The customer sent a low-resolution file
A file that arrives small is often not the file the customer has. Messaging apps recompress photos, browsers hand out display-sized logos, and design tools export at canvas size by default. Before artwork is treated as unusable, the channel it travelled through is worth ruling out — that request is free and is often answered within minutes.
| WhatsApp, sent as a photo | recompressed; long edge typically capped near 1,600 px |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp, sent as a document | arrives as the original file, no cap |
| Instagram DM or story screenshot | 1,080 px wide at most |
| Logo saved from a website | typically 200-800 px, already compressed |
| Canva PNG export at 1× | canvas pixels only — a 1,080 px design stays 1,080 px |
| AI, EPS, PDF or SVG | no pixel ceiling — print width becomes a choice |
| A file labelled 300 DPI | a tag, not a measurement — a 500 px file can carry it |
Rule out the channel before judging the file
The customer picked a chat window, not a resolution. The same logo that arrives at 1,600 px through a photo message arrives untouched through a document attachment, and the difference costs one sentence to ask for.
- Ask for the same file again as a document or file attachment rather than a photo
- Ask whoever designed it — the source usually sits in one person's account
- Ask for the export itself, not a screenshot of the export
Name the file type; "better quality" returns another screenshot
A request phrased as quality comes back at the same quality, because the customer has no way to see what changed. A request phrased as a file extension is answerable. Ask in order and stop at the first one that exists.
- AI, EPS, PDF or SVG — the file the designer delivered
- The largest PNG the design tool exports — in Canva, the 2× or PDF Print option
- The original photo from the camera roll rather than a screenshot of it
Put the number in the request
A request carrying a measurement reads as a specification instead of a complaint, and it tells the customer when they are done. The three lines below cover most of the traffic.
- "To print this 11 in / 28 cm wide we need it at least 3,307 px wide, or as a vector file — AI, EPS, PDF or SVG."
- "If you send it from a phone, attach it as a document; sent as a photo it is recompressed on the way."
- "If the largest file you have is smaller than that, we can still print it — at 5.5 in / 14 cm, which is what its pixels cover."
Decide in advance what happens if nothing arrives
An unanswered request stalls the order quietly, and the delay surfaces on the day the customer expected the parcel. The first message carries its own deadline and its own default: printed at the safe width, or held. Written at the start, that default is something the customer accepted. Raised after the deadline, it is an argument.
What the system contributes here
The pipeline measures the file that did arrive, states the width it covers, repairs what can still be verified after the repair, and stops on what cannot. The wording sent back to the customer comes attached to that measurement, so the request carries a number rather than an opinion about the file.
FAQ
- The customer says this is the only file they have.
- Then the conversation moves from quality to size. The measured width the file covers becomes the offer, and the size originally asked for becomes a decision the customer takes with the number in front of them.
- Should I just ask for 300 DPI?
- DPI without dimensions describes nothing. A 500 px file can carry a 300 DPI tag and still cover 1.7 in. Ask for pixel width, or for a vector file — both are answerable without the customer understanding resolution.
- Is it worth contacting the customer's designer directly?
- With the customer's permission, usually yes. The source file normally exists in exactly one account, and one message reaches it faster than several rounds of re-sent photos.