3 Steps to Better Digital Prints

3 simple steps you can take to get better prints from your digital photos...


1. Watch the resolution - Remember that in order to get a quality print, youll must have the DPI to back it up. The "Dots Per Inch" - pixels if you will - are the stuff your photos are made of. If you do not have enough of em, you are not going to get a good print.


As a general guideline, attempt to keep your resolution between 200-300 DPI. More than 200-300 DPI doesnt hurt, but usually isnt going to improve the image much either (unless you observe your prints with a magnifying glass or something).


If your photo doesnt have the resolution to make the size print you want, consider a smaller print and some nice matting. Dont "force" your photo program to make the extra pixels you need - it just never works very well.


2. Use Good Paper - When printing photos, use a "photo" paper. Generally, the stuff the printer manufactures sell is really good. Its created to be used with the ink in your printer and will almost always give really good results.


If you do not want to fork over the large bucks for the paper from your printer manufacturer, there's some good alternatives out there. For instance, Ive had a bunch of luck with various papers from Kodak, as well as I have a friend whos had really good results with Office Depot photo paper (really). It usually takes a bit of experimentation to get the printer settings (paper, color, etc) just so, but once you have it, these alternative papers do look great.


Oh, as well as if you really wanna get fancy, Ive even seen some pricey "fine art" photo papers you may want to consider.


3. Printer Settings - This is the most important of the bunch. When you print a photo, be sure to hit the "Properties" button on your printer dialog box.

The first thing to check is for a "paper type" option. If youre stuffing photo paper into your printer and have plain paper selected. In order to get the best quality, always match your paper mode properly!


Next, check the color settings. Some printers give you a ton of options here, some none at all. In my experience, most of the time I just go with the defaults and Im pretty happy. If you think your photos could look better, through all means use this area to attempt and enhance em.

Heres how my screen looks - your mileage will almost certainly vary:

In conclusion, do not be afraid to experiment. Sure, youll go through some photo paper in the process, but discovering the best print settings will be worth it. Besides, once you get the ideal match between paper, resolution, as well as printer settings youll be able to repeat it all the time.