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How to Test Your Image's QUality Before Submitting for Prints

We want your images to be up to par so that you can get the best print possible. In order to ensure a good quality, and professional looking print you want to start with a good quality image file. Surprisingly this is what some people do not consider.

Artistic talent and the ability to perceive good composition does not ensure good image quality. Instead, there are two primary factors which must be considered. They are good image clarity and good image contrast.

So the question that may come to mind is “how can I check this out”. It should be noted here that we cannot check your images for you but you can. The reason why we cannot do this is because of the volume we receive as well as the automated nature of our program. Once an order is placed, images are sent to Production for processing. Our production staff is not allowed to make judgment decisions on an image since all too often; we would make incorrect assumptions of the print’s purpose.

But let’s assume that you are not one of those artists that could care less about the print’s image quality (Believe it or not, many artists that use us do not care. This might be because they plan on painting over the entire print or are making an intentional “artistic statement” with their photographs). To help those that are not like this we provide you some sample images so you can do some test comparisons with your own images at home.

Requirements for this Test

• Some sort of photo/picture editing program (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc.)
• Good quality inkjet printer and 8.5 x 11" paper
• Our Image File (download link below)
• Your image file (what you plan on making into a print)

Performing Your Test

1. First you will need to download and save either of these JPEG image files.

Download Size: 2.5 MB Print Size: 11 x 8.5" Resolution: 200 dpi Total Pixels: 2200 x 1700 pixels	Download Size: 3 MB Print Size: 8.5 x 11" Resolution: 200 dpi Total Pixels: 1700 x 2200 pixels

2. Print “Our” image on a photo quality inkjet printer at the printer’s highest quality setting at roughly the size of an 8.5 x 11 inches. Be sure to use a decent quality paper but keep in mind that the type of paper you print on can have an influence on print quality as well). In all likelihood you will find that "Our" image prints prints well with good clarity and contrast levels. Color usually varies slightly from printer to printer as well as paper type but that is an entirely other science.

3. For the purpose of this demonstration we use an image that a customer intends on printing as a 24 x 16" print (you may intend to have a print made that is either larger or smaller). In your favorite image editing program, size “your” image or open up the image at the size you want printed (Fig 1), and then use your cropping to crop out an 8 x 10 (Fig 2) section of “your” image to get an 8 x 10 image (Fig 3).

Fig 1. My image sized for a 24 x 16"	Fig 2. Cropping out an 8 x 10 section	Fig 3. 8 x 10 section of image

4. Print the cropped section as an 8 x 10 on your printer with its highest settings.

5. Now check the clarity and contrast levels of the print of “your” image. The below chart provides some observatons and solutions if applicable.

In conclusion, keep in mind that there can be slight shifts in color and even slight shifts in contrast and brightness levels from media to media. This is not to say that you will not receive a good quality print on our media but understand that even the most advanced users will frequently optimize their images for a particular media type and may find some test printing with us useful if trying to achieve certain results. We hope that this has been informative and will get you on the way to great prints. If you have any questions, post them in our forum. Either one of our moderators or a member may be able to provide you some additional in sight.