Need help getting text to appear clear on photo cards

[kacy_hughes]

I recently designed a baby shower invitation in Photoshop. I made the card 4x6 inches with 350 dpi, turned the

background blue, stamped some cute things on there and typed the text in white in the middle. Then I merged all of

the layers and saved it as a JPEG image to print off a bunch. In the printed version (I tried 2 different places) the text

and designs are slightly blurred or pixely. Is there a way to design these types of cards to make everything print

clearly? I also design cards for wedding clients and I just don't know why this particular card didn't turn out as clear.

Thanks! Oh...what size in pixels do I need to make the card to print a 4x6 with nothing cut off? I left plently of room

around the edges of the card and it still printed funny and cut off the bottom of the card and left a white strip on the

top.

[jo_dinning]

"In the printed version (I tried 2 different places) the text and designs are slightly blurred or pixely."

 

What was the dpi of your imported designs? Did you enlarge them after import into PS? If you are using graphics only (no photo images) then TIFF is always better for print than JPEG.

 

"Is there a way to design these types of cards to make everything print clearly?"

 

Use a larger point size or a sans serif font in bold; Make sure everything you import is the right size for the final artwork; Print using a quality printer, or inquire with the print shop the dimensions and bleed you require to get this right.

 

"Oh...what size in pixels do I need to make the card to print a 4x6 with nothing cut off? I left plently of room around the edges of the card and it still printed funny and cut off the bottom of the card and left a white strip on the top."

 

Check the printer margins - no-one here can sort that out.

 

To summarise: speak to the print shop or read your printer manual and make sure everything is the right quality at source.

[cochranb]

You might want to also check the "anti-aliasing" setting - leaving it at "none" will cause some pixeling

[Jerry_]

One suggestion: make up the card in the same size image that your camera creates when you shoot.

 

 

 

Then add in text (somewhere in the area of 38 to 44 point type.) When you have the image done to your liking, save the image in .psd format. Then re-save it with a new name as a .jpg file.

[Keep everying at 300 dpi through this stage.]

 

 

The .jpg file, taken to the place to make you cards should have clear type on your cards.

 

 

 

Most one-hour machines are not understanding your 4x6-inch format, but the software in the machines can handle a camera-sized image in getting a decent 4x6-inch print made.

[manuel barrera houston,]

rasterize the text or work on illustrator, may also try diffuse filter (check the bottom box)