The Myth About Image Files Resolution and How to Solve It

Here are some points to consider when you need to decide on image resolution. Having been in the printing industry for over 10 years I have seen many people get confused with the whole business of figuring out exactly how much resolution ones needs to produce a great print from any of the digital printers available today. One can get into all the scientific jargon and marketing hype, however there are only a few basic considerations you need to bear in mind when you need to prepare an image file for printing. We all have heard the 300 dpi number being thrown around.

It is a fact that most commercial establishments require a minimum of 300 dpi as a general guide line to produce a good output however when it comes to inkjet based digital printers there are a couple of considerations to keep in mind. Most digital printers today print anywhere between 600 to 1440 dpi. Here are talking about the printer head resolution, not the image file resolution. Printer head resolution will determine how much resolution your file needs to be in order to get a good print. The general rule of thumb is to divide the head resolution by 4, and you have the minimum resolution your image file should be Most print shops set their printers to run at 720 dpi at the head. What this means is that your image file should be at least 150 dpi.

Giclee or fine art printer modes are set at 1440 dpi, therefore by dividing 1440 dpi by 4 you get 360 dpi. This would be the ideal resolution of your image file if you were printing onto photo or fine art cotton based media. As you see this is why the 300 dpi number stuck around for such a long time. One more thing to consider is the type of media surface you are going to print on, such as canvas or heavy textured watercolor paper. Canvas is a great example how you can get away with printing a very low resolution file and still get great results on your output. We have created great photos on canvases from file resolutions as low as 72 dpi. Next time you are wondering if you are going to get good results from your image file, first determine what kind of resolution is being used at printer level and you will have a much more pleasant printing experience because you don’t always need to have 300 dpi to get a great print.

Marco Rodrigues is the owner of Easy Photos to Canvas, an establishment specializing in transforming images into photos on canvas keepsakes located in Toronto, Canada. Marco and has been involved in the printing fields for over 10 years