I always heard that in web design one should not prefer pt
as a size unit, because the browser/OS does not neccessarily know the correct dpi
. Result: final font sizes are not equal on different computers (Mac and Windows have different default dpi
, for example).
But isn't this true for the "prefered" px
as well? If I buy a FullHD monitor with 20" diameter and a FullHD monitor with 40" diameter, the font sizes will differ by a factor of two, because the physical pixel sizes are twice the size on the bigger monitor compared to the smaller one. So, for px
I have the same effect, because the browser does not know the device size.
Conclusion: If I take a ruler and measure a pt
based font on two different devices I can get different results (unknown real dpi
size). But for sure I can get different results for a px
based font size as well just because the same-resolution-device is bigger/smaller (unknown real physical pixel size).
So, why is the "unknown device parameter argument" used for pt
but not for px
?
Bonus question: why do devices not deliver their physical size information via its device driver to the OS, anyways? A device should know how big it is and how much physical pixels it has, because someone build it with a defined size and pixel density and could just store this in the firmware.
max-width: 12in
would be ridiculously small projected on a wall while being pretty big for most monitors.