{"id":595,"date":"2016-11-15T08:20:55","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T08:20:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.printforfun.sg\/?p=595"},"modified":"2022-03-08T14:28:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T06:28:50","slug":"how-do-i-know-if-my-photos-are-good-enough-to-be-printed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/how-do-i-know-if-my-photos-are-good-enough-to-be-printed\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I know if my photos are good enough to be printed?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Have you ever wanted to print some of your photos from Facebook, only to realize them the photo print out quality is less than what you have expected. You are left wondering why the print out is poor, when the photo actually looks great on your computer screen.<\/p>\n

The issue is the image resolution.<\/p>\n

The issue with most photos on the internet, or on social media is that they have low pixel dimensions, so they don\u2019t take too long to load, and the fact that they don\u2019t need to be very big to appear great on your computer screen. On the other hand, printers are considered high resolution devices, so it requires a lot more pixels per unit to make the image look good.<\/p>\n

What is the minimum required resolution for a good photo?<\/p>\n

Resolution of an image or photo don’t mean much without any context. If you ask, is my photo of resolution 1800 X 1200 good for printing? The answer is it depends. If you want to print it in 8R size, then it definitely too low. If you want to print in 4R size, then it is good. So it is always in relation to the size of the photo you wish to print. We measure the size of photos in inches.<\/p>\n

There is a standard for the minimum resolution for printed photos. The magic number is 300 dots per inch, or in short 300 dpi. This means that within an inch (~2.5cm) of the photo paper, there is 300 pixels\/ dots squeezed in that space. To our naked eye, the image looks good. You probably can get away with 250 dpi. Any higher than 300 dpi, the difference is pretty much negligible. Broadly speaking, the higher the DPI, the more dots there is in an image, so the more detail you can see and the crisper it looks.<\/p>\n

Are my photos from Whatsapp suitable for printing?<\/p>\n

When photos are sent from one device to another via Whatsapp, there is a certain level of compression on the images and higher resolution images are scaled down.<\/p>\n

How about Facebook photos?<\/p>\n

Downloading photos from your friend\u2019s album on Facebook will result in lower quality images because Facebook compresses images when they are uploaded<\/a>, unless your friend selected \u201cupload in HD option\u201d<\/p>\n

Phone screenshots?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a good idea to use screenshots to print because your resolution will be limited by your device\u2019s screen resolution.<\/p>\n

The best option is to get the original photos, for example from the camera roll\/ photo gallery or from the camera\u2019s SD card.<\/p>\n

Caveat<\/p>\n

If you are just looking to print smaller sized photos, you can still use photos from FB or Whatsapp or phone screenshots.<\/p>\n

Another point to note: The further away your photo print is from you (eg, hung on the wall), the more we can afford for the photo to be of lower resolution. Because from a distance, you won’t be able to tell if a photo is 300 dpi or 200 dpi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Comparison of the same photo with different resolutions (below)<\/p>\n

The photo on the left has half the number of pixels in width and in height to represent the image than the photo on the right. That is why it is blur.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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400 x 300<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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800 x 600<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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How to find out the resolution of your photos in your computer?<\/p>\n

On Mac, right-click on your image and select “Get Info”. See below left: 2102 X 1290. I take both the width and height and divide them by 300, I get ~7 X 4 inches. That means, that the largest I should be printing is 7 X 4 inches, which effectively means 4R (4 X 6 inches)<\/p>\n

On Windows, right-click on your image and select “Properties”. See below right: 1800 X 600. After taking both the width and height divided by 300, I get 6 X 2 inches. The resolution is not good enough for 4R.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Mac<\/div>\n
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Mac users<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Windows users<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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General Guide for Photos from Different Sources<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Reference for the optimal resolution for Print For Fun print products<\/p>\n

To make it easy for you to decide what size is suitable, we have come up with the table for optimal image resolution. It’s simple to use. If you decide to print 4R, you look at the column “Optimal Image Resolution”,  and see 1200 X 1800. So your photo should be at least of that resolution or higher. Hope this helps anyone who can’t get around the idea of image resolution!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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List of Resolution for Print For Fun products<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Print Type<\/th>\nPrint Out Size<\/th>\nImage Size<\/th>\nOptimal Image Resolution<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
2R<\/td>\n2.5 x 3.5 inches<\/td>\n2.5 x 3.5 inches<\/td>\n750 x 1050<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3R<\/td>\n3.5 x 5 inches<\/td>\n3.5 x 5 inches<\/td>\n1050 x 1500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4R<\/td>\n4 X 6 inches<\/td>\n4 X 6 inches<\/td>\n1200 X 1800<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5R<\/td>\n5 X 7 inches<\/td>\n5 X 7 inches<\/td>\n1500 X 2100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6R<\/td>\n5 X 7 inches<\/td>\n5 X 7 inches<\/td>\n1500 X 2100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8R<\/td>\n8 X 10 inches<\/td>\n8 X 10 inches<\/td>\n2400 X 3000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S8R<\/td>\n8 x 12 inches<\/td>\n8 x 12 inches<\/td>\n1600 x 2400<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A4<\/td>\n8.3 x 11.7 inches<\/td>\n8.3 x 11.7 inches<\/td>\n1660 x 2340<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Small Vintage<\/td>\n2.2 x 3.5 inches<\/td>\n~1.8 X 2.7 inches<\/td>\n540 X 810<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Large Vintage<\/td>\n4 X 3 inches<\/td>\n~3 X 3 inches (image size)<\/td>\n900 X 900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3 inch squares w\/ white border<\/td>\n3 X 3 inches<\/td>\n~3 X 3 inches<\/td>\n900 X 900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4 inch squares w\/ white border<\/td>\n4 X 4 inches<\/td>\n~4 X 4 inches<\/td>\n1200 X 1200<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Half 4R w\/ white border<\/td>\n4 X 3 inches<\/td>\n~4 X 3inches<\/td>\n1200 X 900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stickers<\/td>\n3 X 3 inches<\/td>\n3 X 3 inches<\/td>\n900 X 900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Note: Only S8R and A4 is 200 pixels per inch. The others is 300 pixels per inch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever wanted to print some of your photos from Facebook, only to realize them the photo print out quality is less than what you have expected. You are left wondering why the print […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[134],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/hero_classic.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9ZMoL-9B","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13253,"url":"https:\/\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/online-photo-printing-printing-terminology-101\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":0},"title":"Online Photo Printing: Printing Terminology 101","date":"March 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019ve ever found yourself googling DPI or any of the terminology that pops up in the print process, you\u2019re not alone! We realise that a lot of these terms aren\u2019t used in everyday life, so we\u2019ve come up with the ultimate online photo printing guide to help you master\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/photo-1505744768106-34d8c47a1327-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11300,"url":"https:\/\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/canvas-photo-printing-in-singapore-wedding-displays\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":1},"title":"Wedding Canvas Prints For Your Wedding Displays","date":"October 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Pre-wedding shoots are now more popular than ever. There are couples who even take it up a notch by flying overseas just to take photos overlooking the mountains or the beach. s you receive the photos from your photographer, you would be sifting out the best ones to print on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Canvas"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_7457.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10132,"url":"https:\/\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/how-to-check-image-quality\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":2},"title":"How to check image quality?","date":"May 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever wondered why is it that when we print a photo, it comes out blurry even though it looks very clear on our smartphones? In today's blog post we are going to explain why and give you a tool for you to use to print your photos. The reason as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/featured-image_web-version.jpg?fit=1000%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13279,"url":"https:\/\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/the-dos-donts-for-printing-online-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":3},"title":"The Do’s & Don’ts For Printing Online Images","date":"March 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"High-quality images\u00a0are key for making your content shine both online and in print. But before you start pulling images off the internet, there are a few key things to note to avoid copyright infringement. To help you create amazing visual photo prints the right way, we have created a list\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital Photos"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/pexels-erik-mclean-4062426-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12075,"url":"https:\/\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/tips-on-printing-on-canvas-prints\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":4},"title":"Canvas Wall Art Tips","date":"May 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome everybody back to the PFF blog. It\u2019s been a while since we touched on canvas printing. Today we will be walking you through some tips on deciding whether canvas wall art printing is best suited for you. Tip 1: Deciding on the photo to use The most important tip\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Canvas"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Picture-1.png?fit=937%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13319,"url":"https:\/\/www.printforfun.sg\/blog\/online-photo-printing-prepare-digital-artwork-for-printing\/","url_meta":{"origin":595,"position":5},"title":"Online Photo Printing: Prepare Digital Artwork For Printing","date":"April 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"At one point, you've probably found yourself in exactly this position. How do I prepare my digital artwork for print? Well not to worry! We've assembled this quick guide\u00a0to help you get that print piece out the door perfectly. 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