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Image Capturing Recomendations

Internet Images
Most images downloaded from a website were not designed for printing. Website images are generally 72 - 96 ppi (dpi) and printed images should be at a minimum of 150 ppi (dpi). Though 150 dpi is the minimum dots per inch you should aim for, the maximum resolution is determined by the printing device. In the case of Pixart Prints, we recomend setting your image resolution to 300 ppi.

Digital Camera Images used in print
When using a digital camera, quality is oftern a major concern. If you need good quality and you're using a mid to low range digital camera, you're better off switching to a film camera and then scanning the negative or positive. (See scanning negatives below)

If you need to use a digital camera, your best bet is to maximize the camera's quality and size setting to a level that will provide acceptable resolution for the image at the size of the printed piece. The best camera option for quality is RAW. For example, Let's say you need to create a 17 X 22 inch sign with an image filling a 13 X 20 inch space. Let's also say we took the image with a medium level SLR digital camera in the RAW setting. (Please note quality and settings are different from camera to camera.) In this example the captured RAW image is 240 ppi at 3008 X 2000 ppi.

This image is:
240 dpi @ 3008 X 2000 and is approx. 12.5 X 8.33 inches
If we take this image into Photoshop and resize the image using...

Photoshop > Image > Image Size
Turn off Resample image
Set the resolution (ppi) to 150, the image size will change to 20 X 13 ppi.
Though we changed the ppi, the pixel dimensions did not change. Please keep in mind that though 150 ppi is acceptable, 300 ppi is preferred and generally attainable only through scanning.

Scanning Negative, Positive, or slides
The best option for quality is to scan your media with a high quality scanner. When scanning, the higher the resolution and bit rate is important; however, operator skill and knowledge is also very important in capturing a quality scan. We have years of experience and can scan a large variety of film media including 35 mm, and medium and large format. Please see Pricing - Prints and Services for scan prices.