To get the images looking their best on your website, we require a medium resolution image to create all the other images and thumbnails used on your website. We recommend that you upload images at 1600 pixels wide @ 72dpi with the JPEG quality scale set between 60-90%. The greater the compression, the lower the quality (obviously) so this will affect the look of the images displayed on your website.
Every image is different, so you might want to do some tests to see which quality settings give you that right balance of upload speed and quality.

Self Fulfillment - If you're only using the Self Fulfillment print delivery method then the method above should work perfectly for you. You can then simply send the full res files to your chosen print lab to process the print orders.

Direct Fulfillment (Manual approval) - If you are using Direct Fulfillment and you are manually approving each of your customer orders, you will have the option to replace the medium res 'Preview' image in your gallery with the full resolution digital file before approving the order to be digitally sent to the print house. To make sure Direct Fulfillment orders are Held for your approval simply go to the Settings / Direct Fulfillment Settings page in your admin interface and make sure the "Hold Orders" radio button is set to Yes.

Direct Fulfillment (Automated) - If you prefer to run your account using a more hands off approach without an "Approval" step then you will need to ensure that you upload Full Resolution images to your galleries to ensure the quality of your customers' prints. You may also need to ensure that the aspect ratio of your digital images matches that of the print products offered in your Feature Sets. This will help avoid the need for cropping of images at the time an order is placed which should further streamline the process for you. Here's a good little article that illustrates the problem facing every photographer: http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/aspect-ratio.html

You can then navigate to the Settings / Direct Fulfillment Settings page in your admin interface and change the "Hold Orders" radio button to "No" so that your customer orders are sent directly through to the lab without needing your approval.

Digital Downloads - Note that if you plan to offer high resolution Digital Download products then the images you upload to your galleries will again need to be high resolution in order for the system to be able to generate high quality Digital Download products for you customers.