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Dan Rodney/3 min read

Preparing Digital Photos for Print

Digital Photo → Print Workflow

1

Image → Mode → CMYK Color

Print uses CMYK; digital cameras output RGB by default.

2

Image → Image Size

Check the current resolution — most camera files come in at 72 ppi.

3

Uncheck Resample, Set Resolution to 300

Shrinks pixels to print quality without adding/removing them. Document size auto-adjusts.

4

Save As PSD or TIFF

PSD preserves layers; TIFF is best for handoff to print production.

Master Photoshop at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's Photoshop Bootcamp covers retouching, compositing, color correction, and pro editing.

Discover the necessary steps and techniques to properly prepare a digital image for print, including viewing and setting image size, understanding the pros and cons of resampling, and saving as PSD and TIFF, in our detailed Photoshop tutorial.

Topics Covered in This Photoshop Tutorial:

Viewing/setting Image Size, Resampling Pros & Cons, Saving As PSD, Saving As TIFF

Exercise Overview

A standard print image is CMYK and has a resolution of 300 ppi (pixels per inch). Digital camera images are RGB and often come in as 72 ppi or higher. We will modify an image taken with a digital camera and properly prepare it for print.

  1. From the Photoshop Class folder, open the file koala—facing camera.jpg.

  2. Go to Image > Mode > CMYK Color. If you get a message, click OK.

  3. Go to Image > Image Size. Do NOT click OK until we say!

  4. Notice that the Resolution for this file is 72 but the Document Size is 32.444 by 48.667 inches. This means you’d get a large print, but low quality.

  5. At the bottom, uncheck Resample.

  6. For Resolution, type 300. You’ll see that the Document Size reduces to 7.787 by 11.68 inches. This means you’d get a smaller print, but high quality.

    That’s the largest size this photo can be printed at full quality. It was important to uncheck Resample (which means to add, remove, or recalculate pixels). We don’t want to add/remove pixels. Instead, we’re shrinking the pixels. At 300 ppi, pixels are too small to be seen. Refer to the sidebar at the end of the exercise for more info.

  7. Click OK.

  8. Go to File > Save As.

  9. Use the following instructions to save this image as a PSD (Photoshop Document) or TIFF. What’s the difference? PSD works great with other Adobe apps. TIFFs are more widely accepted in non-Adobe programs and often have slightly smaller file sizes if LZW compressed. Both maintain full image quality.

    Save As PSD

    1. Under Format (Mac) or Save as type (Windows), choose Photoshop.

    2. Name it yourname-koala.psd and click Save.

    3. If asked to maximize compatibility, keep it checked on and click OK.

    Save As TIFF

    1. Under Format (Mac) or Save as type (Windows), choose TIFF.

    2. Name it yourname-koala.tif and click Save.

    3. Set Image Compression to LZW then click OK. LZW is a lossless compression that shrinks file size while maintaining full image quality. It’s widely accepted, but may not be compatible with all applications.

  10. Close the file.

Changing Size & Resolution

Resampling OFF: As shown below, turn off resampling to change the size of pixels, instead of adding or removing them. Small pixels = clean, crisp prints.

resampling off

Resampling ON: Turn on resampling to add or remove pixels. Fewer pixels = smaller file size (good for web graphics).

resampling on