Forum: Carrara


Subject: Why doesn't my dpi change stick?

pixpicws opened this issue on Aug 25, 2006 · 4 posts


pixpicws posted Fri, 25 August 2006 at 2:51 AM

Simple question but didn't want to thread jump the Can Carrara produce large format prints thread. Why is it whenever I set a higher dpi in the render setup doesn't it stick once I open the rendered output.  I want the images to be 266-300dpi but they always endup at 72 no matter which format I save them as.  Thanks


Patrick_210 posted Fri, 25 August 2006 at 2:10 PM

Pixel size overrides dpi unless you change to a unit size such as inches or mm.


Pedrith posted Fri, 25 August 2006 at 4:43 PM

Since we are on the subject of DPI, what level of dpi do I need, to simulate motion picture size (16:9) renders? Thanks for the tip about the dpi as I did not know that the pixel size can override the dpi. Thanks. David


LCBoliou posted Fri, 25 August 2006 at 7:28 PM

A lot of confusion concerning DPI.  Consider, DPI is pixel density, and pixel resolution is image size.  If you are going to look at a rendering close-up, or the subject of the rendering has high detail, then you might(?) want a high DPI -- pixel density.  If you are going to stand 12' away from a 6' by 3' image, then density will/can be low.  The same resolution image in a 12" x 6" print size, seen from 2' away, will have a much higher print density, but will look much the same to the human eye.

DPI is more a human factors issue, pixel resolution is the amount of total image data, based on the native image (which would include color data).  Pixel resolution is based on objective criteria, DPI is based on human eyesight criteria (how big will the print be seen...at what distance).

There is not objective basis for determining DPI with a 16:9 ratio -- that is just a ratio and has no bearing to DPI or resolution. So, you start with 16 x 9 pixels as the smallest whole number image size.