Print Design Technique: Bringing Photos to Life 

Yes, high resolution adds to the overall size of press-ready files, but keeping the resolution of any photos or bitmap images consistent with press resolution is important if you want to reproduce them with the highest level of detail possible. 

“For higher end jobs, some printers will request scanned or bitmap images be over 300 dpi because the resolution of new inkjet presses may be more than two or even four times greater than 300 dpi,” explain Gooding and Schilling. “Saving bitmap images at, or very near, the resolution of the printer will allow the printer to convert pixels to dots without limiting the production resolution.”

This approach is ideal to ensure exceptional photo print quality in more high-end pieces, like marketing collateral or premium direct mailers, and it’s less ideal for print communications that rely on speed and efficiency, like customer communications. This is because higher resolution photos may produce larger files and longer processing times. 

It’s also important, after saving images the way you want, that you ensure your print provider does not automatically downsample the resolution through their prepress workflow in order to increase print speed and efficiency. As with so much in digital inkjet, establishing a clear line of communication and collaboration with your printer will help avoid this kind of complication. 

Depending on the type of project you’re designing, you could be accounting for multiple color spaces in one file. For example, if you’re printing in CMYK color space, images scanned and edited as RGB allow a larger color space for editing.

“The correct color space for your images should be determined based on your print provider’s workflow,” write Gooding and Schilling. “Even though your document will accept both RGB and CMYK images, your print provider’s workflow will be configured to one or the other.” 

The inkjet RIP or digital front end (DFE) processing will convert the RGB image more accurately to the CMYK color space of the printer using a perceptual rendering intent. Additionally, if you’re working with one of the newest generations of digital inkjet presses, run a check to see if you have the option to leave photographic images in RGB. This will enable access to the greatest number of colors within the gamut of the inkjet space. Maintaining the images as RGB avoids unnecessary color compression. 

A photo editing tool or filter can be extremely effective in getting the most out of your photographic elements in digital inkjet print. When used in a color-managed workflow, a photo editing tool or filter can simulate the color space of your inkjet device. 

For example, Adobe Photoshop can simulate a color space, support soft-proofing to help with correction, and provide various filters to enhance color quality. When using photo editing tools for print design, keep the following factors in mind to ensure the highest possible color and print quality: 

• Always apply filters and image adjustments in the correct image resolution and final color space recommended for the target print environment.

• Be careful with double converting. If an image has previously been converted to CMYK and a filter or effect can be applied to an RGB image, it is possible to convert the image back to RGB.

• Test any adjustments against your color reference document before applying them to your design project