I must have said this at least 10 times before. It's not "DPI" or more correctly "PPI" that matters when printing. It's the TOTAL size of the picture, and the type of printer in question that matters! Misconception #1: 1 Dot = 1 Pixel It most definitely does NOT! Think about it. A pixel is a square of solid color...any of 16,777,216 colors to be exact. A dot is a roundish blob of bleeding ink that comes in 4 or 6 different colors. It takes several dots combined together to make the eye think it's seeing the same color square as a pixel. This means that an individual dot must be much smaller than a pixel. That's why you see printers listing DPI resolutions like "2880 x 720 dpi". They NEED those resolutions just to just to mimic pixel resolutions of, say, 150 ppi. What's more, every brand and model of printer will behave differently and have a different way of getting dots to simulate pixels. What's more, a pixel can change sizes, a dot cannot! In addition, the choice of paper or canvas will alter how much the dots spread and therefore how sharp the picture is. There's no reason to create a huge picture, then print it to an 8.5" by 11" sheet of ordinary copier paper. There will be so much bleed all the details will be gone! OK, here's the real clue to HOME printing: THE MORE PIXELS IN THE PICTURE, THE SMOOTHER AND SHARPER THE PICTURE WILL BE, AND THE MORE DOTS PER PIXEL, THE MORE ACCURATELY THE PIXELS WILL BE REPRODUCED! This means, of course, that for good looking printing, you want to have a lot of pixels, you want a printer that uses a lot of dots to simulate each pixel, and you want paper that has as little bleed as possible. My suggestions? 1. Render as many pixels as you have time for. Do you have an hour to complete a render? Then render to a size that takes an hour. Do you have 10 hours...3 days...a week? then render to those sizes. 2. Choose your printer carefully. I have an Epson Color Stylus 3000, because the 3000 is noted as being the defacto printer for large format printing at home. My suggestion to someone getting a new printer would be the Epson Photo 1280. $499 list price, 2880 by 720 dpi, 6 ink colors, borderless (edge to edge) printing, supports 13" by 19" inch paper, and has longer lasting inks. 3. When printing art, use only the best quality media. This is a matter of 3 factors: appearance, durability, and longevity. Glossy "photo" paper will usually give you the best reproduction, but is fairly delicate, and often fades quickly. Use it when you want a great looking, but temporary print. Coated papers don't look quite as good but can stand rougher handling and are cheaper. Use them for draft tests. Coated cloth canvas has a look all its own. Not as sharp as glossy paper because of its texturing, it is never the less the #1 choice for long term prints, because of its durability and fade resistance. There are a number of places in line to get top quality canvas and good recommendations. Prof. Steve :)

I'd rather stay in my lane than lay in my stain!