Throughout all laptops and desktops what is the standard pixels per inch (PPI) used? Does it vary throughout screen ratio? I found mine to be 100ppi, the real world measurement was 4 pixels more.
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I'm curious, and this is something that's in the faq, but in what way does knowing the average ppi solve a real problem?– Journeyman Geek ♦Apr 3, 2013 at 0:45
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@JourneymanGeek that's a good point that I missed entirely.– Bon GartApr 3, 2013 at 2:14
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2 Answers
Laptop and desktop displays... any display for that matter, varies in PPI based on the resolution and size of the display. Here is a little PPI calculator that is slightly more exacting. Check the links below the calculator to see other screens and their settings.
What would be a common, or average? Probably around 96 or so, depending. Honestly though, with all the varied screen sizes out there, it's harder to say there is a common. For example, my 24" screen, at 1920x1080 resolution is at about 92 PPI, where a 22" screen at the same resolution is at just over 100 PPI. The 17" on my work box, at 1280x1024 is at around 96. The 11" screen on the smaller Macbook Air is at 135 PPI.
For a long time monitors had indeed something close to around 72ppi but times have changed and the pixel density increased. So we can assume that 72ppi for digital art (or monitors) is more a historical measurement and isn’t longer valid.
To know this is important. Why? Let’s say you design a website and use a 12 pixel font size - this would have on 72ppi monitors the same size. Should there be someone who has a 142ppi monitor - the font will look like it’s half the size. So to know an average users ppi would allow you to make a better user experience. Of course it’s impossible to tell an exact value. To do this one would need to evaluate every users monitor size and pixel density per inch (ppi) this will also vary wildly between desktop monitors and much smaller handheld devices. Tablets and smartphones have often around 200 ppi (this is the main reason what responsive design is meant for).
I agree with @bon-gart’s answer. For desktop monitors this should be around 100ppi. Those aren’t exact average values but are good enough approximations for designing purposes.There are to many different monitors out there and the pixel density for newer monitors constantly go up.
