What resolution does a .jpeg made in photoshop have to be to print clearly?

Question

Hi everyone,

I've been working on a Thank You card to sent out to some people who sent us gifts and cards for the birth of our son.

I assembled one in Adobe Photoshop 6.0 using a digital picture as well as some text from text boxes and a few basic autoshapes from the tools menu.

The problem is that when I bring it to the printing counter at the local pharmacy, It brings kind of blurry (especially the text portion). I resized the pic as a 4x6, and the font I used for the text is Vivaldi, 13.71pts.

I'm pretty sure I have to tinker with the resolution or somthing but to be honest I'm not very good with Photoshop and I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I'm pretty sure it's not the self-service printer since it prints regular pictures really clearly.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

Thanks,
DT

It's not really the photo that's the problem, it's the photoshop graphics that I added around it. the photo itself was taken at very high resolution (10mb) so that part is printing perfectly.

Answer 1

I'd do at leasst 300 dpi.....If not more.The higher the resolution the sharper the print out.

Answer 2

How large was your original photo? And at what dpi? Your original photo should be at least 300dpi at the size it will be reproduced. I am a graphic designer, and I have a lot of people give me photos to use in their designs that are too small... both in dimension and in dpi. Usually, they have taken the photo on a digital camera that is set at the lowest resolution so that they can get more on their memory card. I can't use these photos, because they are approx. 1" X .5" at 72dpi. Way too small for print, but fine for the web. When you take a digital photo for print, you need to set your camera on the highest setting possible. Then you can import it into Photoshop or similar photo editing software and do a 'bit' of enlarging, but generally not more than 20% larger than the original. If you did your text in Photoshop, and then enlarged your card from a smaller size, the text AND the photo will become 'bitmapped' or fuzzy.

Answer 3

It depends on what type of paper they are printing it on, and what type of machine it is being printed off of - resolution is only part of your problem. If this place is using paper that is very poreous, then the picture and type will bleed - making things look blurry. Also, if the output of the machine is only capable of producing images with DPI of say 300 or 600, then it doesn't matter if you set up your output for higher than that. The machine won't output anything higher.

Is the pharmacy making copies off of a CD that you brought in? Or, do you have paper or something that they are copying from. That can also make a difference.

Good luck. I would love to give you a better answer, I just don't have enough details on what the pharmacy is doing.

Answer 4

Resizing UP is the problem.

As far as what resolution ANY image has to be, depends on the size of the PRINT.

If the shot was taken, by the camera, at too low a resolution, it is, already, too late to fix it.

Here is my recomendation. Take the pic in as large a resolution as the camera will create. In your computer, create the document in the final print size. Import your photo, and resize it DOWN to fit the space you want it in. Add your text, (try to avoid point sizes in fractions. some printers can't handle it) other graphics, save it and go.

Answer 5

We use 300 as a default resolution size in my Intro to Digital Photography class. It seems to be of decent quality

Answer 6

I'm assuming 600dpi? Pretty Standard.

Answer 7

if you have it on about 350 then it should be fine.