Why are high-quality images important?

One of the first things viewers notice about a design is the images. Your images must pull viewers in by being high-quality and high-resolution. High-quality images can make or break your branding and are required on all printed products, especially product packaging, informational brochures, and menus. Low-resolution images can make your design seem unprofessional and untrustworthy.

What are the potential issues with low-quality images?

1. Low Resolution

   

   Images with low resolution will appear blurry and pixelated. This can happen when an image has too few pixels to show smooth color transitions and details. This frequently happens to images that are used at large sizes. Printed images should have at least 300 ppi in order not to appear pixelated.
   
   

2. Artifacts

   

   Repeatedly compressing an image can cause artifacts. Artifacts are small jagged edges, random colors, and noise that appear in compressed images, particularly around the edges of the photo’s subjects. Artifacts are common if you are using an image that has been emailed/transferred through the internet multiple times.
   
   

3. Upscaled and Blurry

   
   Blurry images can be caused by not focusing correctly when taking a photo or by upscaling a photo. Upscaling is the act of adding more pixels to an image in order to make it higher quality at a larger size. These additional pixels get their color from their surrounding pixels which can lead to a blurry effect on the image.
   
   

4. Scanned

   Scanned images are rarely high enough quality to reproduce accurately through print. We recommend avoiding using scanned images in your design, especially if your design is image heavy like in catalogs, lookbooks, and magazines.
   
   

How can I correct my image quality?

Correcting image quality can be very challenging. Here are some possible solutions for correcting your image quality:

1. Replace with a higher-quality version of the image.

   Try using a version of the photo straight from the photographer or stock photo website. If your image is a logo or illustration, try to find and use the original vector file.

2. Reduce the original image size.

   Making the image smaller in your design can improve the resolution. Try reducing your image until the ppi is at least 300.

3. Upscale the image.

   Upscaling should be used only if the first two solutions are not feasible. Upscaling creates new pixels for your image. These pixels pull from the colors around them, which can make your image blurry, even if it is now 300 ppi. Make sure to carefully check your images to see if they are blurry after upscaling. Upscaling can also help blur artifacts.

4. Hide any quality issues with filters.

   Photoshop and other photo editing software include many filters that you can apply to your images. Some of these filters may be helpful in disguising low-quality images.

5. Replace with a different image.

   It may be impossible to raise the quality of an image enough for it to print well. If this is the case, we recommend replacing the image with a completely different image.