My printed design looks blurry

Printed a design and it turned out blurry or pixelated? There are several reasons why the design you printed or your Canva Print order may appear this way. The most common reason is using low-resolution photos.

You might've used a low-resolution photo in your design.

To get clear and high-quality prints, upload high-resolution images. You can also use images and elements from our media library as they are in high resolution.

For many Canva Print products, we’ll alert you during the proofing step in checkout if your design contains an image that doesn’t meet the required resolution for that product and size.

Here are a few tips to check your image quality and resolution before submitting your order:

• Image dimension: This is the photo’s size in pixels. Generally, the larger the image, the better it will look when printed.
• Image resolution: This is the number of pixels or dots per inch measured in a photo. The minimum recommended resolution for print is 300 DPI. Most photos from the internet are in 72 DPI which is why they usually print out blurry. Check the section below to learn how to check photo resolution.
• Photo source: Check where you get your photos. Most photos from the internet or social media are in low-resolution (72 DPI) to facilitate faster loading. We recommend using photos obtained directly from cameras or photographers.
• PDF proof (Canva Print): When you place your print order, there’s an option to download a PDF proof. Please download and check this proof. If the proof looks blurry, your prints will most likely be blurry. Learn more about proofing your designs for print.
• Size of the photo on the design: If using high-resolution photos isn’t possible, we recommend you include them in smaller sizes in your design. This is to reduce any potential blurriness when printed. We don’t recommend using low-resolution photos for large designs or backgrounds.

1. Look for the photo you want to use from the File Explorer.
2. Right-click on the photo and select Properties. A window will appear with the image’s details.
3. Go to the Details tab to see the image’s dimensions and resolution.

1. Open the image on Preview, the default image and PDF viewer programme for Mac.
2. After the image opens on Preview, click on Tools from the menu bar on top.
3. Select Show Inspector. Details on the image dimensions and DPI should show.