DPI for Inject prints

[Jason Hermann]

I was curious what is the best dpi to use for my printer. I know most uploading printer places recommend 300dpi, but i heard at some point that your wasting ink on an inject style printer ?? I'm trying to save the time and money on comparing large prints

I've been printing at 240dpi and they seem great to me, but I do have a virgin eye for prints so I figured I would ask you all?? 300dpi or less?? Canon Pixma Pro 9000

Thanks,

Jay

[Mr. Pickles]

More like a big debate than a "rule". If the image vs print ratio can take 300dpi, then use it. Nothing wrong with 240dpi though. Probably need to run a test of each on your printer to see.

Lots of folks use Qimage (great program) to print with. With it, there are folks who make prints that only have 150dpi and they get amazingly great results.

If you are going to print a 6mp image at 20x30, then you have no choice on dpi. If you are printing it at 4x6, then 300dpi is good, but 240dpi isn't a noticeable killer either.

[etaf]

i read once that the epson print range worked better with an image size of 240PPI

[Jason Hermann]

Thanks for the comments Perhaps I'll look into the Qimage. I just printed one of the Livingston Manor Bridge shots in Black and white 12x16 @ 300dpi. It looks Amazingly good!! I guess I'll go for another at 240 if possible. I did have to up sample it a bit to get it to 300dpi in Photoshop so 240 will probably be pretty close without up sampling much.

Thanks again for the input

Jay

[Tom Swaman]

Like everything else, different images and different print sizes may dictate different printer optimum resolution. This is particularly true when viewing a larger print from a larger distance. If you are relatively picky and using top quality pigment inks, I suggest a bit of your own experimenting. I generally print at 300ppi up to 8" X 10" prints and 240ppi above 8" X 10 ". I use 1440dpi printing at low speed on an Epson 3800 Pro. So far my only complaint is, "When I try to print one of my lousy images, I get lousy prints"!

[Tom Swaman]

I almost forgot, different surfaces do better with different ink systems and dpis. More dpi is not always better and may consume an unnecessary quantity of ink.