Convert Pixels per millimetre to Lines per millimetre

Convert Pixels per millimetre (px/mm) to Lines per millimetre (lp/mm) instantly and accurately.

Conversion Formula

lp/mm = px/mm × 1

About Pixels per millimetre

The pixel per millimetre (px/mm) is the resolution unit of precision in machine vision, flatbed scanning, and microscopy, where working distances are in millimetres. Industrial camera datasheets (Basler acA5472-17um, FLIR BFS-U3-200S6M-C) specify resolution in px/mm at defined field widths; a 20 MP sensor over a 100 mm field resolves 54.96 px/mm. ISO 12654 (archival scanning) specifies minimum 8 px/mm (≈ 200 PPI) for standard digitisation and 24 px/mm (≈ 600 PPI) for fine-detail originals. Digital pathology: Leica Aperio GT450 at 40× magnification achieves ≈ 4,405 px/mm. CMOS sensor pixel pitch has shrunk from 7.4 µm/px (≈ 135 px/mm, mid-2000s) to 0.64 µm/px (≈ 15,625 px/mm) for smartphone sensors in 2024. Since 1 in = 25.4 mm exactly, 1 px/mm = 25.4 PPI exactly. A 300 PPI photo print = 300/25.4 ≈ 11.81 px/mm.

About Lines per millimetre

The line pair per millimetre (lp/mm) is the fundamental unit of spatial resolution in classical optics, characterising the resolving power of a lens, film emulsion, sensor, or microscope objective. A resolving power of N lp/mm means adjacent line pairs separated by 1/(2N) mm can be distinguished - derived from the Abbe diffraction limit (Ernst Abbe, 1873) and Rayleigh criterion (Lord Rayleigh, 1879). Film benchmarks at MTF50: Kodak Tri-X 400: 63 lp/mm; Fujifilm Velvia 50: 160 lp/mm; Kodak Technical Pan: 320 lp/mm. Lens benchmarks: Leica APO-Summicron-M 50 mm f/2 ASPH: ≈ 75 lp/mm at centre. CMOS sensor Nyquist frequency: for pixel pitch p mm, f_Nyquist = 1/(2p) lp/mm - a 4.63 µm pixel limits at ≈ 108 lp/mm. As a dimensional unit, 1 lp/mm = 25.4 LPI = 25.4 PPI exactly. 1 lp/mm = 25.4 PPI.

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