How can I make an image look good online but poor for 5x7 prints?
Asked 4/6/2013
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I need to prepare studio photos so they look fine on websites and social media, but do not produce good-quality 5x7 or larger prints. Is there a practical way to do this in Photoshop, or is the main solution simply to limit the image dimensions/resolution?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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You simply need to set a low enough resolution. Set the image size no larger than the number of pixels to be displayed in the browser. Screen resolutions are generally lower than print, but it's still going to look "ok" printed by most people's definition even though it will clearly not be professional quality.
Originally by user11392. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11392
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The practical way is to export the image at reduced pixel dimensions. Web display only needs enough pixels for on-screen viewing, while good prints need much more.
A common rule of thumb is:
- About 300 ppi for a high-quality print
- Around 100 ppi may still look acceptable to many people
For a 5x7 print, roughly 1500×2100 pixels is around the point where it stops being a strong-quality print. If you want to be safer, go lower—around 500×700 pixels will look much worse in print, though that may also be small for some web uses.
So yes: in Photoshop, the main solution is to downsize the file before publishing. There isn’t a magic setting that makes an image good on screens but bad in print beyond limiting the available pixels. Keep in mind that even a small web image can still produce an “okay” print by some people’s standards—it just won’t be professional quality.
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