Print your art like a pro
Everything you need to turn your download into a beautiful wall — paper types, printers, sizing, and the mistakes that give digital art a bad reputation.
Three main options, each with trade-offs:
Home printer — Best for small sizes (up to 8×10 or 11×14). Fast, cheap, convenient. Not ideal for anything larger — color depth suffers.
Local print shop — Staples, Office Depot, Walmart Photo. Sizes up to 24×36. Expect $2–$8 per print. Same-day pickup.
Online services — Best quality overall, especially for large sizes and gift-worthy prints. Takes 3–7 days shipping.
Matte — Soft, no glare, gallery feel. Best for coastal, nautical, botanical prints. Our recommendation.
Glossy — Shiny, vibrant colors. Best for high-contrast photography. Catches glare in lit rooms.
Photo paper (semi-gloss / satin / luster) — Middle ground. Gallery quality with reduced glare. Great all-round choice.
Fine art / museum paper — Textured, archival, feels premium. Worth it for statement pieces you want to keep for decades.
Best overall — Artifact Uprising — Premium quality, beautifully packaged, museum-grade paper. Higher price but the finish is exceptional.
Best value — Mpix — Gallery quality at reasonable prices. Wide range of sizes and papers. Fast shipping.
Best for canvas — Printful — Canvas and metal prints handled well.
Best for large sizes — Persnickety Prints — Museum-grade paper, great color accuracy, sizes up to 24×36 and beyond.
Message us with the size you need and we'll resize any file for you — free, within 24 hours.
DPI stands for "dots per inch" — it's how detailed your print will be at a given size. 300 DPI is the industry standard. Every file we send you is 300 DPI.
Common mistake: Taking a screenshot of your preview image and printing that. Screenshots are usually 72 DPI — way too low. Always print from the original file we send you.
Match your frame to a standard size, don't guess. Standard frame sizes: 4×6, 5×7, 8×10, 11×14, 16×20, 18×24, 24×36.
Buy your frame first, then print to fit. Much easier than printing then hunting for a matching frame.
Popular frame brands: IKEA (Ribba, Silverhojd), Target (Threshold), Framebridge (premium), Michaels (good sales).
Wrong paper type — Printing a soft nautical scene on glossy paper looks cheap. Match paper to art style. Coastal → matte.
Home printing at large sizes — Home inkjets can't handle color depth at 16×20 or larger. Use an online service.
Not calibrating your monitor — Colors on your screen may look slightly different from print. For critical color matching, use a service with color calibration (Mpix, Persnickety).
Storing prints in humid areas — Prints warp in bathrooms and unheated garages.
Frame color rules:
Add a white mat (2" wide) around your print — makes it look 2× more expensive.
Hanging heights: Center of artwork at 57" from the floor (gallery standard). Above sofa: 6–10" above the couch back.