Blurred images in album sharing

[Sakura]

Hello. I'm sorry if this is redundant - I couldn't find a similar post to answer my questions.

I've just finished my first album on MP and checked it carefully over and over. Then noticed that there were a couple of images showing up blurry in the shared album link. Those images look fine when I'm making the album or in the preview. Which would be reflecting the actual outcome?

Relating to this question, would the MP software warn you when a selected image is no longer in the desirable resolution when zoomed in? I notice the red frame appears when the image is first placed onto the page when the resolution is not ideal, but I don't know if the software detects it when images are zoomed in and no longer appropriate in size.

Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[mypublisher]

Hi Sakura,

If you have some pictures that are too low in pixel dimensions, they will be outlined with a red line as you make your book.

Follow the steps below to locate the picture with the red outline:

- Click on the Make Book/Card/Caldendar button in the lower tool bar.

- Look carefully at each picture on each page to determine if the line is blue or red. If the line is blue around all the images on the page, click on the Next arrow to advance to the next page.

- If you're having trouble determining which image is outlined in red, you must click on your images and the outline will be more prominent.

- If the line is red, this photo is below our recommended pixel dimensions for good print quality and needs to be adjusted. The best way to make the picture print at a higher quality is to reduce the size of the image.

Here's how to reduce the size of an image in your software:

- Click on the picture with the red outline, a tool bar with photo editing options will open up.

- Click on the Zoom Out (-) button until the outline of the image turns blue. You can also hold down the "Shift" key on your keyboard while you do this operation, which will reduce the image by greater increments. If the picture becomes really small in the template frame before the red line goes away, we recommend that you do not use this photo in your project.

After you have made sure all red line outlines have been corrected, and you have completed your preview, your project is ready for purchase.

ALSO to ensure that your images are printed to our highest standards, it's crucial that they conform to the following specifications:

--- FILE FORMAT ---------------------------------

Your images must be saved as JPEG files (file ends in .jpg or .jpeg)

--- IMAGE SIZE ---------------------------------

Image size requirements (in pixels) ultimately depend on the desired printed size.

The software will warn you if you have used a photo that has insufficient resolution for the size you have chosen. These images will be outlined in red as opposed to blue. Reduce the size of any red outlined images (by using the Zoom Out button) until the outline turns from red to blue; otherwise, images will not print clearly and may appear pixelated.

If, on the other hand, your images slightly exceed the specs, or are used in a smaller size in the book (in a four per page layout for example), your software will downsize them accordingly – no adjustments are necessary.

The following image sizes (in pixels) represent the minimum dimensions for the largest images (one photo per page) in each of our products:

- Paperback PocketBooks: 1500x1150 pixels
- Classic Hardcover Books: 2150x1700 pixels
- Deluxe Hardcover Books: 2850x2225 pixels

The maximum dimensions are:

- Paperback PocketBooks: 2250 x1725 pixels
- Classic Hardcover Books: 3225x2550 pixels
- Deluxe Hardcover Books: 4275x3338 pixels

--- RESIZING ---------------------------------

If you have a lot of large images that exceed the maximum specs listed above, you may want to consider resizing them with a third party image editor prior to bringing them into your software.

While your software is capable of sizing the images accordingly when the book is purchased, resizing them first using a dedicated image editor will give rise to better performance while making the book, as well as faster uploads.

--- USING THIRD PARTY IMAGE EDITING SOFTWARE ---------------------

If you are using photo editing software to create or edit your images, please keep these points in mind:

~ Use sRGB or RGB when enhancing photos – no CMYK.
~ Use sRGB or RGB for black and white photos – no Grayscale.
~ Remove any vectors, slices or layers from your images.

IMPORTANT: Please allow a 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch 'gutter' around all sides of these images to allow for cropping. Without this allowance, any text or image elements near the edges of the image will be cut off when the book is printed.

--- ASPECT RATIO ---------------------------------

If you want to use square images in your book, we recommend that you use a third party image editor to create a rectangular document that maintains a 4:3 aspect ratio, using at least the minimum specs listed above.

You can then place the square image into this rectangular document, allowing a border or background to occupy the remaining space in the rectangle.

Inserting this rectangular image with the 4:3 aspect ratio into the templates in your softwarewill ensure that images with differing aspect ratios are printed without distortion or cropping. This also holds true for any image whose aspect ratio differs from that of the book – ie, panoramic or widescreen images.

--- VIEWING IMAGE DETAILS -----------------------------

To verify specific information about your images, you'll need to take the following steps. Please note that you cannot do this from within your software– this information can only be acquired from the original image file.

PC Users

~ Right click on the image
~ Left click 'Properties' from the menu that follows
~ Left click on the Summary tab
~ Left click on Advanced

Mac Users

~ Right (or ctrl) click on the image
~ Left click 'Get Info' from the menu that follows
~ Left click on the 'More Info' arrow

From here, you can view an image's pixel dimensions.

Hope this helps!

MyPublisher

[Sakura]

Thanks for the explanations in detail. I was able to zoom in one of the photos to a point that MP software showed it in a red frame (makes sense!), and was able to ensure all my photos were in the acceptable resolutions before I submitted for print. I assume the blurred images I previously saw in the preview mode were perhaps caused by a lack of graphic processing speed on my computer? or any hang-up in MP software itself?? (anyone agrees?)

My first album is now in order. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the result myself!! Thanks, MP!