"The designer said "300dpi", or the truth about "Resolution"

Sometimes we are asked to send images directly to graphic designers and when we ask for the resolution they want, we get the answer "300dpi". Well, that is similar to going to get some meat for dinner and ask the butcher for 30 steaks, instead of 30oz steaks.

But rest assured - you are not the only one. Many graphic designers say exatly that.

But what is DPI really about?

DPI stands for "Dots per Inch", and dot is simply a point. Simplified you can think of it as a very tiny drop from a printer.  300dpi describes how many dots the printer will print per inch paper size. In the printing induestry, there are different print resolutions (150dpi to 1200dpi or more) But it doesn´t tell you how big the image will be. 
You can print a 2x2 inch image with 300dpi, but you can also print a 3ft x 3ft image with 300dpi

so what we need to know when we ask you how big you need an image is: e.g. 5x7" at 300dpi.

A small example:

Both of these images have a resolution of 300dpi:

Now you sure wonder: but the right image sure doesn´t have 4,23cm width. Well, the reason for that again is, that screen resolutions and print resolutions also differ - screens usually have around 72dpi to 120dpi.

To sum things up: don´t let anyone confuse you. Tell us how big you want to print and we will take care of it.