Photoshop document size resolution and dpi

Thane-

I was wondering what people generally use for dpi settings for a typical high quality asset. Whats the difference between working with a 2048x2048 with a 300 dpi setting versus a 4096x4096@72. Does it effect performance in a noticeable way. It is nicer to work at one or the other of those parameters assuming the final product is 2048? What about their effects when importing a texture file, seems like you might have quite a bit more "dots" to dither nicely with with a higher dpi, but perhaps photoshop handles it well already and that combined with the fact that im going to end up at 2k anyway make the point moot, or maybe not..?

Thoughts?

ZacD

DPI only matters when printing. When working on a file on the computer, the resolution is the only thing that matters.

Bartalon

DPI is only relevant if you are measuring your canvas in inches or some other length, such as for concept artists or digital illustrators. For games, the measurement is in pixels, something DPI won't change.

Typically you want to keep it at 72 DPI, but it really doesn't matter. Like ZacD said, the image dimensions are all that matter. The DPI has no impact on the quality of game textures or performance in the game engine.

Thane-

I was having problems with jagged edges on text and I would have sworn people were saying to reduce aliasing of text they were seeing *on the screen* by uping the dpi. I guess they were referring to the final product and i just misunderstood...

Thanks for the info. Good to know its one less evil setting i don't have to worry about.

a3D

for quick reference:

-set inches size, increase DPI -> print size stays the same, but you get more pixels
-set pixels amount, increase DPI -> print size goes down, number of pixel stays the same
-set DPI, increase pixels -> you get more pixels and your print size grows accordingly
-set DPI, increase inches -> your print size is increased, and you get more pixels accordingly
-set inches size, increase pixels -> DPI goes up, print size stays the same, more pixels
-set pixel amount, increase inches -> DPI goes down, print size grows, pixels don't change

so, you *can* increase resolution on the screen by upping the DPI, as long as your inches stay the same.

For example, your canvas is 10x10 inches, and your DPI is 72.
This makes the image 720x720 pixels
If you change the DPI to 300 and keep the size at 10 inches, your image will become 3000x3000 pixels

EarthQuake

Adjusting DPI without changing resolution will not have any effect on jagged text.

DPI stands for dots per inches, which as mentioned above is only relevant when doing print work. For most standard media, DPI is 300 pixels per inch. So if you wanted to print a 5x7" photo at 300 DPI, you would want a file at least 1500x2100 pixels. If you're making textures for video games or rendering, you can safely ignore DPI all together as it will have no effect on image quality, detail, performance, or anything else.

Thane-

So if im understanding all this correctly now after all my 3D researching, if we upped the inches to something like 2048x2048 inches, perhaps we could trick the GPU into displaying more resolution with no performance loss!

Thane-

Just kidding....

Bartalon

Maybe one day if Moore's Law keeps going