Why does everyone talk about DPI when printing photograph? Is that really the most important thing?

Question

Come on. We aren't printing newspapers.

Answer 1

It's a matter of degrees.  Printing 300dpi vs. 600dpi...probably not that much of a difference to the human eye.  Printing 30dpi vs. 300dpi, I think you'll notice.  

Just think about it: divide an inch into 30 segments, print one dot per segment.  Gonna look pretty horrible, eh?  Better yet, try it for yourself by printing out the same picture at 30dpi and 300dpi.  You might get an interesting effect, but I don't think it's what you'll be looking for to hang on your wall.

Answer 2

I am a little confused about your actual question as well.

"Is that really the most important thing?"

It is important to the sharpness of your finished product. The larger your finished product the more the need for a higher DPI. You are correct in that a newspaper doesn't need very high resolution to convey its story. However, the higher the DPI on your picture reproduction the more realistic it remains. That's the whole point in printing photographs anyway...right? To make the most realistic copy of a picture!

Answer 3

am i missing your drift?

as most things nowadays go thru a digital darkroom then the standard way to measure output is size (w x h) and resolution

most output is 300dpi nowadays

newspapers around 200dpi

use the pencil icon and give us more of a clue

a

Answer 4

I wouldn't say that's the most important thing, but it is very important indeed. Not enough DPIs (dots per inch) could cause your printed photo to be very pixelated - and it prevents people who see it from properly enjoying the photo, sometimes even making faces unrecognizable.

Pixelated photographs are simply unprofessional.