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If you’ve received an email saying your file is low resolution, it means that your file, or at least a portion of it, is blurry or pixelated when enlarged to print size. High-resolution printing requires either a vector file (.AI, .PDF, .PS, or .EPS) or a large raster file (.PNG, .TIF, .BMP, .GIF, or .JPG). To learn more, please read about
The Best Design File Types for Signs and Banners.
Follow the instructions in the Low Resolution Proof email. You can choose “Okay to Print” to print as-is, “Upload New File” if you have a higher-resolution file, or pay the quoted design fee to us fix the artwork for you. Low-resolution images are one of the leading causes of art resubmission and schedule delays, so please respond promptly.
When uploading an image or photo, it is important to remember that the higher the quality of the image, the better it is going to look when printed. When looking at an image and trying to decide if it is high resolution, zoom in until the image covers your screen. This will give you an idea of what the image will look like when enlarged to the final print size.
We recommend that all images have a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch (dpi). Images that are captured from Web sites have a resolution of 72 dpi (monitor resolution). These do not possess sufficient resolution for effective and professional-looking printing. When this low-resolution image is printed, image detail will be lost, and the image will appear jagged.