• Updated May 2026

Why does this picture look perfectly sharp on my computer, but come out blurry when printed?

When it comes to imagery there are two common occurrences we see when developing materials. The first is a logo sent as a JPEG, often as a screenshot taken from a website. The second is a set of images embedded inside a Word document.

In both cases, there’s a belief that with these we will have what we need. In both cases however, what arrives isn’t usable for print, and often isn’t usable for high-quality digital work either.

Most people have no reason to know why these files cause problems. But understanding why they do will save you time, money and frustration the next time you’re working with a designer, or sending materials to print directly so we’ll dig into them here.

The Word document problem

When you insert an image into a Word document, Word automatically compresses it to reduce the file size. This happens by default, quietly, without any warning. By the time the file reaches your designer, the image inside it is already a lower-quality version of the original.

Extracting it doesn’t recover the lost data because the compression has already happened. The fix is simple although can be time consuming: send the original image file directly, not via Word.

The logo JPEG problem

The other scenario we come across is being sent a logo which has been saved as a JPEG, sometimes this is a screenshot, sometimes an image downloaded from their own website.

The reason this is a problem comes down to the type of file. JPEGs are what’s called a raster file: they’re made up of pixels, and if you try to scale them up, the quality degrades. Second, images on websites are typically saved at 72 or 96 pixels per inch (PPI), which is enough for a screen, but nowhere near enough for print, which needs around 300 dots per inch (DPI).

Stretch a 72 PPI logo to fill a printed banner or brochure cover and you’ll see exactly why resolution matters.

What you need instead of a JPEG is a vector version of your logo. Vector files, you can tell if a file is a vector as it will be saved as .ai or .eps aren’t made of pixels. They’re mathematical paths which means they can be scaled to any size without any loss in quality. If you don’t have your logo in a vector format, ask whoever created it. If you can’t get hold of it, a designer can recreate it from a raster version, it can take time, but it’s worth doing once and doing properly.

Why does it look fine on screen but blurry in print?

This catches people out because the problem is invisible until it’s too late.

Your screen displays images using light pixels. Most screens run at 72–96 PPI, and because light naturally blends edges, images look sharp enough on screen even at relatively low resolution.

Printers though work differently. They use tiny dots of ink to reproduce images on paper, and they need roughly 300 DPI to do this crisply. An image that’s only 72 pixels per inch has to be stretched to fill the printed area, it’s this stretching which is where the blur comes from.

Your screen can then compound the issue by scaling images to fit its display. A photo might look perfectly sized at 6 inches wide on your monitor, but when it’s printed at A4, those pixels are being spread over a much larger physical area.

A quick sense-check before you print

To check whether an image will hold up: right-click the file, go to Properties → Details, and note the pixel dimensions. Divide the pixel width by 300 (the DPI needed for print) and you’ll get the maximum width it can be printed clearly.

An image that’s 2,400 pixels wide will print sharply at up to 8 inches. Push it beyond that, and quality will drop.

Here’s a quick reference for the most common print sizes:

1. A business card (3.5″ wide): 1,050 pixels wide
2. A standard photo (6″ wide): 1,800 pixels wide
3. An A4 page (8.3″ wide):  2,500 pixels wide
4. A large poster (24″ wide): 7,200 pixels wide

What to send your designer

To save time on both sides, here’s what actually helps:

• Logo: Vector file (AI, or EPS). If you only have a JPEG or PNG, flag it upfront.
• Photography: Original files from your camera or photographer, by this we mean not versions that have already been resized, exported for web, or embedded in documents.
• Other assets: As above, always send the original file if you can. Avoid copying images into Word, PowerPoint or email bodies before sending, go back to the source wherever you can.
• Messaging apps: WhatsApp, iMessage and similar apps compress images aggressively when you send them. What looks fine on your phone has often had its quality stripped out before it reaches the other end. Use email or a file-sharing service (like Dropbox or WeTransfer) for anything that matters.
• Copyright: Before sending any image, make sure you have the rights to use it in the format you’re planning. Our guide to image copyright covers what to check.

Getting this right from the start saves everyone time and means your finished work looks the way it should. If you’d like a team that handles the detail for you, get in touch; we’re used to working with whatever clients bring us, and we’ll always tell you honestly what’s usable and what isn’t.