What is meant by “image resolution” and what is best for my print job?
Digital images are made up of small dots that combine to form the overall picture. The number of dots making up an image is known as its resolution. Resolution is stated in dots-per-inch or dpi. A typical website image has a resolution of 72 dpi. Images with a resolution of less than 250 dpi will not reproduce well on press, resulting in images that are fuzzy, choppy or grainy. Likewise, a resolution in excess of 300 dpi will not noticeably improve the quality of the image but will definitely increase the size of the file. The optimum resolution for printed images is 300 dpi. It is important to set the image’s resolution to 300 dpi at the final image size of your printed piece. If you enlarge an image, you lower the resolution since the number of dots remains constant and the size increases. We do not recommend enlarging an image in your layout program more than 125% or reducing more than 30%.
