How to Bring Your Instagram Photos to Life

Social media platforms are not only great ways to stay connected to our friends, family and the world around us, they have also become invaluable storage for our most cherished memories in the form of photos and videos.

One such tool for photo sharing is Instagram, which has exploded in popularity since its development in 2010. But as with all photos living in our mobile apps or on social media, they are limited to the digital world.

It is, however, fairly simple to transform your favorite Instagram images into tangible prints for personal use. After perfecting your shots with Instagram’s editing features and filters, the below additional steps will help transform your digital images into high-quality paper originals that can be printed from the comfort of your own home. Simply:

1. Find a Printing Website or App

While Instagram does not make it particularly easy to download your photos onto home computers, there are some websites and apps just for this purpose. For example, Prinkl.com provides the opportunity to design and create photo prints or posters, and download them via a high-quality PDF. An app call Instaport also allows you to easily select and download your photos from Instagram onto any file on your computer.

Another option, requiring nothing more than your own computer, is to take a screenshot of your Instagram photos after logging into your Instagram account. Once the photos have been captured, you may crop and edit them accordingly prior to printing.

2. Use the Correct Printer and Paper

Although the two main types of printers – inkjet and laser – both have the ability to print out photos, inkjet printers produce significantly more vivid images with minimal pixilation, while costing less than laser options. For professional looking photos, gloss paper gives inkjet prints rich depths of colour and a bold, shiny sheen. Other popular paper options for photos include matte, paper stock and coated paper, which features a chemical coating bonded to the paper to better absorb the ink and create better quality images.

3. Edit First, Then Print

Although it may be easier to spot flaws in a photo after examining the final printed version, doing so will require multiple re-prints and result in wasted ink and paper. To save money and materials, be sure to take the time to fully edit an image prior to printing and greatly improve the chances that it comes out correctly the first time. When editing, remember to set the photo resolution to 300 DPI and make sure it aligns with the size of paper being used to avoid unwanted cropping or image stretching. To further enhance the quality, print photos using the “best” mode in the settings. This may cause the photos to take two to five times longer, but the results will be worth it.

For high-quality photos of your favorite memories printed at home, a local Cartridge World expert is ready to help answer all your printing questions. Find a local store near you.