If you are just distributing your book to your family, it probably won't be a big deal, although using a copyrighted image for any purpose without permission is technically illegal. The sad fact is that you can't be 100% sure, unless you have downloaded the image from a site on which the rights usage restrictions are stated very clearly. How can I be sure the image I've chosen is free from copyright restrictions? If so, you may want to look for a better image, because those artifacts will definitely show up on the printed page. Zoom in on the image to see if there are any blocky 'artifacts' or jagged edges. Another thing to consider is that even if an image has enough resolution (pixels), it may be compressed (saved at a low quality) and still look bad. So, if you wanted to use that photo to cover an 8 x 10 page, it's going to be too small. Problem is, I don't know what size any of these images are, or if they are safe for me to use without getting sued. I just put Neil Armstrong in the search string and clicked and this is what came up. Here's an example of an image search I did for my buddy Neil. I'm going to show you two little simple tools you can use in Google Image search to find the right kind - and the right size - images for your project.

How to Scan Photos for Print Google Image Search What You Need to Know About Jpeg Compression The Funnel Method for Scanning Photos - Infographic (For more detailed information about resolution for print projects, see these posts:) Because you need more than three times the number of pixels for print use than for internet use. But there aren't enough pixels, so an image that looks great on the screen would look blurry and pixilated in print. A client will give me an image she pulled off the internet and want it to appear as a full page in her book. Why You Need High-Res Images for Print - and How to Get ThemĪs a personal history book designer, this is probably the number one problem I face with clients on a daily basis. If you want to fill in some holes or jazz up the visuals in your project, there are a lot of places to get great images that are free, high quality, and don't trample on someone else's copyright. If you are in the process of gathering images to supplement your life story writings, you will generally be using photos from your own life.īut don't feel you have to limit the images in your book to what you have on hand.

Google search with image