We often receive images or logos which a customer would love to use on their large format prints but the resolution is just too low.
Here we take you through how we supersize your logo designs and your images for banner printing.
How do we know an image is too low a resolution for a large print?
JPG, PNG, and Rasterised Logo Design
Before anything, we look at the format of the file. Logo files are usually sent in a raster format of JPG or PNG file type. This means the image is designed to be a certain size, ie. there will be enough little pixels for the image to be clear at one size, but not necessarily another. For example, the jpg might have enough pixels for the logo to appear sharp on a company website homepage or the bottom of an email, but it may not be designed for the side of a building. If this same JPEG or PNG image is doubled in size for printing a large banner, there will be pixels or squares visible.
For JPEG, PNG and other raster image formats, we look at the image properties. One of the fastest indicators is the file size; if the file is less than 100kb it is clear the image is not big enough for large prints. If the logo design is too small, there won’t be enough points of information or data to make a large crisp print.
PDF, AI, and Vector Formats
Vector formats are brilliant for what we need when printing banners for railings to scaffolding or bigger. Vector logos are like an elastic painting, the format includes a mathematical formula to make a logo sharp no matter how large it is printed.
Unfortunately, this is extra confusing, as occasionally a JPG logo design will be embedded into a PDF. Although the file sent is a pdf, it is possible that the file embedded within the pdf is still not high enough resolution for printing.
If a file is genuinely in vector format we have no concerns about pixelation and do not need to check the file size for print.
Supersizing A Logo Design
So your logo is a raster PNG or JPEG format and you want a huge building wrap printed for your construction works. Hope is not lost, even if your logo is a raster; at Edinburgh Banners, we have a few different solutions.
Redrawing the Logo Design
If your logo is made of simple shapes we can quickly redraw it. Our graphic design team has experience redrawing all sorts of images or logos to replicate the original design. The team will also save the logo design in a vector format so it can be printed in any size in the future.
Here is an example of when we recently redrew a portion of a customers logo for a PVC banner.
Image Upscaling
Our graphic design team also has use of some truly cutting-edge image upscaling software such as Adobe Photoshop CC. Ideal for preparing images for PVC banners, this software will use its complex algorithm to add pixels and smooth joins. Commonly used for building wraps and scaffold banners, it is actually rarely a day which goes past when the software is not used in preparation for a customer’s smaller prints.
How Large Can I Print an iPhone Image
Do you enjoy the finer things in life and want the absolute finest prints? We recommend the following guide for converting an image to calculate its maximum print size.
For high-quality photo prints, we recommend printing at 300dpi. 300 dots per square inch represents the industry standard for a high-quality magazine or high-quality photo printing. If you do have a logo design that is rasterised, you should also follow these equations.
An iPhone 6 12mp camera shoots an image 400opixels x 3000pixels. By crudely dividing these dimensions by 3oo or 150 this will give a guide for how large you can print.
- Iphone 6 12mp camera, Photo-Quality 300dpi = 13inches x 1oinch print
- Iphone 6 12mp camera, Quality Canvas 150dpi = 26inches x 2oinch print
An Iphone 6, 5, 5S, 5C 8mp camera captures 3264pixels x 2448pixels images. Again, by dividing these dimensions by 3oo or dpi this will give a guide for how large you can print.
- Iphone 6, 5, 5S, 5C 8mp camera, Photo-Quality 300dpi = 11inches x 8inch print
- Iphone 6, 5, 5S, 5C 8mp camera, Quality Canvas 150dpi = 22inches x 16inch print
This assumes no image manipulation using our upscaling software.
If you have any questions regarding image sizes for your banners please contact us directly.
