Is it time to rename PPI / PPC ?

We can add LPI to the soup while we're at it.

Yes ... an old tread <g> But my opinion hasn't changed. With digital imaging moving ever faster away from print perhaps Adobe could offer px (pixels) as a type unit option as we use in CSS for Web design?

Whilst I would agree that ppi is primarily for print there are a few circumstances where it will be used even when creating an image for screen that will never be printed. A prime example is when adding text. Text is normally sized in points which are 1/72 of an inch. But of course with no ppi value there are no image inches therefore no points,  which is one of the reasons why an arbitrary ppi value is assigned when opening an image with no ppi metadata. Of course it could be argued that points cannot be used if no ppi is assigned and grey them out, and also grey out screen rulers, but that would be further programming and lead to confusion.

A bigger issue I see, related to ppi, is the interchangeable misuse of ppi and dpi (including in some Adobe documentation). That does not help people to understand the terms.

Dave

Edit: I've just realised this discussion is a year old - sorry I had not meant to resurrect an old discussion.

Yes, it's a pixel editor. But PPI (or PP per whatever value) is a measurement that applies primerily to print output and (w/resample off) the same edited pixels remain.

By @Russell Proulx

Except when it doesn't (no, it isn't primarily or totally)!

When you're dealing with pixels in a pixel editor, it has nothing to do with print. It deals with pixels.

And this affects important attributes like viewing 1:1 on a display, the size of the image shown on a display, etc. 

You and I understand it ... but there are too many users who seem to not and modifying it's name might help avoid confusion.

By @Russell Proulx

"If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."-Bertrand Russell

Teach them how it actually works! Don't alter a name that doesn't. 

Before I learned to drive a standard transmission, I didn't need the clutch to be renamed "pedal you step on to shift gears". What I need to learn was how to use the clutch. 

Yes, it's a pixel editor. But PPI (or PP per whatever value) is a measurement that applies primerily to print output and (w/resample off) the same edited pixels remain. I'm not suggesting getting rid of it. Just renaming it to something that's more easily understood. You and I understand it ... but there are too many users who seem to not and modifying it's name might help avoid confusion.

Just an idea 🙂

Russell

I happen to agree. Not that there's anything "wrong" with the term itself - after all, it just means exactly what it says. The meaning is perfectly open and transparent. But when so many misunderstand it, something isn't working.

Maybe it would help if we didn't say "ppi", which to most people is just another three-letter acronym - but instead spelled it out: pixels per inch. That's as self-explanatory as you could ever wish for, as long as you read the actual words.

The root problem may be that the word resolution itself is ambiguous. It can mean discrete samples per unit of measurement, or it can mean discrete samples total. They are not the same thing.

I often say that ppi is a measure of pixel density, avoiding the word resolution. Not sure if it helps.

Pixels haven't changed in 36 years. 

Photoshop is still a pixel editor. 

Too many people believe the wrong stuff, so they need education. 

Printers don't make pixels, so no, no reason to use Print PPI/PPC.