How important is print resolution

Print resolution is everything when it comes to printing off materials that look good and will catch the eye of potential customers.

It is the level of detail in a printed image. Images that printed in higher resolution will be printed with higher detail and are measured in dots per inch (DPI). The more dots that printed per inch, the higher resolution of the image and the better it is going to look. When it comes to printing, the resolution is extremely important, as a high-quality image looks beautiful and professional, but a low-resolution image looks fuzzy, indistinct and completely unprofessional and can really hurt your credibility as a business.

Best practices

Images should be 300 dpi at the final size of the layout
Images that include text should be 300 dpi at the final size of the layout
Resolution and image size are inversely proportional to each other. Enlarge an image, the resolution decreases; reduce an image, the resolution increases. Example: a 10cm x 10cm image at 300 dpi (acceptable) enlarged to 20cm x 20cm has a new resolution of 150 dpi (unacceptable) and needs to be adjusted accordingly
Low-resolution images print fuzzy, jagged and blurry
The settings used during the original “capture” of an image (ie: scanning, cell phone camera, etc) determine its base resolution. Resolution can only be improved by decreasing the image size, or by recapturing the image at a higher quality setting
Make sure your image has the highest resolution and image dimensions you can get. The only consideration is that you’ll need different resolutions depending on how large the printed image will be, where it will be displayed, and how it will be printed

Choosing your resolution

As we mentioned, the golden resolution is 300 dpi. This is the perfect resolution for all printing materials, and since 354 dpi is the maximum resolution an offset printing machine can handle, anything beyond that will only increase your digital file size, with no improvement in quality.

Anything lower than 300 dpi can seriously damage the quality of your image. So always aim for 300.

Resolution is super important in order for you to put your company’s best face forward to the public and look professional and credible. Print resolution may seem complicated, but it’s actually a very simple concept that can elevate your company immensely.

Remember that you may need a different resolution depending on what you are printing, the size and the distance it will display from the viewer. But, when in doubt, remember that 300 magic number and also remember that higher is always better in terms of resolution.

If you don’t pay attention and ensure that your images are being printed in the correct resolution, you will have marketing materials that are blurry, illegible and unprofessional, so take the extra time and care to make sure your resolution is appropriate and your imagery is clear and beautiful.