Convert Dots per centimetre to Pixels per centimetre

Convert Dots per centimetre (dpcm) to Pixels per centimetre (px/cm) instantly and accurately.

Conversion Formula

px/cm = dpcm × 1

About Dots per centimetre

The dot per centimetre (dpcm) is the metric equivalent of DPI, defined as a CSS resolution unit in the W3C CSS Images Level 3 specification alongside dpi and dppx. A 96 DPI reference screen (CSS Media Queries Level 4 reference device) corresponds to 96/2.54 ≈ 37.795 dpcm. ITU-T T.4 (Group 3 facsimile, 1980) defines scan line density in metric units: standard resolution 3.85 lines/mm = 38.5 dpcm; fine resolution 7.7 lines/mm = 77 dpcm. ITU-T T.85 (JBIG compression) standardised these metric resolutions for cross-border interoperability. ISO 216 A4 scanned at 77 dpcm fine fax resolution yields 1617 pixels across page width. The CSS specification recommends dppx over dpcm for screen media queries, reserving dpcm for print stylesheets targeting metric-resolution printers. 1 dpcm = 2.54 DPI = 2.54 PPI exactly (since 1 in = 2.54 cm). 1 dpcm = 0.1 dot/mm.

About Pixels per centimetre

The pixel per centimetre (px/cm) is the metric counterpart of PPI, measuring pixel density per centimetre. EXIF assigns ResolutionUnit = 3 when resolution is stored in px/cm; Canon, Fujifilm, and Nikon cameras can output EXIF data in px/cm. GIMP stores and displays image resolution in px/cm in its XCF format and Image Properties dialog. DICOM (NEMA PS 3.3) stores spatial resolution as PixelSpacing in mm/pixel; a radiograph at 0.2 mm/px = 5 px/mm = 50 px/cm = 127 PPI. At 10×15 cm print size, a 12 MP image (4000×3000 px) prints at 4000/15 ≈ 266.7 px/cm ≈ 677 PPI - well above the ISO 12647-2 minimum of ≈ 118 px/cm (300 PPI). Since 1 inch = 2.54 cm exactly, 1 px/cm = 2.54 PPI exactly. 1 px/cm = 2.54 PPI = 10 px/dm = 100 px/m.

Quick Reference Table

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