Q:

What is “dpi”, and what resolution do you scan your work in at?

A:

“Dpi” stands for “dots per inch”, and refers to the number of pixels your computer monitor uses to represent each square inch of art you’ve scanned in. A low dpi will mean low picture and fuzzy lines when printed, while a high dpi will mean high picture quality and clean, crisp lines on the printed version. Most pictures on the internet are 72 dpi, which means they display fine on your computer monitor, but turn out fuzzy in print. A high dpi will mean greater memory and the need to constantly zoom in and out on the computer while you’re working, but will absolutely crucial if you’re doing any work that will end up in print.

You choose the “dpi” when you scan something in - your scanner should have settings ranging from 72-1200 dpi on it. All black and white linework ought to be scanned at a minimum of 600 dpi. Scan it at 300 dpi, and the lines will lose their cleanliness and look fuzzy. 300 dpi is for scanning colour pictures only. I scan at 1200 dpi myself for all my pages, though admittedly most scanners that claim to do 1200 dpi can only scan at 600 dpi at the most. All my greyscale pages are done at 1200 dpi, as are the ones using dot tones rather than greyscale tones.

Last updated on: Friday, 28 December 2007
Filed under: Manga