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michaelk15108978
Participant
July 27, 2019
Question

Changing the resolution when saving.

  • July 27, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 869 views

I just bought a new Mac and have Lightroom 2.3 (May 3, 2019). With my old computer, I had Lightroom classic and when I would export, I was able to change the DPI. I want to print, but the resolution that it is saving to is not print quality. How can I change the resolution when I save so that it can be of print quality?

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    2 replies

    99jon
    99jon
    Legend
    July 27, 2019

    When I check a saved image in Photoshop the default is usually 240 ppi which produces high quality prints

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 27, 2019

    99jon  wrote

    When I check a saved image in Photoshop the default is usually 240 ppi which produces high quality prints

    The point is that in practice, ppi has little or nothing to do with the quality of the print.  Modern printers disregard the ppi setting, so only the total number of pixels has an effect on the print quality. Say you have a 3000 pixels wide image and you want to print that at 10 inch width. Then your print resolution becomes 3000 pixels / 10 inch = 300 ppi, regardless of what the ppi value of the file says. This is always the case when you order prints online, and also when you print yourself from an app like Photoshop.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
    JP Hess
    JP Hess
    Inspiring
    July 27, 2019

    If you are using the cloud-based version of Lightroom then your best option is to save a full-sized JPEG image. The DPI setting is pointless anyway because regardless of what that setting is you still have the same number of pixels. Changing the DPI (or PPI) setting isn't going to change the quality of the image in any way. That number is only something to calculate how large the image would be at any given setting. I know you won't believe that, but it's true.

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 27, 2019

    Correct. Just 'Save as maximum size' and print it or get it printed. You will find it will print just fine. Pixels per inch (PPI) is just an instruction for printing. It specifies how many pixels should fit into one inch of paper. Most printers ignore this. They simply take the number of pixels available and print, so they effectively use a variable ppi setting.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
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