Printing Tips and Tricks

Below is a list of some general things to consider when printing.

Color - Most printers today print in 4 colors using what is called "process printing". A combination of 4 colors (CMYK) are used to print full color photographs. A strictly black and white piece might be less expensive, but if you add a single color is about the same in price as printing full color.

Size - There are some standard paper sizes can save you money by using them. 11x17 and 8.5x11 are standard, common sizes of paper.

Artwork - Artwork should be vector based graphics or if using pixel art the resolution , or dpi ( dots per inch ) should be 300 ideally but 150 should be a minimum. Images downloaded from the internet will almost always be 72 or 96. These images will not print well and you should consider an alternate source.

Vector and Pixel Art - Vector artwork is usually developed in a graphics program such as Abobe Illustrator or Corel Draw, the art is computed mathematically within the computer code. Vector art can be scaled up as large as a billboard without compromising the quality of the lines. Pixel art is comprised of thousands of tiny squares to produce a photo like image.