Under the size controls in the Upload by Size window is a short list of figures that describes your whole order. They update live as you change a size or a quantity, which makes them the fastest way to catch a problem before it is printed.
Read the Figures
- Resolution is the print quality of the design you are currently editing, in DPI. It is worked out from the pixels in your file and the size you asked for, so it drops as you make the design bigger.
- Price per square unit is what your printer charges per square inch, centimetre, or millimetre, in the unit their product uses.
- Total Area is the area of every design in the window added together, with each design counted as many times as its quantity.
- Minimum appears only if your printer sets a minimum order area. It shows the threshold, and once you have items in the cart it also splits out what is already in the cart, what you are adding, and the combined total.
- Total Price is the whole window, every design and every copy.
The line beside the panel shows the same sum for the active design alone: its area, times its quantity, times the price per square unit.
These figures describe the designs in the window in front of you. Anything already in your cart is only counted in the Minimum breakdown, not in Total Area or Total Price.
Judge the Resolution
300 DPI is the usual target for a clean print. The number here is not a property of your file on its own, it is your file measured against the size you chose, so there are two ways to raise it.
- Reduce the printed Width and Height. The same pixels spread over less area means more of them per inch.
- Switch on Upscale Quality to have the design re-rendered at a higher pixel count.
A design can look acceptable in the preview and still print soft or blocky. The preview is far smaller than the finished print, so trust the number over the thumbnail.
Use the expand button in the corner of the preview to inspect the design full screen before you commit. It is the closest look you get at what the printer receives.
If a Figure Is Missing
Your printer can switch off the price breakdown for their store, which hides the Price per square unit and Total Area lines along with the area-times-quantity working. Resolution, the price of the active design, and Total Price stay visible either way. If you need the missing numbers, ask your printer.