LPI: Lines Per Inch in Halftone Screening
LPI (lines per inch) describes the density of a halftone screen used in printing, measured by how many halftone lines fit in one inch.
Halftone screening turns continuous-tone images into printable dot patterns. Higher LPI can produce finer detail, but it also depends on paper quality and press capability. LPI is mainly a print production parameter, not a design file setting.
Example
Newsprint uses lower LPI because the paper absorbs ink and dots spread. Glossy magazine printing can use higher LPI for sharper detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
LPI is halftone screen frequency. DPI is printer dot output. PPI is image pixel density. They describe different stages of reproduction.
Usually no. The print shop controls screening. You focus on providing appropriate image resolution and correct color profiles.
Not on absorbent paper. Too high LPI can cause muddy tones or loss of detail due to dot gain.
Lower LPI screens make the pattern more visible. It can be intentional for style or a limitation of the print process.
A common guideline is to supply images around 1.5x to 2x the LPI as PPI at final size, but printers vary. Use their spec.
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