There are a lot of reasons why prints don’t look as good as they do on your computer screen but the most common reason is that you didn’t properly prepare your images for printing. There are a few things that you need to do that can dramatically improve print quality. The most important is calibration. Nothing will guarantee subpar results more than skipping the calibration process. Different devices (your phone, your desktop monitor, your printer) all render colors differently. This is because reflected light is different from transmitted light.
How do I enlarge a photo to a poster size?
If you’re using a DSLR or a mirrorless camera that uses digital sensors, you’ll want to use the native color profile that’s included with your camera. This will provide the closest match to your original file. You’ll also need to use a quality picture printing and high-quality inks, which will make a huge difference in the overall quality of your prints.
Another option is to use a service like Printique which will optimize your files for their specific printer and inks. This will help reduce the variation in color that you can sometimes see with online printing services.
Finally, you can use a site like ShootProof to automate the entire process of delivering high-resolution prints to your clients. With this option, you can create galleries of your images and let your client pick their favorite prints and sizes and the order is automatically sent to the lab. ShootProof also offers a cool feature that lets your client see what a print will look like hanging on their wall!