Preparing My Images

How do I prepare my images ?

You can create and order products with images directly from your phone, tablet, computer or social media platforms.

For large format prints and photo books we recommend that you create a folder on your computer for each project that you are going to create products from and keep the images in that folder. For photo book projects we suggest that you number the files and store them in sequential order.

What file format and size should my images be ?

JPG or PNG format. PNGs should be 8-bit and non-interlaced.

SRGB color (no CMYK, Grayscale, and Adobe 1998 RGB).

150 to 300 DPI (dots per inch or pixels per inch). For instance, a 5x7 image frame should be filled with an image that is at least 750x1050 pixels and no greater than 1500 to 2100 pixels.

How do I scan my images ?

When scanning your images, ensure they're free of dust or dirt otherwise these imperfections will turn up in the final product. You may also need to crop your photos after scanning to ensure there are no white edges.

If you have the computer resources it would be beneficial to scan all your photos at a high dpi value (300 – 600 dpi). This will allow you greater freedom when deciding where and how to display your photos in your layout.

We recommend that you do not  scan your images higher than 600 dpi as this won't introduce any greater quality but it will slow down your computer as the files will become very large. This may also introduce file processing issues if the files are too large, our software won’t be able to process images with a file size larger than 15 mb.

What resolution should my images be ?

Ideally pictures used in our software should be 300dpi. Most digital cameras won’t allow pictures to be taken at 300dpi, though some will offer a higher quality image through a setting on the camera such as "High" or "Fine".

The golden rule is that if you put quality pictures in, you will get quality pictures back. Neither our software nor print processes will add any more detail to your pictures that is already there, so you should note this when using pictures that are of inferior quality.

Can I improve the quality of my photos ?

It's not possible to increase the quality of your photos as the resolution of each photo is determined by the camera used to take the photo. As such, there's no process that you can apply to photos you've already taken to improve their quality.

If you received the photos in an email from another person, it's possible they may have sent you a lower resolution version. In this case it might be possible to obtain the original photos (which are greater in size and quality). Similarly, if you've pre-processed your photos to a smaller size, it would be worth sourcing the original photos directly from the camera.

What does the “low quality” warning mean ?

It means that the quality of the printed product will be compromised as the image resolution is too low for printing purposes. Either reduce the print size or source the original image if you are using images from social media.

What is DPI resolution?

For more information on resolution and printing results read this article : https://www.photoshopessentials.com/essentials/image-quality/