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> This article makes some good points but it's missing a bit of history. The reference pixel is defined at 96dpi because that's how Windows treated the screen in the days before high-dpi support. Mac OS treated the screen as 72dpi in the pre-retina days but most early websites were built to look correct on Windows. That's why MS Office fonts look too small on the Mac to this day: 26% too small to be precise.

The only way I can understand this is backwards -- a Windows "pixel" is 1/96 of an inch. (?) A Mac "pixel" is 1/72 of an inch; much larger. Wouldn't a windows font appear too large if displayed on a Mac?




1pt = 1/72 of an inch, therefore a 12pt font is 12 pixels high on a Mac, but 16 pixels high on a PC (12 * 96/72).




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