Send the largest original file you have, in JPG or PNG, and aim for roughly 12 pixels for every millimetre of the printed area. A 100mm coaster wants about 1,200 pixels across. The reason a phone photo can still print badly is not the camera. It is that your phone shows the picture about 70mm wide, while the print may be three times that, spreading the same pixels much further apart.
Why does a sharp photo print blurry?
A digital photo is a fixed grid of pixels. Nothing adds detail later. When you view it on a phone, those pixels are squeezed into a small space, so it looks crisp. Print the same file larger and the identical pixels are stretched over more distance, and the softness that was always there becomes visible.
Printers also resolve far more detail than a screen needs. Print work is normally prepared at around 300 dots per inch, which is about 12 dots per millimetre. That is the number worth remembering, because it turns a vague worry into simple arithmetic.
How many pixels do I actually need?
Multiply the width of the printed area in millimetres by 12. That is your minimum pixel width.
| What it is going on | Rough print width | Minimum pixels wide |
|---|---|---|
| Keychain or pin badge | 40 to 50mm | About 600 |
| Coaster or fridge magnet | 90 to 100mm | About 1,200 |
| Notebook cover | 130mm | About 1,600 |
| Mug panel | 200mm | About 2,400 |
| Tote bag | 280 to 300mm | About 3,500 |
A modern phone photo is typically 3,000 to 4,000 pixels wide straight out of the camera, which covers every row in that table. The problem is almost never the camera. It is what happened to the file afterwards.
What ruins a file before it reaches the printer?
- Sending a screenshot. A screenshot captures the picture at screen size, throwing away most of the original detail. A screenshot of a 4,000 pixel photo might be 800 pixels. Always send the original.
- Saving out of a chat app. Many messaging apps compress images heavily to save data. A photo that went through two chats and a download can be a fraction of its original size. Get it from the camera roll, cloud album, or original email.
- Cropping hard. Cropping to a face throws away every pixel outside the crop. If you crop to a quarter of the frame, you have a quarter of the resolution.
- Enlarging it yourself. Stretching a small image to a bigger pixel size does not add detail. It adds blur and tells the printer the file is fine when it is not.
What format should I send?
- Photographs: JPG at the highest quality, or PNG. Either is fine.
- Logos and line artwork: PNG with a transparent background, or a vector file such as SVG, AI, EPS or PDF if you have one. Vector artwork can be printed at any size with no loss at all, which makes it the best possible thing to send.
- What to avoid: a logo pasted into a Word document or a slide deck. The version inside those files is usually a compressed copy, not the original.
Why does a logo need a transparent background?
Because whatever is behind the logo prints too. A logo saved as a JPG always has a background, usually white. Printed onto a navy tote bag, that white rectangle prints as a white rectangle with your logo inside it.
A PNG with transparency, or a vector file, has no background, so the logo sits directly on the item. If all you have is a JPG on white and the item is white, you will probably be fine. On anything coloured, ask for the transparent version.
Will my photo print in exactly the same colours?
Close, but not identical, and this is worth expecting rather than being surprised by. A screen makes colour with light and a printer makes it with ink, so bright, saturated colours on a screen tend to print slightly more muted. Position, size and wording will match your preview exactly. Colour will be very close.
Deep blues and vivid oranges are the usual places you notice a small shift.
What should a good workshop do about a weak file?
Tell you before using any material. That is the whole test. A workshop that prints a soft image without comment has taken your money for something it knew would disappoint you, and a workshop that checks first costs you a day and saves you the gift.
At Gift Lab a person opens every file before anything is made, and if it is too small to print well you hear from us first.
Key takeaways
- Printed millimetres multiplied by 12 gives the pixels you need.
- Send the original file, never a screenshot and never a chat app copy.
- Logos want a transparent PNG or a vector file.
- Cropping and enlarging both cost you detail.
- Expect colour to be very close rather than pixel-identical.
Frequently asked questions
What resolution do I need for a printed gift?
Around 300 dots per inch at the finished size, which works out at roughly 12 pixels per millimetre of print area. For a 100mm coaster that is about 1,200 pixels wide.
Is a phone photo good enough?
Usually yes, if you send the original. Current phones produce 3,000 to 4,000 pixel images, which is enough for anything up to a tote bag. It stops being enough once the file has been screenshotted, sent through chat apps, or heavily cropped.
Can you improve a low resolution photo?
Not meaningfully. Software can smooth or guess at detail, but it cannot recover what was never captured. It is always better to find a larger original.
Can I send a photo from Instagram or Facebook?
It will usually be too small. Social platforms resize uploads down, so the version you can save back is a reduced copy. Find the original on the phone or camera that took it.
What is the best file type for a logo on a gift?
A vector file such as SVG, AI, EPS or PDF, because it prints at any size with no loss. Failing that, a PNG with a transparent background at the largest size you have.
Do I need to remove the background from my photo?
Not for a photograph, where the background is part of the picture. For a logo or a cut-out subject, yes, otherwise the background prints as well.
In short
Multiply your print width in millimetres by 12 to get the pixels you need, send the original file rather than a copy of a copy, and use a transparent PNG or vector file for logos.