Print Resolution

When setting up artwork for print, one of the most important things to keep in mind is resolution. Resolution is the level of detail in an image and is usually measured in dots per inch, or DPI.

For the best print quality, your images should usually be set to at least 300 DPI. This helps make sure your artwork prints sharply without visible pixelation. Lower-resolution images can look blurry or blocky when printed, especially if they were originally taken from websites, where 72 DPI is common.

If your image is not high enough quality, simply resizing it larger will not improve it. You will need to find a better source image.

To avoid poor print quality:

• check the resolution of your images before sending artwork
• avoid stretching or enlarging small files too much
• judge resolution based on the final print size, not how it looks on screen
• start with a larger file and scale down where possible, rather than enlarging a small one

If you are not sure whether your files are high enough resolution, email them over and we can usually tell you very quickly if anything looks particularly low-res.