Photo Quality Guide

Yes! A clear, well-lit phone photo can make a wonderful photo puzzle. Choose the original image from your photo library and upload it at its full resolution.

Before uploading, zoom in on the faces and important details. They should look clear and in focus. Avoid screenshots of the photo, since they usually contain less detail than the original.

You may be able to, but the original photo is the best starting point. Social media and messaging apps often compress images, which can reduce the detail available for printing. Screenshots can also turn a large original into a much smaller image.

If someone shared the photo with you, ask them to send the original file at full size or share a download link to it. This lets you keep the same favorite memory while giving your puzzle the best possible starting image.

Absolutely. Scanning an old photograph is a lovely way to turn a family memory into a photo puzzle.

For a typical small photo print, 600 dpi is a useful scanning setting. Clean the scanner glass, lay the photograph flat, and save the scan at high quality. If you don’t have a scanner, a local photo or office-services shop may be able to help.

A scan preserves the detail in the original photograph. It won’t remove existing blur, so choose the clearest print you have and check the scanned image against the size recommendations above.

First, check whether a larger version exists. The original photo on your phone, camera, or cloud backup may contain more detail than a copy downloaded from a message or social media.

You can also consider a Collage Photo Puzzle. Each photo occupies a smaller part of the finished design, so a smaller image may work well without changing your preferred puzzle size or piece count.

Our recommendations are a helpful starting point. The final result also depends on the photo’s sharpness and how much you crop it. Simply increasing the pixel dimensions of a small file does not restore missing detail.

Pixel dimensions tell you how large an image is, but they don’t tell you whether the camera captured a sharp picture. A large photo can still look soft because of movement, missed focus, or low light.

Open the original and zoom in on the main subject, especially faces. If those details already look blurry, the blur may also be visible on the printed puzzle. When choosing between similar photos, look for clear eyes, recognizable facial details, and crisp outlines.

Some cropping may be needed if your photo has different proportions from the puzzle. For example, fitting a square photo into a rectangular puzzle can trim part of the image.

Check your design preview carefully before ordering. Make sure everyone’s face is fully visible and leave some breathing room around heads, text, and other important details. Keeping these elements away from the outer edges also helps account for small variations during production.

Colors may look slightly different in print. Phones and computer screens use light to display an image, while a printed puzzle reflects the light around it. Screen brightness and display settings can also change how the same photo appears.

When reviewing your photo, use a comfortable screen brightness and check that faces and darker areas still show detail. Avoid judging the image with your screen at maximum brightness or with a warm nighttime display filter turned on.

You can upload JPG/JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, and WebP files, with a maximum size of 50 MB per file.

For photographs, JPG/JPEG or PNG is a good choice. Use the original, full-resolution image whenever possible. A larger file size alone doesn’t guarantee a sharper print—the detail and clarity of the photo matter most.