Design, artwork & proofs

My artwork looks blurry or pixelated

A screen shows far less detail than print needs, so an image that looks sharp on your monitor can still print soft. You usually need the original, full-size image rather than one saved from a website, an email or a social post.

Where soft images usually come from

  • Saved from a website or social media — those are compressed for speed.
  • Pulled from an email, which often shrinks attachments.
  • A small logo scaled up to fill a large space.
  • A screenshot, which is only ever screen resolution.

What to try

  1. Find the original file from whoever made it — a designer, a photographer, your sign company.
  2. For a logo, ask for a vector file (.ai, .eps or .svg). Vectors scale without ever going soft.
  3. If the original is genuinely gone, use the image smaller on the piece rather than larger.

We recommend

We will flag a low-resolution image during the free design review before it prints. If you are unsure, ask us first — this is much cheaper to catch before press than after.