Emma Davis Print Production Specialist at 4OVER4.COM

Emma is our prepress and print production voice, built from the knowledge of our production team, with over 20 years in printing.

Question

What file format should I use for photography printing?

Answer

For photographic prints, the file format decides how much color and detail survive the press. A high resolution PDF in CMYK is the most reliable choice.

Setting	Recommended
Format	PDF, with TIFF as a backup
Color mode	CMYK
Resolution	300 DPI at final size

Convert from RGB to CMYK yourself so you control how the colors shift
If you must send JPEG, save at maximum quality to avoid compression artifacts
Add 0.125 in bleed on any image that runs to the edge

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What file format should I use for photography printing?

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