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Successful Imaging                         Printable Version (PDF)

Art To Be Square strives to produce the highest quality image reproductions from almost any image in reasonably good condition. We can work from snapshot photographs, original artwork, digital photos, scanned images and more!  

 
We can accept an image in many formats:      Unfortunately, images
found on the web cannot be reproduced. 
Digital
Camera		   Scanned
Photos		   CDorZip

Tips For Reproducing Your Art or Photo on Tile:

We will do our best to create a beautiful reproduction of your image but please remember the outcome of your tile wall hanging or tile accent can only be as good as the quality of the original. 

Please consider the following when selecting
images for reproduction on tile:

Photographs:  (Please see "Original Artwork" for guidelines and helpful hints with original art.)

Subject Matter - Close-ups and images with bright colors will produce the best results.  The main subject of your photo should occupy the majority of the space of the entire image (i.e. face close-up).

Picture Quality - Photos should be clear, in good condition and with little shadowing. The quality of the photo (i.e. clarity, brightness, spottiness) will affect the final product directly. If your photo is blurry, the tile reproduction will be blurry. If there are white flash spots on the faces in your image, the white spots will appear even more brightly when enlarged for wall hanging reproductions. Color reproduction will vary based on the tile body selected for your project. If we feel we cannot achieve satisfactory results, we will contact the customer to discuss.

Contrast - The main subject of your photo should be markedly different in color/contrast from the background of photo.
(i.e. it is difficult to see a black dog sitting on a black sofa in a dark room.)
Cropping - Since many of the Art To Be Square products are square your photo will usually be cropped. The subject of the picture will look best if there is enough background or foreground around it before it is cropped. This ensures that the subject can be centered on the tile. Art To Be Square reserves the right (unless otherwise directed) to use our own discretion for cropping images.  If we feel we cannot achieve satisfactory results, we will contact the customer to discuss.

Digital Resolution - Please try to use the best-quality image possible. We accept electronic files (from digital cameras, scanners, etc.) provided they are in the proper digital format and have sufficient resolution (at least 200 DPI*, although 300 DPI is optimal) to produce an acceptable image.  Digital photography is typically well-suited for reproduction on tile, but if your image is below the minimum resolution/size requirements, please do not simply increase the size in your editing software. You must either rescan the image or use a higher-quality image. Please only send a scanned image or an image from your digital camera, as images found on the Web will not be accepted.  File formats of either JPEG or TIFF are preferred.

Original Artwork:

  • Art work and photos to be scanned cannot be larger than 9" x 12".  You can also combine photos and artwork on a single piece of paper (up to 9" x 12"). 
  • Artwork should not be created on lined paper.  Use only one side of the paper as markings on the other side can show through on to the finished product.
  • You can sign and date your artwork BUT make sure to leave a 1/4" border from the edge of the paper to ensure it does not get cut off in processing.
  • On the back side of the photo or artwork use an arrow or the word “TOP” to indicate the top of each piece of artwork.
  • Artwork must be flat.
  • Do not use Day-Glo, glitter or white-out.
  • Brighter, bolder colors work best.
Image Requirements for large Multi-Tile Wall Hangings: To achieve a good quality digital image for larger wall hangings, Art to Be Square must interpolate the digital file to increase the print size. This process is achieved with an advanced image interpolation algorithm plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. The results are pleasing with minimal image artifacts. There is no fee for this process but please be aware that there are limits to the sizes achievable with this software in terms of acceptable image quality.

Copyright - All submitted photos must be of your own private property. Any photographs with copyrights must have been obtained with legal permission from the owner. 

*What is DPI - When a computer displays a digital image, it takes the data in the file, and displays thousands of tiny dots on your screen. Each of these dots is called a “pixel”. The more pixels an image has, the more detailed the picture can be. Image quality is measured by pixels per inch, also called dots per inch, or “dpi”.

If you already have an image and want to check the image resolution:
  • Open My Computer.
  • Find the image you want to use.
  • Set your mouse pointer on the image, click the RIGHT mouse button once, and release. A small menu will appear.
  • Set your mouse pointer at the bottom of the menu on “Properties” (It will highlight), click the LEFT mouse button once, and release. A new screen will pop up.
  • You should see several tabs across the top of the page. One of them will say “Summary.” Click it.
  • You should see a list of image properties. “Width” is the image width in pixels, and “Height” is the image height in pixels.
If you are scanning an image:
  • Set the scanner resolution to 300 dpi and save the image in a JPG format.
  • If your scanner does not have a dpi setting, use the highest available setting. Refer to your scanner’s manual for more details.


If you are planning on taking a new picture with a digital camera:

  • Make sure you have a camera that takes 2 mega pixel images or larger.
  • Make sure your camera is set to the highest setting before taking a picture.
  • Save Images in a JPG format.
  • Refer to your camera’s manual for more details.

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