Picture Resolution Information

If you child’s picture isn’t high quality or high-resolution, it will look pixelated or fuzzier than the rest of the invitation.

Here is a more detailed explanation about picture resolution. Digital image dimensions are pixels by pixels, and they vary in quality (aka pixels per inch or ppi). Most digital cameras have settings for how many MegaPixels/ppi you want, and that detemines the picture quality. The more pixels per inch, the higher the resolution. PPI translates directly into DP (or dots per inch) on a printer and determines the clarity of the printed image. While 72 ppi looks great on a computer monitor, it results in crummy printing quality. To achieve high-quality printing results, your image should be at least 200 ppi, if not 300 ppi. A 300 ppi image will print incredibly better than a 100 ppi image. If the image file size is less than 112 KB, it will most likely not print well for invitation purposes.

For example, lets say you have two images whose dimensions are both 600x450 pixels. The first image has the quality of 100 pixels per sq inch (ppi), which means the picture will be 6”x4.5” with poor image quality when printed. The second image has 250 ppi and an image that is 2.4”x1.8”with medium picture qualilty, or in other words, higher-resolution or sharper image.

I recommend sending a picture with the correct headspace (see images in FAQs), at least 500x500 pixels, and at least 150 KB (file size). Adjust your settings on your camera to at least 2 or 3 MegaPixels, it it will result in a sharper image. When you save your image as a JPEG, select “best quality” and/or “biggest file.”