Dpi question

[wayne28946682k905]

Hi I'm looking to start selling some stock images but whe. I load them into photo editing software I notice the pixel/inch is 72. The dimensions are quite large. I believe it is possible to get 300dpi by reducing the size of them image. Would anyone advise doing this or is it ok to upload at 72  dpi with higher canvas size. I have uploaded a few images a few weeks ago but they are still under review. Thanks for any advice

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[Test Screen Name · Accepted solution]

You need to understand resolution to do this; how it is used and when it isn't. And understand it is not a measure of quality. Or... understand to ignore it, at least. The resolution (ppi value) of stock images is of no importance. Really, none. It can be 72, 300, 3000 or 6 or anything else. Only the size in pixels matters.  It is forbidden to upsample images (increase the number of pixels).

[marina_3591]

Hi, I am an interior designer and I am trying to print one of the Adobe stock background on the relatively big wall.  In this case is the dpi still doesn't meter ? Thank you in advance! 

[Abambo]

In that case, the output dpi matters. You will need to find out the optimal and the minimal dpi values for your use case. The print service provider normally can provide this, and the dpi value should be below 300 dpi. If they tell you that they need 300 dpi, than they have not really a clue what is needed. 

FYI: the needed dpi value depends on the viewing distance. The farer away the typical viewer is, the less dpi is needed. 

In most of the cases, you can resize the image, so that it fits the optimal or the minimal dpi values. This is especially true if the contributor did not upscale the pictures by themselves. All generative AI pictures have gone through upscaling, so you may have reached the limit of what is possible, without getting visible artefacts.

[Abambo · Accepted solution]

The ppi (not dpi) value of your picture is irrelevant. Indeed, as @Test Screen Name lays out, the same photo can be saved as 10, 72, 300, 1200, … ppi and it will change nothing to the quality of the photo. The only values important for photos and other pixel images are the number of pixels in the two dimensions (H × L) and the colour depth. With the colour, you should also consider the correct colour profile (sRGB for Adobe stock), as this has an influence on the colour representation.

Whatever you understand as canvas size seems to be the length and height in inches or cm, which is irrelevant, except if you want to print the picture on canvas/paper. And there, your ppi value will be an indication of the final print quality.

As a conclusion, you should ignore the ppi value, as long as your understanding of that value is limited.