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brightbelt
brightbelt
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Pushing for a higher resolution ....

Jul 10, 2012 2:58 AM

Hi- I'm using DW CS4 and Mac OS X. This may be a stupid question, but I am wondering about whether one can "push" the resolution envelop on the web, especially concerning vector graphics.

 

For example, I know that 96 dpi is a web standard (it used to be 72 etc). Is it possible to push the resolution up to - say - 120 dpi and 'get away with it'?

 

I know this may be a stupid question but my curiosity persists and I appreciate any clarity anyone could offer.

 

Many Thanks,

Frank B.

551 Views   5 Replies   Latest reply: John Waller, Jul 10, 2012 1:18 PM
 
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  • John Waller
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    1. John Waller,
    Jul 10, 2012 3:15 AM   in reply to brightbelt
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    Image resolution is irrelevant on the web. There is no web standard.

     

    Resolution only matters when printing.

     

    1 image pixel = 1 screen pixel.

     

    So the only thing that matters for any web image are the width x height of the image measured in pixels.

     
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  • bryanrieger
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    2. bryanrieger,
    Jul 10, 2012 3:54 AM   in reply to John Waller
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    Actually, many devices such as the new iPad support pixel densities **much** higher than 72 pixels per inch, and while the rule of 1 image pixel = 1 screen pixel is mostly still true on the desktop, it begins to fall apart when we try to apply this same thinking to device browser viewports. For instance, the iPhone 4 (and 4S) has a screen width in portrait view of 640px, however the default viewport size actually reports back as 320 pixels - essentially doubling every original pixel in order to fill the viewport as required. Android, Blackberry and most other newer device all support similar behaviours.

     

    Supporting high-dpi pixel-dense "Retina" Displays like iPhones or the iPad 3 with CSS or IMG

    http://www.hanselman.com/blog/SupportingHighdpiPixeldenseRetinaDisplay sLikeIPhonesOrTheIPad3WithCSSOrIMG.aspx

     

    Media queries such as; @media screen and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2)enable designers and developers to adapt their layouts and styling via CSS, however there is yet still no reliable way to adapt inline content images (ie: <img> tags ) despite the work of many passionate and talented folks within the web community. 

     
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  • John Waller
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    3. John Waller,
    Jul 10, 2012 5:22 AM   in reply to bryanrieger
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    Yes image resolution on the web is clearly a rapidly evolving technology in the light of new devices and the old ground rules are being re-defined.

     

    But AFAICS 1:1 still applies at the moment addressing the spirit of the OP's original question.

     
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  • pziecina
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    4. pziecina,
    Jul 10, 2012 6:07 AM   in reply to John Waller
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    John Waller wrote:

     

    Image resolution is irrelevant on the web. There is no web standard.

     

    Resolution only matters when printing.

     

    1 image pixel = 1 screen pixel.

     

     

    Hi John

     

    This statement is probably one of the biggest misconceptions that exist for the web, and was probably originally conceived by someone who came from the print design media and used a WYSWYG editor for their work.

     

    If the statement, 1 image pixel = 1 screen pixel was true, then please explain how and why HD works, as it is used for video on the web, as a video is just a series of images displayed at a specific frame rate?

     

    But to answer the original question, 96ppi is the standard screen resolution for windows, (one should actually ignore the 'i' for inches in ppi as it now has very little relevance and was based on the vga standard). It is also the css pixel standard which is also defined as the standard image resolution for use in html5.

     

    It will shortly be possible to use different image src's with varying resolutions in the img tag that are targeted at devices using higher resolutions via the srcset attribute, (see - http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/multipage/embedded-c ontent-1.html#attr-img-srcset ) but this is currently only supported in the nightly browser builds.

     

    IE8+ also supports the use of 130ppi resolution for images.

     

    PZ

     
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  • John Waller
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    5. John Waller,
    Jul 10, 2012 1:18 PM   in reply to pziecina
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    pziecina wrote:

     

    John Waller wrote:

     

    Image resolution is irrelevant on the web. There is no web standard.

     

    Resolution only matters when printing.

     

    1 image pixel = 1 screen pixel.

     

     

    Hi John

     

    This statement is probably one of the biggest misconceptions that exist for the web, and was probably originally conceived by someone who came from the print design media and used a WYSWYG editor for their work.

     

    Not really. It's the print design people who perpetuate 72dpi image resolution for the web and other online myths.

     

    Admittedly, there's lots of (mis)information in general about image and video resolution online. And lots of passionate argument and debate about basic concepts.

     

    These links summarise my current understanding.

     

    http://www.apptools.com/examples/dpi.php

    http://www.scantips.com/basics1c.html

     

    I haven't yet read any online articles which change my thinking that 1:1 (image pixel: screen pixel) is valid for screen displays but I'm learning more every day about this stuff and the effect of new technologies such as Retina displays and how they affect our understanding of the basic concepts, not to mention our web workflows and how we prepare images for the web e.g. CSS media-queries.

     

    pziecina wrote:

     

    If the statement, 1 image pixel = 1 screen pixel was true, then please explain how and why HD works, as it is used for video on the web, as a video is just a series of images displayed at a specific frame rate?

     

    Yes, in its native resolution.

     

    It's then downsampled and compressed via codecs for the web into various file formats.

     
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