# What Resolution (DPI) Should I be Using For High-Quality Prints?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 11, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032 "2004-01-11T19:46:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/1 "2004-01-11T19:46:51Z")
I went to Kinko’s a few days ago to make a high quality print out (on gloss paper) of a DVD cover I made. It came out looking like ass, the text was pix elated, etc. It was shortly after that I discovered the problem was attributed to the 72dpi my art work determined as the default. So my question is, what kind of dpi should I be using for a high quality print out? I upped it to 500dpi, is this ample?
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/2 "2004-01-11T19:51:10Z")
200-300 DPI gives more than acceptable results, in my experience. 72 DPI is the default, as that is the resolution of most monitors.
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### Author:  [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/3 "2004-01-11T19:53:48Z")
At least 300 dpi.
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### Author:  [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/4 "2004-01-11T19:54:33Z")
Thanks, so it seems I went overkill. I presume 500dpi wouldn’t be any worse than 200-300 (unless there’s something I’m missing)?
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/5 "2004-01-11T19:58:39Z")
No, 500 is fine. It may be overkill, depending on the level of detail in the artwork, so you may or may not notice an improvement over 300 DPI.
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### Author:  [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/6 "2004-01-11T19:58:40Z")
Well, it makes your file bigger and slower to print.
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### Author:  [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/7 "2004-01-11T20:18:07Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \*
> \*\*No, 500 is fine. It may be overkill, depending on the level of detail in the artwork, so you may or may not notice an improvement over 300 DPI. \*\*
According to _Britannica_ the best resolving power of the human eye under ideal conditions is about 30 seconds of arc.
At a distance of 18" this is equivalent to 380 dpi.
If you are trying to minimize file size while maintaining quality 300 dpi is adequate since ideal conditions, in such as lighting, are seldom available and most eyes don’t operate at top performance all the time anyway.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/8 "2004-01-11T23:49:26Z")
Just make sure the _original_ image was created at a higher dpi than what you plan to use for the finished product.
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### Author:  [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/9 "2004-01-13T02:09:13Z")
In my experience (I print art that I sell), for 95% of everything out there, 300 dpi is more than enough. Depends on what you’re printing of course.
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### Author:  [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/10 "2004-01-13T04:37:29Z")
> [@David Simmons](#):
>
> According to _Britannica_ the best resolving power of the human eye under ideal conditions is about 30 seconds of arc.
>
> At a distance of 18" this is equivalent to 380 dpi.
>
> If you are trying to minimize file size while maintaining quality 300 dpi is adequate since ideal conditions, in such as lighting, are seldom available and most eyes don’t operate at top performance all the time anyway.
I’m not questioning you on this at all, so don’t think I’m doubting your accuracy. 🙂 I was just wondering if you could show me how you did this math.
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### Author:  [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-resolution-dpi-should-i-be-using-for-high-quality-prints/224032/11 "2004-01-13T05:21:45Z")
> [@Civil Defense](#):
>
> I’m not questioning you on this at all, so don’t think I’m doubting your accuracy. 🙂 I was just wondering if you could show me how you did this math.
Convert 30 seconds to degrees by dividing by 3600. Then convert to radians by multiplying by pi and dividing by 180. This gives an angle of 1.454\*10[sup]-4[/sup] radians.
The length of arc equals the angle in radians multiplied by the radius of the circle. For such a small angle there is no significant difference between an arc and a straight line. So the distance between adjacent detectably different points is the above angle multiplied by 18", the viewing distance. The reciprocal of this is the DPI and that comes out to be 382.