Why do my images look blurry in the software?

After importing your full size photos into Picaboo, downsized (or 'compressed') versions of your photos are used for displaying them within the software.

The full-quality/original versions of your photos will be used for printing rather than the downsized versions you see within the software. We are currently evaluating this situation and will likely increase the size of the "display" images in a future update.

In the meantime, make sure none of your images have the low resolution warning, which means the photo in question may not be of sufficient resolution to print at high quality.

If you do not see that warning and your original images look fine outside the program, even if you zoom in on them, they should be printed that way as well.

If you have doubts about how an image may print, try zooming in on it (outside the editor) to view it at 200% scale.  

How to zoom to 200%

On a Mac: zoom in using Preview then: 

1. Open the image in Preview on your Mac. 
2. Add the scale box to your Preview toolbar if you don't see it by going to View > Customize Toolbar and dragging the Scale item to your toolbar.
3. Enter 200% in the Scale box and inspect your image for grain, blurriness, and pixelation. If you see any of these issues at 200% scale, then the image will look that way or worse in print, and you may want to avoid using that image. 

On Windows: using the Windows Photo app or Photo Viewer, follow the steps below to zoom in on an image.

1. To change the magnification level gradually, in Filmstrip or Single view, use the Zoom slider 
2. To view a picture at a specific percentage, in Filmstrip or Single view, click the arrow next to the Zoom box on the Standard toolbar, and select the setting you want

A special note about printing text

We recommend wherever possible to type any desired text or captions into a text box since this is the only way to ensure that the text will not be blurry.  Text that was converted into and imported as an image file will never be as clear as text that is typed into a text box because of how the two different elements are handled digitally. 

Although viewing the text at 200% scale should give you a good idea of how the clearly an image (or converted text) will print, it is not a guarantee.  The ultimate test is the printed book.  If you plan to order multiple copies, you should always order a single printed "proof" copy first.