Avoiding Printing Low Quality Images

Most people don't know about the correct way of printing pictures with their printer.That’s why the final result of the printed image looks blurred, muddy or pixelated. Most printer users have no idea about print resolution, this greatly affects the quality of the image you want to print. 

We will discuss things to consider so you can have great printed images and make the most out of your printer.

CMYK or RGB?

You need to determine the color space or mode for the image you want to print. RGB color mode is mainly used for images for the web or for soft copy uses. This is because monitors or screens have RGB pixels.

If you want to print an image, set it to CMYK color mode. Printers use cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks so printing an image in CMYK makes it more easier for the printer and you can have more vibrant colors

DPI (Dots Per Inch)

This is the amount of individual dots of the ink used to print an inch of an image. This measures how much ink to use to make up an inch of the image when it is being printed. To print a quality image requires at least 300 DPI. You must check your printer how much DPI will it support in printing.

Using images with low DPI affects its print quality so avoid using this kind of images to ensure sharp images.

Low Resolution Images

Another factor to consider for having great printed images is the resolution. Make sure you use high resolution images. Using small resolution images and just enlarging them will result in very poor quality prints.

As discussed earlier you want 300 DPI image, here is a formula you can use to make sure that your images are the proper print size and resolution.

300 (or your desired DPI) x (desired size of image in inches) = necessary amount of pixels

Example.

You want to print a 4R photo. It’s size in inches is 4” x 6”

300 dpi x 4” = 1,200 pixels

300 dpi x 6” = 1,800 pixels

You need at least a 1,200 x 1,800 pixel image to have a great quality 4R size photo.

Use The Correct Type of Paper

Last but not the least to consider is the type of paper you use in printing images. This may depend on your need or use of the printed image. For general purpose print you can use a plain paper but if you really want good quality prints of your photos use a glossy photo paper.

Don’t forget to set the printing preferences of the printer when you are about to print and set the paper type corresponding to the paper that you are using.