Print

Printing doesn't have to cost a lot. You can often order a nice print run from an online printer for just a few dozen dollars (offset printing will often be more expensive). Google “flyer printing” and you'll find plenty of options in every region.

You can distribute your printed material at local cultural venues, sports halls, schools, associations, or businesses. Always include a responsible publisher (“publisher" with name and address). Want to distribute flyers in public spaces? Be aware of the rules!

The resolution of your photos is important for printing. By this we mean that the quality of the image must be good enough to be printed.

A digital photo is made up of pixels or “dots.” The more pixels your image contains, or the closer all those “dots” are together, the better the quality and the sharper the photo. The density of the pixels is called ‘dpi’ (“dots per inch” or “dots per inch/2.54 cm”).

For a screen, the resolution of your photo can be 72 dpi, but to print an image, the dpi must be at least 150 and preferably even 300. You can check the dpi of your image:

• in an image editing program such as Photoshop (under “Image Size”)
• on Windows: right-click on the file in Explorer and look under “Properties” > ‘Summary’
• on Mac: open the photo, click on “Extra” > “Show Info Window”

There are two main color systems in the digital and print industry: the RGB color system and the CMYK color system.

• RGB stands for “red, green, blue” and is used for digital designs.
• CMYK stands for “cyan, magenta, yellow, and black” and is used for everything that is printed.

As a general rule, the RGB color system should only be used in digital designs, usually when designing for the web. RGB colors cannot be printed. If you want to use a design for printing, you must convert your images to the CMYK color system.

Converting RGB to CMYK can be done using image editing programs such as Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator.

Be careful with images that are subject to copyright!