---
type: faq
title: "How will my printed cards look when viewed up close?"
description: "Cards look as sharp as your artwork resolution, so keep photos at 300 dpi at final size, since lower resolution prints blurry while vector stays crisp."
resource: https://www.4over4.com/faqs/prepress-files/how-will-my-printed-cards-look-when-viewed-up-close
tags: ["Printing Terms Glossary", "faq"]
generated:
  by: "process:4over4-mapp-build"
  at: 2026-10-20T21:01:19.542Z
timestamp: 2026-10-20T21:01:19.542Z
sources:
  - resource: https://www.4over4.com/faqs/prepress-files/how-will-my-printed-cards-look-when-viewed-up-close
    title: "How will my printed cards look when viewed up close?"
status: stable
---

# How will my printed cards look when viewed up close?

Up close, your printed cards will look as sharp as the resolution of the artwork you supply. Print is far less forgiving than a screen, so anything that looks a little soft on your monitor tends to look noticeably blurry or jagged once it is on paper. All rasterized images (photos and any flattened graphics) should be 300 dpi at final print size. Images below 300 dpi will print blurry and/or pixelated, with soft edges and visible squares in fine detail. Small text and thin lines show problems first, so give them the most attention when you check your file. Vector logos and vector type stay crisp at any size because they are not tied to a pixel count. If you are unsure, zoom your file to 100 percent (or higher) on screen. What you see at that zoom is close to what the press will reproduce.

Cards look as sharp as your artwork resolution, so keep photos at 300 dpi at final size, since lower resolution prints blurry while vector stays crisp.

[Order Standard Business Cards](https://www.4over4.com/product/standard-business-cards)

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