Images and File Resolution — the effect it has on your printing job

Digital printing services,postcard,business cards,poster,flyers,letterhead,fridge magnet,docket book > Preparing files, help & links > High Resolution Images — Why they are important

Related pages:
High Resolution Images — Free Stock Photos and Images

The quality of the text and images that you use on the printing file will effect how good (or bad) your job will look when it is printed.

  • A poor quality file (a low resolution file) will result in a poor quality printing job.
  • A high quality file (a high resolution file) will result in a high quality printing job.

This page tells you some information about high and low resolution files and how low resolution files effect your printing, and how to ensure your file has text, fonts and images are set at 300dpi.

Also, if you want access to high resolution images for free, try visiting our free stock photo page where there are links to selected websites that offer high resolution stock photos and images at no charge (or a small charge).
 

Resolution Explained

A file's resolution is the amount of data used to create that file. The more data that is contained in the file, the crisper and clear the file will be. The smaller the amount of data, the more blurred and pixilated the file will become.

Consider the two below images. The left image is set at 300dpi; that is, for evey inch there are 300 dots of information. The right image is set at 72dpi, and there is only 72 dots of information for each inch. Both photographs look pretty much the same when you view them at their normal size.

 


300dpi — Great for printing
 


72dpi — BAD for printing
(see why below)

Now look at the two pictures below. They are the red boxes from the above images, but we have 'zoomed in' on them.

 

The left image is what you see when the 300dpi image is enlarged. It is crisp and clear, and all the information can be seen (even the zipper on the pocket). The right image, however, is what you see when the 72dpi picture is enlarged. The image is blurred, and you cannot see the person's face (and the zipper on the pocket cannot be made-out at all).

 


300dpi — crisp and clear.
This image is good for printing.


72dpi — blurred and pixilated.
This image is NOT good for printing.

 

 

Now consider the text below.

               

So, the resolution of the text also effects the quality of the text on a file.

 

How Low Resolution Files Effect Your Printing

Your computer screen will lie to you — never beleive what you see on your computer screen.
A computer screen is set at 72dpi, and when people look at a computer their eyes automatically adjust to the quality of the screen — people are so accustomed to seeing poor quality text and images on their computers that they do not even know that their eyes are adjusting.

However, when people look at printed matter (e.g.: a business card or brochure or book) their eyes do not adjust. People expect to see crisp and clear images and easily readable text.

Therefore, if you wish to make a good impression, or if you just want to make your printed job easy to read, you MUST have a file that is set at 300dpi.

A way of seeing what a file will look like when it is printed is to 'blow up' the file to 400% when it is on your computer screen. If the images and text remain crisp and clear, then they wil most likely print that way too. If, however, they start to blur, then you might want to get higher resolution images.

 

How to ensure Your Text and Images are Set at 300dpi

The first thing you can do is make sure that you never obtain any of your images off the Internet — NEVER, NEVER, NEVER — as images on the Internet are set at 72dpi. Only ever use images that are set at 300dpi (or are set at even more than 300dpi).

Second, never enlarge an image. If you have an image that is, say, 100mm x 100mm, and it is set at 300dpi, then that image can only ever be printed at its existing size or smaller. If you enlarge that image to, say, 200mm x 200mm, then the resolution will fall from 300dpi to 150dpi and the image will become blurred.

Third, never try to 'improve' a file; that is, if your file (or image) is currently set at 72dpi, don't try to improve it by changing the resolution to 300dpi — it will not do a thing, except change a blurred file that is set at 72dpi into a blurred file that is set at 300dpi.

Fourth, set up the file correctly when you first create the file, and the correct resolution to use when you first create your file is at least 300dpi. If you need some assistance in setting up files, then visit the below pages: