The DPI Dilemma
Have you ever noticed viewing an image on your monitor versus a print of the same image is vastly different? This is because monitors are rendering images and content at 72dpi which is a universal standard. On the other hand, commercial printers are typically set by default to print 300dpi – what is dpi? DPI is the amount of ink dots per inch; 300 dots per inch is the required standard for printed material. Images should also be placed at 100% size in your final document. This gets tricky if you don’t have image manipulation software like Photoshop.
![](https://b2640345.smushcdn.com/2640345/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/pixiesandstuff.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
If you already have in mind the final size that you will be printing, then it is highly recommended to create your print file to that size, for example: you want to frame a 12″x18″ image, set up your working space in Photoshop to 12″x18″ at 300dpi, using color space sRGB. Import your image into your document, make your necessary color adjustments, changes/effects etc., scale and resize as needed, save your file, and you’re ready to place your order.