Pixel Perfect (Printable Reports)

Pixel perfect describes reports where the user can manipulate the size and layout with precision. This includes allowing the user to change the size of the report, the size of the printed page, and the position of the different elements on the report to meet a user’s exact specifications. This is most often a quality of business intelligence tools.

Why it’s Important

Pixel perfect reporting is valuable in many cases when a report needs to be a specific size. For example, when a report needs to be printed, it must be able to fit the exact dimensions of the paper. Reports may also need specific dimensions for different screen formats, such as when viewing the same report on a computer and a mobile device.

Image Quality

Some BI software tools cause too large of a drop in quality when resizing images. This is because some tools have picture-resizing algorithms that do not make the images as sharp as they could be. This is where pixel-perfect comes into play. Pixel perfect reporting maintains the quality of images while resizing them.

What it Really Means to Be Pixel Perfect

There is no exact standard of what makes a reporting tool “pixel perfect.” Because of this, many companies have looser definitions of pixel perfect than others. For some companies, being pixel perfect just means meeting the above qualifications. For others, being pixel perfect means allowing every detail of the format to be controlled. The exact location of every object must be accurate and easily modified. Every detail, up to the individual colors on the report, must be completely modifiable and precisely controlled. Because of these varying interpretations, it is important to remember that “pixel perfect” may have different connotations for different reporting tools.