Hey all-
I’ve been back and forth with support on this with no real resolution (and am honestly not sure if it’s a “create” issue or a “technical” one) but I’m hoping some of you might be able to weigh in.
I have an entire series of 8.5 x 11 original illustration prints that I’d love to upload and sell. I’ve worked really hard on these and want to add them to my shop. Unfortunately, I’m hesitant to do so because the previews are so blurry that they paint my work in a bad light:
I am a designer by profession and accustomed to working with various image types, so it’s not a file size issue. In fact, I was asked by support to send over the original files, and they confirmed that they are clear.
The resolution is 300 ppi, as per Zazzle’s suggested specs. I have tried uploading as .jpg, .png, .pdf. I have tried uploading higher-res versions. I’ve tried uploading different files. They’re always blurry.
These files are 100% crystal clear on my computer. I can print on my home printer at 8.5 x 11 without issue. I also work with a print shop to print and sell these locally, and the file size is not an issue for them; their prints are always perfect.
I have designed these as 8.5 x 11 and am adding the image to this size only, so there is no reason why they shouldn’t be clear — they’re specifically designed to print at 8.5 x 11, without needing to scale up/down at all. When publishing I am not receiving a warning regarding resolution, despite the fact that the poster is extremely blurry.
When I contacted support, I was told:
“Because you can get posters in large sizes you need to adjust the product image on the website to be more accurate to a poster.”
When I asked what was meant by “adjust the product image,” (I’m already choosing “this size only”) the reply was:
“If you enlarge the size of the product that your design appears on, that the image will appear more clearly. So if you select a larger poster size, the image may be sharper.”
This doesn’t make sense, because the print is designed for 8.5 x 11 — a large poster would make the image blurrier rather than sharper, as it would be stretched to fill a space larger than it is intended to fit.
Right now I can’t imagine anyone wanting to purchase these, which is incredibly frustrating because the one print I did upload is my most-viewed product EVER (8K+ views!) but has only sold once. I can only assume this is due to the preview — heck, I wouldn’t buy it, either!
Support’s suggestion of stretching the image onto a larger poster is definitely not the answer, but is there anything I can do to make sure the previews are clear?