[R8]

I have a couple pictures that I mashed into some font in photoshop.. I set the photoshop size to 8.5" x 11" (which is exactly the same as letter size). I went to Staples to print it (laser printer) and when it came out, it looked SUPER blurry, almost as if the psd file was enlarged or zoomed in... but while in photoshop @100% it looked perfectly crisp and clean... Any solutions? I've been also trying to print it full bleed but staples can't do that? (Don't ask me why -_-) and it came out with a small border (exactly 1cm)..

Any help? Is it my photoshop font that I used?
Thanks in Advance!

R8

[peazs]

What was the dpi of the file? I hope it wasn't 72 (for web use)...

[Inaii]

Go to a proper print shop, staples can only do so much. They can print bleed (just please stay away from mine, I have enough work as it is T-T) as long as you have it on the file already.

I agree with peazs, dpi sounds like it's too low for print.

[R8]

whats DPI and where can i find it?? I don't know if im explaining it properly.... On photoshop, it looks perfectly fine and all, but when you print it, it looks like its all of a sudden zoomed in and everything seems bigger and blurrier..

[Inaii]

In photoshop, go to Image -> Image Size and look for resolution. If it's under 300, that answers your question. All printed images need to be at least 300 in order to come out clearly. If you're printing at 72dpi (like peazs said) it's only printing at web dpi (which I believe is what your monitor uses). So even though it looks great on screen, it'll look like crap when you actually print it.

[R8]

It says my resolution is 72 pixels/inch .... what should i set it as in order to print it at its highest quality? (Thanks so much Inaii)

[Inaii]

No problem, but you should thank peazs too ;) they pointed out the problem, I just showed you how to get there :D

If you open up your original photo, do the same thing and check the resolution. If it's at 72dpi (dots per inch if I haven't forgotten), there isn't much you can do. If you try to raise the resolution, the picture will become smaller and smaller, and you'll still have the blurriness issue. But if the original is 300dpi or above, it's fixable. Actually it would also be fixable if the original was massively large.

Essentially (this is the way I was taught by one of my teachers) what you want to do, is each time you double the resolution of an image, you cut the actual size in half. So say you have a 4x6 picture @ 72dpi, when you double the dpi (so 144dpi) the picture size becomes 2x3. At 288, it would be 1x1.5 and so on and so forth. If you have a large picture (say 24"x48") it wouldn't be too much of a problem, since you would want to bring the original size down anyway (unless you want a huge file size).

Someone feel free to correct me if I've said something wrong, or post a better way of doing this. I'd like to know as well if there are any other ways to change the resolution without changing the actual file size (I know you can turn the bi-cubic sampling off, but I've been told it makes things look choppy and fuzzy still.

[R8]

Thanks peazs! :)

Anyways, Inaii, that sounds REALLY confusing... :S unfortunately I dont get it.. :S:S Does anyone else have an easier way?

[Inaii]

If no one else posts a better way, I'll throw up some screenshots of what I mean tomorrow. I'm headed to bed now. Also, feel free to pm me and when I get a chance, I can explain what I mean *hopefully* in a less confusing manner. I'm one of those people who can show you how to do something, but can't explain.

And I want to be a teacher :lol

[R8]

Haha, Thanks Inaii! I will definately give you a shout sometime... But do you think I can find someone professional who can help me with this problem?

[Inaii]

You can get a designer to help you, but it'll cost you (lol I meant if you get a designer from a firm or a freelancer who you don't know). There's a few of us kicking around RS. You could always track one of the others down and see if they have a simpler solution.

[R8]

(got any usernames? :):) ;)?)

[Senna4ever]

If you want your image size to be 8.5"x11", you must have an image that is 2550 pixels on one side and 3300 pixels on the other. Also, the medium that your image is being printed on will also make a difference. A giclee or lightjet print will look much better than one printed on regular office paper.

[Inaii]

There's an RS Graphic Designers group (I'm sure it doesn't have all of us). You could start there.

[R8]

Senna4ever, your comment sounds really helpful, but too bad im clueles... its my first time printing a psd/jpg :P... Also... Wheres that RS group?? Inaii are you in it? Invite me!

[Inaii]

You should be able to find it through my profile.

http://www.revscene.net/forums/group.php?groupid=29

but there's the link =p

Did you find out what resolution your original image is?

[R8]

It says my resolution is 72 pixels/inch ....

[Inaii]

Yea, there's no way you'll be able to make the picture crisp and clear with that resolution. Is it something you picked up off the internet? Perhaps you could replace it with a picture you take yourself using a camera?

[peazs]

Welcome!
Where'd you get the pictures from? On the net or you took the photos yourself?

[R8]

Well, I got the pictures off the internet, and then i just cropped it and put it onto the brochure... the font i just typed size 12/14 on photoshop with black color on a white background... It's nothing fancy.... If you guys want, you could PM me your msn messenger and i could send it to you and discuss it...

[Senna4ever]

Well, I got the pictures off the internet, and then i just cropped it and put it onto the brochure... the font i just typed size 12/14 on photoshop with black color on a white background... It's nothing fancy.... If you guys want, you could PM me your msn messenger and i could send it to you and discuss it...

Woah, wait...you took an image off the net and put it into a brochure? What kind of brochure? Did you break any copyright infringement laws by doing so?

[R8]

No I did not, that picture was provided by the company from their website. They took it themselves and told me to take it off the website... So Inaii helped me out and told me that I should use illustrator for the font/ editing? Any other helpful comments? (Now I know that Staples is not professional printing.. haha)

[Senna4ever]

Illustrator & Photoshop have the same font editing capabilities (for TrueType), so it doesn't matter.

[Inaii]

Editing yes. But Illustrator prints out typography better than Photoshop every time I've ever printed anything. Vector will always look way better than a rasterized font.

[Raid3n]

R8, go back to the company and ask if they still have the original files for the images you want to use. if they do, they are more than likely high enough resolution for you to use. also, what type of pictures are they? i'd almost recommend taking your own pictures for the brochure, that way you know what resolution they are.

[R8]

They are pictures of a restaurant and various dishes.... I'm sure I could get the original pictures... What resolution should I be looking for? And How come that affects the printing? Because, when I look at it in any viewer + photoshop etc etc, it looks perfect in 100% view... but when I got it printed, (my image is 8.5" x 11" exact) and Staples printed it with a 1cm border... and then the brochure appears to be printed/viewed at 101.96% 9which is blurry as heck!)

Edit: Thanks for your input/help Inaii, Peazs, Senna4ever, and Raid3n!

[Senna4ever]

Editing yes. But Illustrator prints out typography better than Photoshop every time I've ever printed anything. Vector will always look way better than a rasterized font.

True, but will it make a noticeable difference in a 8.5"x11" printed brochure? I've never used Illustrator much.

[Senna4ever]

They are pictures of a restaurant and various dishes.... I'm sure I could get the original pictures... What resolution should I be looking for? And How come that affects the printing? Because, when I look at it in any viewer + photoshop etc etc, it looks perfect in 100% view... but when I got it printed, (my image is 8.5" x 11" exact) and Staples printed it with a 1cm border... and then the brochure appears to be printed/viewed at 101.96% 9which is blurry as heck!)

Edit: Thanks for your input/help Inaii, Peazs, Senna4ever, and Raid3n!
You're looking at your image/s on your screen at 100% resolution which is at 72dpi, while your printed copy is 101.96% of your image size @ 72dpi. If your image was 300dpi at the same dimensions, then it would not look blurry or pixelated.

For instance, if your image dimensions are 4"x6", but your resolution is 72dpi, it will look blurry/pixelated in print, but it will look great on your screen. You need to submit a 300dpi image to the printer for a sharp printed image. Now, you cannot up-rez a 72dpi image to 300dpi and expect to get good results. Hopefully, your original image is/was at least 300dpi.

[Inaii]

True, but will it make a noticeable difference in a 8.5"x11" printed brochure? I've never used Illustrator much.

It does actually. When you convert the text to outlines in Illustrator, it essentially becomes a graphic (or a vector image), which means smooth lines and no pixellation. When Photoshop rasterizes text, or any sort of computer generated image (ie. a graphic drawing), it creates it by pixel rather than filling in the edges and makes it appear fuzzy and pixellated.

I had an issue with a client this morning actually, he made his business card in Photoshop, and even though it was only 3.5x2", his text was fuzzy. The larger the print, the more obvious it becomes.

It was drilled into my head while I was in my graphic design program, that you never ever use photoshop for text. Either Illustrator or InDesign (that's more for multi-page documents but it works for typography pretty well too), or the equivalent competition software (Corel Draw, etc.)

[Senna4ever]

Really?

I've made business cards using Photoshop and the text didn't look fuzzy at all.

[R8]

Well, the text is also blurry, but i mean, the text is on a white background so even if the psd contains no pictures and only text, it will still be blurry! How do you create a 300dpi text? :S

[Senna4ever]

When you create a new file, set the dpi to 300.

[Inaii]

I think he was hoping to not have to create a new file, but fix the one he had.

[R8]

I think he was hoping to not have to create a new file, but fix the one he had.

Exact thoughts... :(

[Senna4ever]

Well, there's no way of doing that, is there? You can change the file to 300dpi, but it won't resolve your sharpness issues, unfortunately.

[Inaii]

It's better off to start fresh anyhow than try to correct a broken file. And this way, you know how to start off properly =]

Senna out of curiousity, did your cards get printed on a press or digital printer?

[Senna4ever]

Inkjet printer, and a professional printer that specializes in printing business cards.