What does Low Resolution Mean?

It’s been a while since a client has said “just grab my logo off my website” to use in a print project.

It may be a sign that most clients realize that an image used on a website will be too low resolution to use for print. Or at least the client will realize for some reason it doesn’t work. But if you’re still confused about resolution, perhaps we can help.

What is Print Resolution?

A digital image is made up of pixels, tiny squares of red, green and blue that combine to make different colors. Pixels per inch (ppi) is a measurement of the resolution of an image. A digital camera will take a photo that is 72 pixels per inch, and this is the resolution an image is displayed on your monitor. An image may look fine on your computer. However this same image might not print well. 

Printing is made up of fine dots of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, using 300 dots per inch. Because of this requirement, printing requires a resolution of 300 ppi. You may have an image that 72 is ppi, and seems large at 20 x 16 inches. However, to print at 300 ppi, more pixels are needed to fill an inch and the dimensions reduce proportionally to 4.8 inches wide by 3.84 inches high.

How to Calculate Print Resolution

To calculate the size you can use an image, divide the pixel width and height each by 300. If you have Photoshop, you can look under Image / Image Size, with resample image UNCHECKED, and change the resolution to 300. The width and height measurements will display the maximum size you can use the image. If you use an image larger than the size indicated, it will be pixelated and not look good.

A professional graphic designer can advise you whether your image will work for your print project. Contact us if you’re interested in working with Resolution Creative.