There is a lot of confusion about DPI among clients. DPI (dots per inch) in and of itself has nothing to do with ones overall ability to enlarge a file. DPI, instead, is merely a measure of the information density at which a file is saved. For example, you could have a 1 inch by 1 inch image that is 300 dpi. This would be a very small image, indeed, and would not work well for reproduction other than on the web. Likewise, you could have an image saved at 72 dpi that is 22×40 inches. This would be a reasonably large file and could be converted to 300 dpi at smaller printing dimensions.

To avoid confusion the best thing to do is to refer to files based upon their “pixel dimension” rather than in “dpi.” Pixel dimensions give the absolute size of the file, i.e., 4000×6000 pixels. A reference to a files dpi, on the other hand, gives no information UNLESS it is combined with the dimensions of the file, i.e., 4×6 inches at 300 dpi.

Hopefully this can begin to clear up some of the confusion with digital file sizes. At Tadsen Photography, we handle all aspects of a photoshoot down to providing digital files at exactly the size and resolution needed by clients.

Client education is a big part of what we do. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions about your digital files.