“DPI” means “dots per inch” in old-fashioned printing. Today, many people use “dpi” to mean “pixels per inch,” as well.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT

For most desktop printing on paper, 150 dpi is fine. That’s what I use for most of my ATCs, image transfers, etc.
For professional printing, especially on smooth surfaces, 300 dpi is a better choice.

MORE DETAILS

On your computer monitor, you’re generally seeing images at 72 dpi. (If you’ve printed webpages and wondered why the graphics looked a little fuzzy or odd, that’s why.)

For desktop printing, you can usually use images down to 100 pixels/inch (or dpi) without much loss of quality. Below 90 dpi, you run the risk of the image looking “pixelated.”

So, you can enlarge our images on the 150 dpi sheets… but they’re best at the size on the sheet or slightly larger.

By contrast, you can enlarge the images on our 300 dpi sheets as much as three times larger, and maybe even bigger. For professional printing on paper, 300 dpi is usually ideal.

However, if you’re printing on glass or ceramics, or another extremely smooth surface, use a resolution of at least 300 dpi.

If you’re planning to use the images on journal covers or other larger art, get the 300 dpi sheet.

If you’re going to use the images “as is” on paper or on ATCs, the 150 dpi sheets are fine. That’s why most of our clipart sheets are created at 150 dpi.