X4 always says the jpeg is at 72 dpi

[yukoner2]

When I open a jpeg in X4 it always says it is at 72 dpi. Even when I resize it so it is at 220, when I open it again and look under image information it always says 72 dpi. If I open the same image in any other editor, including X3 it reports the correct dpi. This coupled with the extreme compression is making X4 useless to me unfortunately.

I'm not prepared to sit and do the math to try and figure out what it is really at.

I have reset the number under preferences/general program preferences/units and it doesn't respond to that either.

For me, this version is problematic and not worth taking the time to learn. I need to be able to depend on and trust the information I'm getting from my software.

Norm

[LeviFiction]

You don't need to do the math to figure out the dpi. It only rests the dpi if you open and save in X4 but dpi only matters in print so you only need to set the print size once before you wave it out when you are ready to print it. And turning off the resample option of the image resize command makes figuring out the dpi easy as you just need to tell it what size you want to print, let PSP do the hard work.

Of course I fully understand it is an annoying problem, but it's hardly crippling.

[yukoner2]

I appreciate what you are saying LeviFiction, however when I save with X4, or any other program for that matter, at 200 dpi, when I open it again in X4 it opens at 72 dpi and I have to resize each time I want to print it.

My practice is to prepare my files for final printing and then not play with them any more. As it is, with PSP X4 now I have to open them and take an extra step in order to print or make sure they are at the correct dpi for what I have offered my clients. Actually, I have no concrete way with X4 to know that as when I open it and look at the dpi it always says 72, no matter what it was saved at.

[LindaSue]

Why is the DPI relevant as long as you've still got the right number of pixels in the image? If the printer says your image files are too small for printing, that's because they don't have enough pixels to print the size you want, not because PSP is saying that it's 72 dpi.

[flagpole]

that is weird as in general preferences the default is 200dpi

dpi is extremely important in a lot of arenas, just not graphics for viewing on screen. if you are in a print based industry they expect you to get your dpi right.

and if this is true. then it's definitely a bug. a tragically simple one at that.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

Very new to PSP in fact just downloaded the trial version yesterday.
Very annoying when the images always open using 72 dpi
Also having trouble getting my head round the cropping tool cos of similar 72 issue.

But I checked Enable Auto Preserve from Preferences and seems to have done the trick.
My images seem to be opening in PSP using the sizes as saved from Photoshop.
Can you try this option………

[df]

If the pixel count is the same then it's just a minor annoyance. No, the program shouldn't do that but unless you're resizing thinking you're at 200 dpi but yet you're resizing at 72 dpi (and you specify a print size!!!) then you're not losing anything.
http://www.rideau-info.com/photos/mythdpi.html

[hipshot13]

What the heck is all this mumbo jumbo to justify a fault with the program. If I import a Jepg photo that is 4416 X 3312 @ 180 dpi in 24 bit color that is 24" x 18" that is what I should get. Not 61.333" x 46.000" at 72dpi. This is totally unacceptable! It is a bug not a feature and it should be fixed not treated as unimportant.

[Simone Corel UK]

Hi to all who have the same question

PSPX4 doesn't save only with 72dpi but there is an error in showing the correct dpi in Image -> Resize. We have already escalated it.

Currently, it works by resizing/re-typing the image size.

[trueblue]

Hi

Very new to PSP in fact just downloaded the trial version yesterday.
Very annoying when the images always open using 72 dpi
Also having trouble getting my head round the cropping tool cos of similar 72 issue.

But I checked Enable Auto Preserve from Preferences and seems to have done the trick.
My images seem to be opening in PSP using the sizes as saved from Photoshop.
Can you try this option………

All my images do not open as 72ppi!

If I saved my image as 300ppi then it opens in PSPX4 as 300ppi.

PPI and DPI are totally different and sadly often confused with one another.

DPI and PPI Explained

There seems to be a great deal of confusion among many people regarding the use of some terms in digital imaging. One of the more common sources of confusion is the difference between DPI and PPI. The main problem with this is that DPI (dots per inch) is an old term that has been applied to everything relating to resolution and the size of a digital image. This is very confusing because different situations work with resolution in very different ways, and having a single term for all of them just makes things more confusing. More recently, the term PPI (pixels per inch) has appeared in common usage and is far more specific for what the term entails. DPI is still used in some documents and software when PPI is really what they mean, but this is changing. This article is an attempt to explain what the 2 terms mean and how they should be used.
PPI

Let’s start with PPI, it’s easy to understand. This is the number of pixels per inch in your image. This will affect the print size of your photo and will affect the quality of the output. The way that it will affect the quality of the output is that if there are too few pixels per inch, then the pixels will be very large and you will get a very pixelated image (jagged edges, you will actually see individual pixels, not good). You’ll hear various different numbers thrown around as to what an acceptable PPI for a print-out is. A lot of this will depend on the size of the print. This is because you look at large prints from a further distance than a small print, so you can get away with a lower PPI and still have the image look fine.

All that PPI does is affect the print size of the image. There are 2 ways that you can change the print size, by resampling or by not resampling. Not resampling is what you normally want to do, this will only change the size of the print. Using resampling will actually change the number of pixels (and thus the file size) in order to match the print size. So for instance, if you don’t resample, changing the PPI setting will increase or decrease the print size (it will increase if you drop the PPI, it will decrease if you increase the PPI). With resampling, if you change the PPI, you will loose pixels (if you set the PPI to a lower value) or you will have pixels created (if you increase the PPI). Creating pixels is a bad idea, they get generated by the computer and the results aren’t usually that good. Throwing away pixels is fine as long as you won’t need the bigger size later (that’s why it’s usually a good idea to save the original large file).
An Example

Suppose you have a 100 x 100 pixel image, it could be printed at many different sizes. If you set the image to print at 10 PPI, then you’d have a 10? x 10? image. If you set the image to print at 100 PPI, you’d have a 1? x 1? image. Note that adjusting this value doesn’t effect the number of pixels in the image at all, it just changes how big the print will be.

Take our 100 x 100 pixel image again. Suppose it’s set at 100 PPI (producing the same 1? x 1? printed image). With re-sampling off, when you adjust the PPI the dimensions adjust as well, this is how things worked in the example above. With re-sampling on, the dimensions won’t change. So, if you changed the PPI to 10 with re-sampling on, you would still keep a 1? x 1? image and the computer would throw out pixels to make the image stay that size. So in this case, you’d end up with a 10 x 10 pixel image in the end. If you went the other way, and changed the PPI to 300, then the computer would generate pixels to make a 300 x 300 pixel image that’s still 1? x 1? when printed.

Usually, the only reason you want to use re-sampling is for reducing the size of your image. For example, my scanner produces 3888 x 2592 images. These images are too big to use online (both for display and because of file size). By using re-sampling, I can adjust the size of the images to something more appropriate for online use.
DPI

Now let’s talk about DPI. DPI only refers to the printer. Every pixel output is made up of different coloured inks (usually 4-6 colours, although many printers use more now). Because of the small number of colours, the printer needs to be able to mix these inks to make up all the colours of the image. So each pixel of the image is created by a series of tiny dots (you could think of them as sub-pixels). Generally, the higher the DPI, the better the tonality of the image, colours should look better and blends between colours should be smoother. You’ll also use more ink and the print job will be slower. You might want to try setting your printer to a lower DPI to save ink and speed up the job, see if you notice any difference in quality. The lowest setting where you don’t see any loss in quality should be the best one to use.

So a 1200 dpi printer uses 1200 dots of ink in every inch to make up the colours. If you were printing a 300 PPI image, then every pixel would be made up of 16 smaller ink dots (1200 DPI x 1200 DPI / 300 PPI x 300 PPI). A lower DPI would have fewer ink dots making up each pixel, which would make the colour look worse. A higher DPI would have more ink dots for each pixel and should give more accurate colour (especially under close examination).
courtesy Andrew Dacey - Photographer

[LeviFiction]

Simone, in my version of PSPX4 when I go to image information it claims 72dpi. When I save out without changing the resolution in Resize it shows 72dpi in all other applications as well.

If I resize first then save in PSPX4 all other applications show a [b]dpi[/bi] of whatever I set. If I open that image back into PSPX4 make a change then save, this time without using the resize command, all other applications show a dpi of 72 even though it was set at say 200 or 300 before opening in PSPX4.

So it's something more than resize showing the wrong dpi.

[Simone Corel UK]

LeviFiction, we are aware of "strange" behaviour and the DevTeam is looking into it. It also includes the general behaviour that you have to change/re-type the size to get the dpi to work.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

DPI or PPI makes little difference, yes we all have it wrong and we should be using PPI.
However LeviFiction has identified that other programs have also got it wrong. Just there to confuse……..

We can only change the image resolution 72 ppi using PSP the printer resolution DPI is a completely different matter.

The fact is that images opened in PSP open using 72 PPI as default. At least for some and is causing problems.
-------------------------
Simone Corel UK says that “We have already escalated it.”
Does this mean a fix is imminent?
------------------------
I am using the trial version I do not have any other version installed so cannot compare my results with older versions of PSP.

Yesterday all image I opened used 72 ppi.
Today I find my images seem to be opening correctly.
I can only say that things started behaving themselves after selecting the Auto Preserve function, I don’t know exactly what that does any way?
Now whether selected or not the program seems to work ok.

I agree with LeviFiction that its not just a re-size issue but associated with the whole program.
I first had problems with the Crop Tool which defaulted to 72?

As I say I am new to PSP which may well be a good thing.

By the way I am using a Laptop running Vista to trial PSP
I will recheck my findings when I have assess to the wife’s PC.

[Simone Corel UK]

@ Trevor

Thanks for sharing your impression. These and more (like PSP shows eventually a different behaviour on my Vista at home and my XP at work) has do be tested.

I'll definitely keep an eye on this matter.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Simone

I’ll give PSP another looking at this evening to see if I can understand just what’s happening with this 72 issue?
I started by looking at the “crop tool”, it’s a little different to what I’m used to, but again problems related to the 72 issue.

I also have XP but not installed PSP at the moment? Seems strange to have differences to Vista?