understand what the size of the original image is needed, you need 3.9 times 300. So we get 1170 x 1170 pixels. With this indicator, the picture quality will be acceptable.

Application

Now, more about where and how DPI is applied. What is it, we already figured out. The value is used to indicate the resolution. The latter is necessary for us when displaying graphic data on a flat carrier.

You can find this value in the specifications for the printer. Can be specified 600 to 450 dpi. So it becomes clear that the devices are endowed with resolution, which horizontally is equal to 600 points, and vertically to 450 points. In this case, for the area we take the square 1 by 1 inch.

If we talk about the printer, then often this indicator is compared with PPI. These two values mean the same thing. Use if you want to mix ink for printing. Then 1 dpi will be 1 ppi. If the device does not need to mix ink, then this formula will look different. The index N is used, which indicates the number of colors used for printing. Then dpi will be ppi multiplied by this number, that is, by the index N.

This calculation is the main advantage for inkjet printers. Unlike photomachines, string devices have a higher DPI value with an equal value of PPI. Because they expose more points to transmit one pixel.

Other indicators

DPI images are not the only size resolution. As we have already learned, there is a correlation with other similar indicators. So, in printers, the raster dot is represented by a set of small dots. They are called flash. The number of such flashes per inch is denoted DPI. The number of raster dots that are hidden in this flash by one inch is designated PPI. Accordingly, if the ratio of the two indicators is greater, then the image is more qualitative.

There is another indicator - it's an LPI. The value indicates the number of lines per inch. This resolution characterizes the operation of the laser printer. In this case, the inch is not represented by a point, as before, but by a line. That is, to be precise in the formulation, the LPI is the number of lines per linear inch.

Another value is represented by the abbreviation SPI. It shows the number of elementary spots. The indicator is rather complicated and is not so often used in photo printing. But in general it is used to print gradients. And if the PPI indicates the final result, then the SPI is part of the process. It is interesting that, on the whole, both indicators have equal value under equal conditions.

Gaming Mouse

But it turns out that this is not all information about DPI. We understood this in general terms. For what is used, also figured out. But one thing was missed. The fact is that the value is often found on packages with game mouses. Link the information we received earlier with the parameters of the manipulator is difficult. But you can try.

The fact is that dpi in the controller is also deciphered, but has a slightly different understanding. To be precise, for a mouse, this indicator should be better decoded as dots of cursor montion per inch. That is, the number of cursor points per inch. Next to this value, cpi is used. It roughly means the same, and it would be logical to apply this reduction. But in general, both one and the second value convey the number of steps that the manipulator goes by 1 inch.

And it is necessary to understand that it is a movement of the mouse, and not the cursor. Movement in this case is interpreted as a step, and a step as a signal. If the dpi value is large, the device moves smoothly.

Marketing?

In theory, it turns out that this figure, which is screamed from advertising booklets and packages, is more of a marketing move. The fact is that very few people know, but for this very speed one should not forget about the speed of interrogation of the port. It is known that at the moment the highest figure is 1000 Hz. You might think that if the mouse goes 2 inches in one second, then this figure will double. In fact, it turns out that to cross the threshold of 1000 Hz still does not work. So what is the advantage of this value in manipulators?

DPI is an indicator that changes the speed of cursor movement on the display. And the most qualitative it does in the case of high-resolution screens. Logically, if the display is large, then the mouse should pass a distance proportional to the diagonal of the monitor. Therefore, the importance is important only for players and those who work with graphics. For them, an indicator of 1600 dpi is considered acceptable.

For other users, which have a screen less than 1600x1200 will be enough and 800 dpi. This value is average for today. If the monitor is 1200x800, then the mouse with a resolution of 400-500 dpi will suffice.

conclusions

It becomes clear that DPI is a value that is more familiar to designers, those who work with graphics and printing. This is the resolution that allows you to determine the number of dots per inch when you display an image on a flat media. If we are talking about a mouse, then DPI in this case shows the movement of the mouse to an inch.

If you have a gaming mouse, then the question of how to configure the DPI should not arise, since usually for adjusting the resolution on the case there is a special button. In some cases, you can also configure through the software. If you have a normal mouse, but you want to adjust its speed, it will be enough to go into the settings on the PC and set the slider to the desired level.