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72ppi
Nov 2, 2020 2:32:14 GMT
Post by BuckSkin on Nov 2, 2020 2:32:14 GMT
I puzzled over just where this question should be, but it just did not seem to fit anywhere, so here it is.
Way back when we first started to become acquainted with digital photography and all of the peripheral requirements to "develop" and view one's pictures, I had absolutely no idea what a pixel was, nor what ppi meant.
(I have a neighbor whose wife carries a tiny pocket camera on all of their Toby Tour trips; after each trip, he informs me that we can see the pictures after she takes the camera to Walmart and "gets them developed")
For the longest time, everything that I loaded in Elements displayed at 72ppi; I thought there was some important reason that Elements seemed to want to work with 72ppi.
Reading other's opinions and ideas about what the best ppi should be, 96ppi kept popping up.
Occasionally, a downloaded jpeg would display as 96ppi; but then, those that displayed as 180ppi started outnumbering them.
Once I learned a bit about scanners, my scans displayed as ppi in exactly whatever dpi I had set the scanner for and 72 was not an option; although a whole army of people trying to seem much smarter than me kept insisting that dpi and ppi were two entirely different animals, Elements and every scanner I ever used sure didn't seem to think so.
Why wasn't 72ppi an option in the scanner ? Elements had drilled it in my head that the whole world should be 72ppi.
Then, just a few hours/days ago, something someone said in one of our discussions shined a light into the dim recesses of my mind ----- maybe it is not Elements that is stamping most everything as 72ppi, but our fleet of Canon cameras, for whatever reason, are branding our images as 72ppi and Elements is only displaying what it was told by Canon.
So, have I deduced correctly that it is indeed Canon that is making our images 72ppi and Elements is not to blame at all ?
I decided many many years ago that those Canon people were a pretty smart bunch; anybody with money to buy a real camera wouldn't buy anything else; so, they must have a really good reason for burning a 72ppi brand into all of their digital progeny.
Why 72ppi ? Why not 96 ? Why not 180 ? Why not the golden 300ppi for printing (and save many a confused soul from having to know much about this in the first place) ?
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72ppi
Nov 2, 2020 14:46:34 GMT
Post by cats4jan on Nov 2, 2020 14:46:34 GMT
ABANDON RESOLUTION AS A CONCEPT
THINK IN PIXEL SIZE
Now, I'm not asking you to totally forget about how many pixels are in an inch, because this is vital information, but I want you to alter your thinking.
As already been stated, 300 pixels per inch is a very good size for printing a decent photo.
Plus, Digital Scrapbooking kits and layouts are all based on 300 pixels per inch.
So, keeping in mind 300 pixels per inch as a value is a good idea.
I'm just saying - simplify your life.
Look at a photo or graphic's pixel size of each side.
Divide each side by 300
...and you will easily see what size you can print.
...you can easily see how that photo or graphic will fit on your Digital Scrapbooking layout.
If you download a photo and it's 1800 pixels by 1200 pixels -- divide by 300 --
you will easily see you can get a decent quality 6 inch by 4 inch print from this photo.
The pixel dimensions of your photo
That's all you really need to know about resolution.
So set the functions of PSE to give you pixel size (or simply note the pixel size of the photo and mentally divide by 300)
Any resolution settings are irrelevant.
As for posting on a website, almost anything less than 300 pixels per inch will do just fine.
As for camera settings - set at the highest quality. You can always reduce the size of the file, but you can never make a lousy photo better quality.
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72ppi
Nov 2, 2020 15:19:20 GMT
Post by BuckSkin on Nov 2, 2020 15:19:20 GMT
Look at a photo or graphic's pixel size of each side. Divide each side by 300 Thanks for such a good explanation; better than most I have read. As far as Elements is concerned, I may just start changing the display of everything to 300ppi and just look at the little size-in-inches bar down in the bottom-left. I still can't help but to ponder why Canon chose 72ppi. |
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72ppi
Nov 2, 2020 15:28:34 GMT
Post by cats4jan on Nov 2, 2020 15:28:34 GMT
I still can't help but to ponder why Canon chose 72ppi. Do you think it's because most people keep their photos on the computer and send them via text/email -- printing seems to have gone by the wayside Again, though. Who cares what size the camera is set at? As long as the overall pixel dimensions give you enough for the size photo you need. |
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72ppi
Nov 2, 2020 15:45:12 GMT
Post by BuckSkin on Nov 2, 2020 15:45:12 GMT
-- printing seems to have gone by the wayside I couldn't imagine the cost of having my photo collection "developed". I do think that the prevalence of snap-chatters and social media addicts has been cause for so many of these bells-and-whistles soccer-mom cameras. My 15-year-old cousin won the photography contest at our local fair with a photo she took on her phone, of all things. I am afraid, though, that I am soon going to learn the cost of "developing" (printing) a vast quantity of photos for a good friend who wants the pictures, but does not have telephone, computer, TV, or anything. I may be money ahead to buy him some sort of digital photo viewing device and just load the pictures in that and give it to him. |
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pontiac1940
CE Members
Posts: 6,362
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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72ppi
Nov 2, 2020 16:19:32 GMT
Post by pontiac1940 on Nov 2, 2020 16:19:32 GMT
I may be money ahead to buy him some sort of digital photo viewing device and just load the pictures in that and give it to him. Good idea. Buy a 10-inch Samsung tablet and dump the photos directly onto the device...or the cloud. My experience is that non techies tend to shun the technology and they would have to be on board with that plan. |
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72ppi
Nov 2, 2020 17:43:07 GMT
Post by BuckSkin on Nov 2, 2020 17:43:07 GMT
I may be money ahead to buy him some sort of digital photo viewing device and just load the pictures in that and give it to him. Good idea. Buy a 10-inch Samsung tablet and dump the photos directly onto the device...or the cloud. My experience is that non techies tend to shun the technology and they would have to be on board with that plan. It would have to be something with just an ON/OFF switch and a 110v cord. I, myself, was a non-techie until I bought the wife her first big girl camera; it didn't take me long to see that I had better get equipped and then learn how to use and maintain that equipment. It amuses me when I think back on just how completely tech-ignorant we were just a few years ago. I still refuse to have a smart phone; I get to do all the work while the other guys tend to their phones (and turn tractors and trucks upside down). |
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72ppi
Nov 2, 2020 19:04:06 GMT
Post by Sepiana on Nov 2, 2020 19:04:06 GMT
Way back when we first started to become acquainted with digital photography and all of the peripheral requirements to "develop" and view one's pictures, I had absolutely no idea what a pixel was, nor what ppi meant. I was in the same boat; I had no idea either. I specially had a hard time understanding resolution and the role it plays in image post-processing. After all these years, based on the advice I got from the experts (via webinars, forums, books, etc.), I learnt there seems to be a consensus . . . Resolution does matter. Don’t overlook it.They explain that resolution is important not only for printing purposes but it is also important in the post-processing workflow. For example: In addition to Elements or Photoshop, you use Photomatix, Dynamic Auto Painter, Topaz, Luminar, etc., etc. High-resolution images will produce better results as they can withstand more pixel manipulation. Creating some effects manually can also be affected by resolution. The Displacement Map comes to mind. Depending on the image resolution (72 ppi vs 300 ppi), when you apply the Gaussian Blur filter, you need to adjust it to the resolution. If you don’t, you will lose the undulations or the lines will appear jagged. When you add text to an image, the font size will be affected by resolution. According to Barbara Brundage in The Missing Manual . . . |
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Post by cats4jan on Nov 4, 2020 14:41:07 GMT
When you add text to an image, the font size will be affected by resolution. Yes, that's true. But for the casual user - who is not looking for a precision ratio of text to photo - text can be adjusted very easily - without worrying about font size. Type some text. If it is not a size that works for you, select your text layer and grab the corner of the bounding box -
push in or drag out - depending upon whether you want your text smaller or larger. Sometimes I even distort the text - make it taller by grabbing the top edge of the bounding box or shorter/wider by pulling at the side ... You don't always need to figure out what precise font size is best for the resolution of your project/photo. You only need to see how it looks in relation to your project/photo. Please understand - my thought are for the casual user who doesn't want to bother to learn all the ins and outs of PSE - the reasoning behind how things work. Sometimes one just wants to throw a few photos on a background or add some minor text to a photo. If one wants to learn more, good for them. I just want to get my project done and using my hints makes doing simple projects easier. |
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72ppi
Nov 4, 2020 15:34:58 GMT
Post by BuckSkin on Nov 4, 2020 15:34:58 GMT
You don't always need to figure out what precise font size is best for the resolution of your project/photo. You only need to see how it looks in relation to your project/photo. I have always been pretty much seat of the pants about the particulars of font sizing and such. I find that I can type a number in the font size box whenever the suggested numbers have too much size difference between them, or 72 is just not large enough. I have typed some fairly large numbers in the Elements font size box, but I also have got to a point where it will not accept my choice and I have to back down a bit. I am going to take closer notice about ppi as well as maximum recommended font size whenever I have an image loaded with a ppi different from 72. All of my programs show 72 as the biggest font size, but then almost all of my images come into the machine displaying as 72ppi. Like understanding this resolution business, it took me a long time to get a handle on the options in the Crop tool, especially considering that the default always seemed to want to keep the original ratio. Unless I have a specific reason, I always just leave the Crop option at No Restriction and leave the dimension choices blank. By the way, your avatar brings back childhood memories; I have seen Granny throw many a pan of dish water through the screen door whenever an old cat was climbing the screen. After seeing a cat or two get klonked in the head with a broom handle, us kids learned to stay away from Granny's screen door lest we suffer a similar fate. I can still hear those old loud rusty hinges screeking, as Granny forced her way out with a big tub of something in her hands, and then the loud KerBannnggggg when the big stout spring jerked the door closed again; that spring was so stout, you didn't have to hook the door to keep a 3-yr-old from getting in or out; he could never override the spring; and, if he intended to dart out when someone else went through, he had better be quick, lest he lose a limb or his head. Somehow, we all managed to survive that screen door and many other dangers at Granny's, only for the most of us to succumb to death by fast cars, alcohol, drug overdoses, aneurysms, and the like, before our thirties. |
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72ppi
Nov 4, 2020 21:40:21 GMT
Post by cats4jan on Nov 4, 2020 21:40:21 GMT
By the way, your avatar brings back childhood memories; I have seen Granny throw many a pan of dish water through the screen door whenever an old cat was climbing the screen. My son taught him how to climb the screen. He thought it was funny. I did, too, until I started worrying about the claws ruining the screen door. The good news was - He was young and light weight - and he soon lost interest in climbing it. I also had his two brothers - they were all a delight. Never laughed so hard (and often) in my life. |
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72ppi
Nov 5, 2020 15:14:50 GMT
Post by Sepiana on Nov 5, 2020 15:14:50 GMT
I have typed some fairly large numbers in the Elements font size box, but I also have got to a point where it will not accept my choice and I have to back down a bit. Elements allows you to enter up to 1296 pts in the Font Size box. If you try to go over the limit, you will get this warning. A possible workaround is to enter 1296 and use the Scale command to enlarge your text. You can also use Free Transform.  Speaking for myself, I usually do. Before I activate the Type tool, I check the image resolution. Then, I pick a font size somewhere midway, something like 36 pt and go from there. If it doesn’t work, I’ll try other sizes. After you have done this for a while, you develop a knack for which font sizes go with a given resolution and your workflow speeds up. I even keep some notes next to my computer listing different image resolutions + potential font sizes. I have also ignored the image resolution and used Scale or Free Transform to adjust the font size. However, I learnt the hard way that, at least in more current versions of Elements (v11 and above), we need to keep an eye on the Constrain Proportions setting in the Tool Options area. It seems to have a mind of its own and keeps turning itself it off. |
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Chris
Established Forum Member
Posts: 490
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by Chris on Nov 5, 2020 20:54:51 GMT
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Post by cats4jan on Nov 5, 2020 22:02:03 GMT
In the comment section of that article, Anonymous says:
“The one point the article makes very well, however, is that the only real measure of digital image resolution is the pixel dimensions; PPI is merely an abstract that makes it easier to determine the resolution at a particular output
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Post by Sepiana on Nov 5, 2020 22:16:10 GMT
Chris, thanks for joining this discussion! Very helpful article. I'm adding this Adobe's document on the relation between resolution and font size. Hope this helps BuckSkin! Choose a font size |
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