Digital Photos for Print

Taking good digital photographs involves much of the same skills that is required when using film–based cameras. Instead of choosing film type and ASA ratings, you’ll need to determine things like resolution and file types. Here's a few tips:

1. Do not use a high JPEG compression ratio–either turn off compression or use the highest image–quality setting you can.
2. Turn off your digital camera’s built–in sharpening feature if it has one. This feature over sharpens images and ends up building halos around contrasting areas. Have a designer sharpen the images in Adobe Photoshop by inspection.
3. Photographic images can be saved in different file formats. The format of choice is one that does not lose color quality, contrast or file size. TIFF or EPS files are examples of lossless file formats. They are designed to print clear and crisp at a resolution of 300dpi at their final size in the layout. JPEG/JPG or GIF files are examples of lossy file formats. They were originally designed for easy file transmission and internet use, not for printing.
        When a lossy file format is saved over and over again, the jagged edges are exaggerated. The process creates extra pixel garbage that you do not want printed. Therefore, if you start with a JPEG file that then needs edits, save it as an EPS or TIF file. This way, additional information will not get lost and the quality of the original JPEG image will be maintained. If in doubt, submit your original print or raw file along with your edited file just in case.
4. Think about what you want to do with you pictures. The same guidelines apply to images that are intended for print reproduction although is appears as though anything goes for web use. Want to read more about determining the correct resolution for images? See our image capture page.

These are the standard photo print sizes you can make from various digital camera-megapixel counts: