Support/Frequently Asked Questions/FAQ
Max Print Size - Image Resolution
Steve Saunders
posted this on April 18, 2011 18:24
Having a strong understanding of image resolution and how this affects the print sizes available to your customers is an important factor in running your online portfolio and store. This lesson should help familiarize you with the core concepts and show you how to access the relevant settings and information within your PhotoMerchant Interface.
(The following relates mostly to the Direct Fulfillment order process. However the core concepts surrounding image resolution, PPI and maximum print dimensions will also be useful to help you manage your Self Fulfillment order process and product sizes.)
Checking an image's Max Print Size.
1. Click on the Photos tab from your Dashboard, now open any of your galleries and select an image.
2. Click on the Properties tab beneath your image preview (It's also worth exploring the other image data available here under Information, Stats, Meta and Comments)
3. Notice that the application will give you all the information you need regarding file size, resolution and the maximum print size available for this file. Another important point to note here is that the default Print House Pixels Per Inch figure is used to make these calculations for you - 250PPI
You can see that this image is relatively small - file size of only 2MB with resolution of 3264 x 2448.
Notice also that the default PPI (pixels per inch) setting is 250.
Now - some quick calculations!
What is 3264 divided by 250?
What is 2448 divided by 250?
That's right.. dividing our resolution by the PPI will give you the max print size in inches for a given image. In this case - 13.06 x 9.79"
So, if you were to increase the PPI resolution setting from 250 to 300, then the maximum print size would actually decrease to 10.88 x 8.16"
If you are using Self Fulfillment and your lab uses a different PPI setting you can adjust the print-house PPI figure from the Settings page of your Admin Interface. See step 15 of this Getting Started Guide lesson - http://helpdesk.photomerchant.net/entries/336629
Note that the PPI setting has absolutely no impact on your images or prints. It merely helps calculate these recommended maximum print sizes to help you match appropriate product dimensions to your digital images.
You may already be across all of this but here's an online article that gives some useful back-ground on image resolution, PPI and maximum print dimensions - http://www.digicamguides.com/print/ppi-print-size.html
Approving an order
From the step above you can see that there are limits to the recommended size of the print that a customer should order for this particular file. If a customer selects a print size that exceeds the recommended maximum, you now have 2 courses of action to choose from.
1. The system will prompt you to replace the current image with a larger resolution version of the file.
2. If you don't have a higher res version you can also elect to force the order through using the current image file.
Taking one of these steps should now allow you to approve the order and ensure it is sent through to the lab straight away.
- Done! -