Photo & Logo Tutorial

To get the best results in printing, this brief tutorial will help you understand the difference between what images will work well and what will not.

Graphics (Logos) that you send us should be in CMYK color mode or variations in color will occur. You may send your logo / graphics in Photo Shop 6.0 or EPS format (do not flatten, convert text to curves or outlines). You may also send files in PDF, JPG, or TIFF format. You should convert all Adobe Illustrator files to exact sized PDFs (not 8 x 11). NOTE: ALL files must be CMYK color mode and at least 350 DPI resolution (lower resolutions will not print clearly).

Photo Size Minimum Requirements: (width x height) 1027 x 760 pixels or 4" x 5" at 350 dots per inch (dpi) - or big enough to fill your computer screen. The GREATER the picture size in Kbytes (thousands of bytes) or MBytes (millions of bytes), the better your final image will look.

All photos and images MUST be 350 dpi or greater to look good in printed output.

On a 3.1 (or greater) megapixel digital camera,
set your camera to a 1200 x 600 or better resolution.

On scanners, use a scan resolution of color, 350 dpi or greater.

COLOR - When we receive a photo electronically we have nothing but our monitor to check the image. After so many years of working in print, we have a really good idea of what will print well and what will not but we have no idea exactly how the image may have printed on your inkjet printer in your office.
Read the explanations below to learn more about acceptable photos and logos.

A Quality Photograph
... should be submitted with more than enough resolution (350 dpi), with good color balance and exposure. In addition, the subject should be centered in the frame and no part of the body cut off. This gives us the maximum flexability when using it on a business card. You should not send us images that have been taken from a website (most of these are saved at 72 dpi so that they load fast on a website -- these are NOT of the quality necessary for printing [350 dpi]). Now let's look at some common problems we encounter with submitted photography:

JPEG Artifacts
When a photo is saved as a JPEG with low quality (high compression) it will exhibit distortions. JPEG images, in and of themselves are fine; it is all a matter of how much compression is used when they are saved. A JPEG image saved with high quality (minimum compression) will look as good as the original. Another factor influencing JPEG artifacting is the size of the image being saved. Often, if the image is too small to begin with, the JPEG artifacts will look even worse than normal when the image is resized.

Color Cast Problems
Consumer grade scanners often introduce a noticeable color cast to the image that is scanned. Sometimes that is too much red, sometimes too much yellow and quite often it causes a dramatic increase in the midtone colors. We can do our best to correct the image and normalize it to what we perceive as a good skin tone, but since we have nothing but our monitor to go by, we have no way of being sure that what we think looks good will match what you think looks good (since we really have no clue what you actually look like).

Image Too Dark
Consumer grade scanners can also introduce a noticeable increase in the midtone color ranges. Sometimes people send us an image that is far too dark for print purposes. The areas in the image that should be white should be white, not grayish. Images such as this will result in a bad print.

Image Too Light
Areas in an image that should be black (corners of the eyes and pupils) are dark grey. A good photo will have both some truly black areas and some truly white areas. Imbalance in either direction results in an unnatural look.

Image Off Center
An image cropped incorrectly results in the subject being off center. Also, one must be careful not to crop too close to the top of her head. Ideally we would like to see some background over the top of the subject's head so there is a little bit of image to trim if necessary. A photo that is improperly cropped significantly reduces its usability.

Image Border
Fancy borders make it impossible to place the photo in the space provided. Please do not send in images with edge effects or oval marque style pictures. If you really want your image to look like that, it would be better to send us an unaltered image and let us apply the effects exactly as necessary for the layout of your card.

Multiple Problem Photos
I mages that are an example of multiple problems will be rejected.
• Cropped to close and off center
• Too dark
• Color balance problems
• JPEG artifacting

Photo Naming Convention: last name.jpg (example: smith.jpg) with a Color Mode as: RGB or CMYK

We accept images in the following file formats:
TIF, EPS, PSD, JPG, & PDF
We do NOT accept Publisher (.PUB) files -- Save publisher files as a .PDF

The fast method to send your file(s):

Click HERE to send us your photos, images, or logos

Your e-mail should contain:
Subject Line: Your ORDER NUMBER.
Body of E-mail: Individual name of person in photo, company name, company address, phone/fax number where you may be reached, e-mail address and the file name of your attachment.

Photos, LOGOS, or Images over 3 megs in size; If your email cannot send large attachments, AFTER you have placed an order (and have an ORDER # to reference), contact us by email, referencing your order number, and ask us for FTP upload instructions.

Always take into consideration WHO your audience will be and WHAT you are trying to

achieve in producing a full color business product that makes your business stand out.