How to change resolution (DPI) of an image?

Question

You have to copy the bits over a new image with the target resolution, like this:

    using (Bitmap bitmap = (Bitmap)Image.FromFile("file.jpg"))
    {
        using (Bitmap newBitmap = new Bitmap(bitmap))
        {
            newBitmap.SetResolution(300, 300);
            newBitmap.Save("file300.jpg", ImageFormat.Jpeg);
        }
    }

This article talks about modifying the EXIF data without the re-saving/re-compressing (and thus loss of information -- it actually uses a "trick"; there may be more direct libraries) required by the SetResolution approach. This was found on a quick google search, but I wanted to point out that all you need to do is modify the stored EXIF data.

Also: .NET lib for EXIF modification and another SO question. Google owns when you know good search terms.

It's simply a matter of scaling the image width and height up by the correct ratio. Not all images formats support a DPI metatag, and when they do, all they're telling your graphics software to do is divide the image by the ratio supplied.

For example, if you export a 300dpi image from Photoshop to a JPEG, the image will appear to be very large when viewed in your picture viewing software. This is because the DPI information isn't supported in JPEG and is discarded when saved. This means your picture viewer doesn't know what ratio to divide the image by and instead displays the image at at 1:1 ratio.

To get the ratio you need to scale the image by, see the code below. Just remember, this will stretch the image, just like it would in Photoshop. You're essentially quadrupling the size of the image so it's going to stretch and may produce artifacts.

Pseudo code

ratio = 300.0 / 72.0   // 4.167
image.width * ratio
image.height * ratio