What Types Of Photos Can Be Reproduced?

By Author: Leonard Simmons
Total Articles: 152
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Prints, especially in large format, can turn any photo into a banner, sign or wall mural. Many organizations and businesses have signage needs and wonder what types of photos can be used in various physical displays and exhibits. There are many things to consider when it comes to photo use and reproduction, and professionals in the signage industry will be able to clear this up for you.

To answer this question adequately, there are a number of different parameters to be examined. Below we have laid out the essential photo elements that determine the ability and legality of reproducing a photo for any number of commercial signage purposes.

Copyrights:

The very first thing that needs to be addressed in using any photo for a sign or any sort of display is whether it is copyright protected. If an image is copyrighted, you are not legally permitted to use it for anything without the permission of whoever holds the copyright. If a business or organization uses a copyrighted image without permission (i.e. illegally), they risk lawsuits and other legal action that can be costly to their business. Most people ...
... with copyrighted images will request payment for fair commercial use in signs, banners, architectural signage, and any number of media.

Resolution:

Another important element of photography to consider for large format signage is the quality and resolution of the image. With any image, there are limitations as to how large it can be scaled for use in signage. The resolution of an image can be measured in a number of ways, but most of the images we work with today are digital and measured in pixels. In order for a photo to be used for the large format printing utilized in signage, the image has to be of adequate resolution. It is important to use a high resolution photo that will be able to be printed at adequate dots per inch (dpi) - we typically work with 1200 dpi. This is very important if you are going to get a quality display that looks professional. Using low resolution images for signs results in blurry, pixelated and otherwise shoddy looking displays.

Colors:

There is also the element of color to consider in photo reproduction. While many beautiful signs are created in grayscale (with various shades of black and white ink), there are different color formats that can be utilized. When businesses and organizations seek out print jobs for signs, they often hear quotes for 3-color, 4-color or 7-color printing. RGB (red, green, blue) and CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (i.e. black) are the two major color models used in processing imagery. The professionals at Fortuna Sign Group specialize in all color formats and can reproduce any image with color-correct accuracy and clarity.

Digital Formats:

There is also an array of digital printing image formats that can be reproduced for signage and other large format printing. High quality Jpegs, TIFF files, GIFS, Exifs, BMPs and even raw image files can be used for large scale photo reproduction - granted the resolution is high enough. Another file format is known as vectors, and these are based on mathematical iterations and geometry that makes whatever graphic capable of enlarging at any size in perfect resolution and clarity. Many graphic designers and signage professionals work with vectors in order to build logos and other graphics for large scale displays.

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