Why do screen shots print fuzzy and yet PDF documents print clear?

[MACDRIVE]

I copied the CA DMV online written sample questions off of their web site. They didn't have a PDF version of their sample questions so I just printed a screen shot of the questions to study. The fonts have a fuzzy look to them; and yet whenever I print a PDF formatted document, the fonts are always crisp and clear. Why?

 

[dops7107]

Because a screen grab is an image rendered at 72 or 96 dpi; for a sharp image you need 300 dpi. A proper formatted PDF with text is not an image but is text (mathematically-defined lines, essentially) so it is resolution independent and is printed at the maximum resolution of your printer.

 

[MACDRIVE]

^ ^ ^
Uh. . . that's a good answer - thanks