How to increase DPI?
300 dpi is considered as good to taking prints, however when i take pics i see that the dpi is generally below 300, mostly around 240. How do i increase that. Is there anything to be done in the camera settings (Nikon D7000) or do i do it while post processing?
So long as you leave the resolution of your images (in pixels) at the native setting (straight out of your camera) you have nothing to worry about. If 300 ppi (pixels per inch not dots per inch) is required by a commercial printer, the images can be easily changed using Adobe Photoshop, Gimp or any other good editing program.
Nikon D7000 16.2 MP
http://www.nikonusa.com/...D7000.html
4760 x 3570 pixels ~ approx.
http://www.hugge.netg.se/java/MegaPixels.html?i
the 240 ppi/ dpi value shows image size at 20 x 15 " ~ approx.
when you have at 16 x 12, it sets to 300 ppi/ dpi
if you need to boost quality for larger print size,
you can adjust in photo editor or other tools,
Alien Skin Software: Blow Up 3
http://www.alienskin.com/blowup/index.aspx
BenVista Photozoom Pro
http://www.benvista.com/main/content/content.php?page=ourproducts§ion=photozoompro_1
Perfect Resize 7
http://www.ononesoftware.com/products/perfect-resize/
.
Dpi and ppi and resolution in general is the most misunderstood aspect of printing, there's a lot of mis-information on the Web.
Dpi is NOT the same as ppi, dpi is the resolution of a printer (dots per Inch), it's the resolution the printer will print the file at regardless of the resolution of the data within the file which is in ppi (pixels per Inch).
300 dpi is just a compromise between ink usage and the time it takes to print. It's the perfect resolution for a 6" X 4" print, it's too much for a 10" X 8" or larger print and it's not enough for a 2" X 1" print, the smaller you print the higher the resolution needs to be if all the detail available in the image file is to be printed! The opposite of what you might think.
The resolution of the image file is measured in ppi, every time you zoom in on an image your altering the ppi. If your image is on your screen your looking at 72ppi as that is the resolution of most screens unless you spend a fortune on your monitor or projector. Your image file will have far more resolution and have more pixels available than your screen can resolve, the video card driver ignores all the extra date it can't re-produce. Same goes for the printer driver when you come to print.
Project that 72ppi image onto a 6ft X 4ft screen and it still looks good even close up. And your projector will have reduced the pixel count to it's pixel resolution usually around 1024 X 768 so your actually looking at an image on your 6ft X 4ft screen that is only 1024 pixels X 768 pixels at 72ppi and it looks fine, you would certainly accept it if it was printed that size and had that quality even though your only looking at around a quarter of the available pixels and at a low resolution.
Altering ppi alters the size of the pixels, 240ppi is the arbitrary resolution Photoshop and most other image editing software uses for Raw files, if you saved a Jpeg at the same time which you can on most DSLR's the jpeg will be at 72ppi as Jpeg is most used for screen work Photoshop knows this and sets the resolution at 72ppi, both images will look the same on your screen.
It is confusing, it is difficult to get your head around, but resolution of the file in ppi on your computer is arbitrary and is constantly being altered, the only time you need to know what the ppi is and what the resolution of the printer, dpi, is set to, when it matters, is when you print.