Grainy Vistaprint Preview

jayfire

Hi yall! My graphic designer just finalized the design for my STDs and I'm about to send them off to the printer! I uploaded the designs for the front and back of the postcards in Vistaprint and the preview is looking grainy/blurry. The images I'm using are pretty large and very high resolution - so there shouldn't be a problem. 

I can't for the life of me remember if this has happened with past projects I've used VP for and I'm freaking out a little bit. Has anyone else had an issue with this?!

klk111415

I just received my STD from vista print.  We also used high resolution photos and somehow they came out less than perfect.  For the price I paid, I'm not that upset.  If you look at them up close you notice they are a little blurry, from from far away they look fine.  I'm going to contact them because we got magnets and the box came practically destroyed and some of the envelopes were bent/dirty. Hope they give me some reason to use them again for invitations!

Jessie42613

My honest advice is that if you spent the money to have something professionally created by a graphic designer, you are better off utilizing a higher-quality printing service than VistaPrint.  I've always had good luck with Overnight Prints.  Or perhaps you have a local printer you could ask?

klk111415

Just an update, I contacted Vista Print and they are reprinting my STDs due to the slight blurriness and I will be receiving the new order this Friday.  My pdf proof shows that the quality of the images is perfect so they were happy to send a new batch.  At least their customer service is great.  

Make sure you check the pdf proof- if that looks blurry, I would contact them and explain your situation. But if you are just looking at the preview, it might not look as sharp.  

mlg78

As kk111415 said, her preview looked fine, yours does not.  I would have them printed elsewhere if you can't get the preview looking good. 

jayfire

Thanks all!

@kk111415 I checked the PDF proof and it looks MUCH better than the preview before check out. I went ahead and ordered them, hopefully they'll arrive later this week! Glad to hear that they're reprinting yours for you!

@Jessie42613 My graphic designer is a friend who offered to design them as a wedding gift. Vistaprint was the way to go given our budget.

boxjelly

uh oh I had the same issue.  I figured I print images on a professional quality printer all the time at 300 DPI, I figured using 400 DPI would be fine but it was a bit blurry. I will see when I get my STDs soon

jayfire

Update: Got my STDs in the mail yesterday! They turned out beautifully! I guess the trick is to go by the PDF Proof - not the automated proof you get prior to checkout.