PhD: Maximum Print Quality Setting is Misleading (198435)

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Print command in Microsoft PhotoDraw and you set the Print Quality, the highest setting offered is "300 dpi (Best)" or "360 dpi (Best)" even if the printer is capable of higher resolutions in dots-per- inch (dpi).

This creates the appearance that PhotoDraw does not support print quality higher than 300 or 360 dpi. This is not true. Output from PhotoDraw will print at the highest resolutions the printer is capable of in spite of the numbers used in the settings.

CAUSE

The Print Quality setting in PhotoDraw is not the same as the Print Quality or Resolution setting used by the printer driver. The unit of measure for print quality in PhotoDraw should have been written as pixels-per-inch (ppi) rather than dots-per-inch (dpi).

Best print quality from PhotoDraw is 300 or 360 pixels-per-inch depending on the type of printer in use. *

 * Some printers express resolution (dpi) in multiples of 60 (180, 360,
   720). Other printers express resolution in multiples of 50 (150, 300,
   600, 800, 1200).

High-resolution printers convert each pixel to a set of dots -- the more dots used, the tighter the grain (resolution) in the picture.

RESOLUTION

If you choose the highest print quality PhotoDraw offers (Best), your printer will print at the highest resolution it is set to.

To check what resolution your printer is set to, follow these steps:

On the File menu in PhotoDraw, click Print.
Select the printer you want to print to in the Printer Name list.
To see the properties dialog for the printer you have selected, click Properties.

Note: The properties dialog is part of the printer driver provided by the printer manufacturer. It is not part of PhotoDraw.
Look for a setting to control print quality or resolution. This is usually expressed in dpi.
Select the print quality setting you want to use and click OK to return to the PhotoDraw Print dialog.