What’s wrong with my pictures??

Posted by on Aug 22, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

An example of a large, high-resolution picture at 300ppi.

An example of a small, low-resolution picture at 72ppi.

 

How many times have you been working on a project or printing out pictures to find out that they look blurry or grainy? Why does that happen and what can you do about it?

I can give you a definitive answer from someone whose company deals with thousands of images every week. The short explanation is size. Most people think a picture’s quality makes it grainy or blurry, but the reality is its size will make all the difference. Here’s some key points to keep your pictures looking great.

  1. Size Matters – The larger an image, the better. Every picture (jpeg, png) is made up of tiny pixels which store color information. A picture’s size translates to how many PIXELS PER INCH, or PPI.
  2. PIXELS PER INCH explained – PPI or PIXELS PER INCH is the amount of tiny pixels that make up 1 inch of your picture. There’s no set “perfect” amount of pixels because it varies depending on where your picture is. For instance:
    1. Viewing pictures on a computer screen – You only need 72 PPI if the picture will be viewed on a computer screen
    2. Printed materials – You’ll need at least 300 PPI if you’re printing your picture. Most printers reproduce images at 300 PPI, but can usually go much higher.
  3. Word Documents and Pictures – Once a picture is placed into a Microsoft Word document, it’s almost impossible to bring it out in the same quality. If you can, don’t send pictures you wish to print or design with in a Word Document, just attach them to an email.
  4. JPEG’s are fragile – The most common type of picture format is a JPEG. It’s a funny, fragile file type thought. Every time a JPEG is opened or accessed in programs like Photoshop, it actually looses clarity. Therefore, try to do as little work with a picture in an editor.

Pictures make any design great and are the key to vivid memories. Keep your pictures safe and don’t forget to keep archives of every picture in case of a hard drive crash.

Nate Zich
President
Simply Design Inc.