Preparing
Images
Use Your Own Creativity
Do you know what you want and how it should look? Then you
can create your own high-resolution file and upload it to
our server. We'll make your banner or sign from your file
so it will look just the way it should.
If you need help creating files and uploading them, this
guide will help.
Image Preparation Guide
If you created your image on your computer or if you have
the image on a disc, then you can go to the next section.
If, instead, you have a photographic print or other printed
material, you'll need to use a scanner to bring the image
into your computer. Your scanner should have instructions
on how to do this. If you don't have a scanner, many local
copy shops will scan an image for you to your specifications.
If your image is on a digital camera, follow the instructions
that came with the camera to transfer your image to your computer.
Make sure your camera is set to a high resolution to ensure
that your uploaded image will have sufficient quality for
printing on large banners.
Alternately, many services offer to put your film camera
images on a disc when you have your film developed.
The higher the image resolution, the better quality image
on your banner.
In general, the more data included in your image file, the
better. Our system accepts files up to XXXMB in size. The
amount of resolution you need to include in your image depends
on how large your printed image will be on your final banner
or sign. This table is meant to provide some helpful guidelines.
Maximum Recommended Size of Image on Banner:
| Original image/resolution |
|
Physical size of finished image |
| 3" x 5" scan @ 300 dpi |
|
1.5' x 2.5' |
| 5" x 7" scan @ 300 dpi |
|
2.5' x 3.5' |
| 8" x 10" scan @ 300 dpi |
|
4' x 5' |
| |
|
|
| high res picture on disk service (common
setting) |
| 1500 x 1000 pixels |
|
2.5' x 1.6' |
| |
|
|
| low res digital camera image @ 72 dpi (common
setting) |
| 576 pixels x 432 pixels |
|
.9' x .7' |
| |
|
|
| high res digital camera image @ 72 dpi (common
setting) |
| 1152 pixels x 864 pixels |
|
1.3' x 1' |
Set your camera to the highest resolution setting or your
scanner to a sufficiently high setting to ensure a quality
image from which to print. It is important to note that, although
you can take a high-resolution image and shrink it down without
a problem, a low-res image cannot be converted to a higher
resolution without a loss of image quality.
Once you have your image, take a look at it. Crop any excess
around the borders before you size it for your banner. Most
image software offers a crop tool.
Sizing your image
Once you have your image, you must decide the size of your
banner. If your image is going to cover the entire banner,
then you need to convert your image to the correct size. In
general, your image should be at least 1/10 the size of the
banner or sign on which it will be printed.
For example: If you want a banner that's 3' x 9', you'll
need to size your image to 1/10 the size of the banner. Follow
these simple steps:
- Convert the measurements to inches by multiplying by 12.
In our example, the banner will be 36" x 108."
- Size your high-resolution image by multiplying by 0.1,
which would yield 3.6" x 10.8" in our example.
(1/10 the size of the banner).
- Convert the image to one of eight formats: .jpg, .gif,
.tif, .bmp, .pdf, ,ai, .psd. or .eps.
JPEG (.jpg) - Use this file format for photographs (color
or b/w) and other full-color or grayshade images.
GIF (.gif) - Use this file format for simpler images with
a small number of flat colors (not continuous, shaded tones),
such as computer screenshots or simple illustrations and drawings.
GIFs are limited to 256 colors, so this format is rarely best
for photographs.
PDF (.pdf) - This format works well for most signs, banners
and decals. It is produced by Adobe Acrobat.
AI (.ai) - This format, produced by Abobe Illustrator, can
be easily enlarged while maintaing the crispness of the image.
Great for signs and banners.
EPS (.eps): Encapsulated postscript files are usually of
high grade and work well.
PSD (,psd): Thie format, produce by Adobe PhotoShop, also
tend to be high grade and work well.
BMP (.bmp) - BMP is the standard MS-Windows raster format.
You're limited to the Windows color pallet, so converting
from another format may cause a color shift.
TIF (.tif) - The Tagged-Image File Format (TIFF) is used
mainly for exchanging documents between different applications
and different computer platforms.
A note about format: We print images in CMYK color format
(which stands for Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black). If your image
is in RGB format (which stands for Red/Green/Blue), the color
may shift when we convert it.
Uploading Your Images
When you begin our uploading system, you'll be asked to find
the image on your computer. Your web browser will then grab
the image and upload it to our system. The speed at which
this occurs depends on the speed of your Internet connection
and the size of your image.
If there is a problem with your image, our system will let
you know. If all goes well, you'll be taken to another page
to begin the layout process.
Layout
Once your image is uploaded to our system, you'll need to
tell us how you want this image placed on the banner. If you
uploaded an image the exact size of the banner you want, you're
done. Our system will allow you to scale or resize your image
so it looks just the way you want it to.
If you have any question, please feel free to give us a call
at (615) 377-0148.
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