BPrint Image - Size and Scale

To check the print size and resolution of your image…

1. Open the file in Photoshop and head to Image > Image Size…
2. Check that the Resample box is not ticked.
3. If necessary, adjust the Width and Height values so that the image fits your chosen print size. If you need to look up your print size, click here. Take note whether the measurements are in centimetres or millimetres!
4. Now look at the Resolution value. We recommend a figure of 300 pixels per inch for images submitted to BPrint.

If your resolution is much smaller than that, then it’s likely that your print will not look clear and crisp when printed. If your resolution is much greater than that, then your image might be over the 100 MB filesize limit. Read on to find out what to do in each of these cases.

The BPrint system will additionally check your images for you and highlight any images in your basket as “lo-res” if the resolution is below 250 pixels per inch for the print size you are ordering. If you come across any of your images marked as “lo-res”, then it would be a good idea to check your resolution using the method above before placing an order.

1. Check your print size and resolution using the guide at the beginning of the article.
2. Make sure the Resample box is not ticked and change the resolution to 300 pixels per inch.
3. The Width and Height values will automatically reduce in order to accommodate the higher resolution. Choose a new print size from the BPrint system based on these values.

If choosing a smaller print size is not an option, then you can either order your print as it is and accept a possible lack of clarity or, if you are able to, you could return to your source files and recreate the image from scratch.

Firstly, check your print size and resolution using the guide at the beginning of the article. If your resolution is over 300 ppi, but the size of your JPEG is less than 100 MB, then it is not necessary to alter the file. You can upload the image to BPrint and place an order.

If the size of your JPEG is more than 100 MB, then you will need to resample your image.

1. If you haven’t just done so, check your print size and resolution using the guide at the beginning of this article.
2. Double check that the Width and Height values will fit your intended print size.
3. Tick the Resample box.
4. Change the resolution value to 300 pixels per inch. Your Width and Height values should not change when you do this.
5. Save your image as a JPEG.

If your filesize is still larger than 100 MB, then you can compress your image by adjusting the Quality slider when you save as a JPEG.

If the image you upload to BPrint doesn’t match your chosen print size, the system will scale the image to best fill the available space. The image is scaled proportionally and may be rotated to make best use of the print size you have selected. The aspect ratio of your image will never be changed, i.e. it won’t be stretched or distorted unproportionally. For example, if you upload a square image and choose A4 as the print size, the image will be scaled so that it measures 210 mm on both sides (the width of A4 in portrait rotation). The image won’t be scaled beyond this as it would no longer fit on an A4 sheet.

With this in mind, there is no need to pad your image with white space to fill the print size. By doing so, you are only wasting your time and our paper! The only reason to do this would be if you needed a white border as part of the image or if you needed the blank space for mounting.

We recommend that you carefully consider your print size when submitting your order. If the pixel dimensions of your image aren’t big enough to give a good resolution at the print size you have selected, then your image might look fuzzy and not sharp.