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Is there a way to output for Print. I want to save in a higher DPI than the default 72dpi say 300dpi that's a good quality for printed pieces. I tried downloading an add-on but don't know if I am installing it correctly it isn't showing up but the bar in python is green. I'm using the 2.69 version of Blender. If no such feature exists what size have any of you found best for print quality. Thank you

Kris
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  • @ideasman42 this not the same idea or the same answer as the question you mark as duplicate of. –  Jul 11 '14 at 05:32
  • @cegaton, what's the difference? Could you elaborate your question a little? – CharlesL Jul 11 '14 at 13:50
  • @CharlesL besides DPIs the OP is asking for pixel size to achieve a good quality picture. I feel is important to clarify the relationship between the two. –  Jul 13 '14 at 21:47
  • Besides DPI metadata part ... This Q is not a duplicate, OP is asking also for pixel calculation (and was also accepted for the full range it covers). Provided link by @ideasman42 covers only DPI. Those are two different things (already mentioned by @user1853). Seems to me relevant to keep open. Thank you – vklidu Jun 24 '21 at 21:50

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You don't need any plugins, and any version of Blender is suitable to create images for printing at a specific DPI.

What you need to know is the number of pixels needed in the rendered image, to match the density of DPIs at the time of printing.

There are plenty of online Image Size Calculators you can use to get to those numbers, like this one

As an EXAMPLE: an image printed in a letter size paper at 300DPI will need 2550x3300 pixels. The same number of pixels would fill a 3.75" x 5.5" print at 600DPI or a 30"x 44" display at 72DPI, or a 17'x 22' billboard at 12 DPI...

In contrast, If you were to print an image of only 640x480 pixels to the size of a letter size paper (8.5"x11"), it will always look pixelated, even if you were to print it at 300dpi or 1200dpi, as there is not enough information on the file to match the print density.

Once you know what size you want to print and the resolution in DPI of the printer, you can calculate the number of pixels you need, and that's the number you'd type in "resolution" of the render settings in blender.

enter image description here

As for embedding DPI information as part of the file, it is just an added tag in the metadata for the file, that in no way changes the picture information. If you absolutely require a DPI tag in your file, you have to use other apps or software that can do that for you, like imagemagik, but other apps like photoshop, gimp or similar can do that as well.

susu
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