Pdf file size?

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone, 

Just getting started and my husband and I have a question about pdf file sizes for a 5 X 7 digital download greeting card. We are using images taken from Christmas ornaments hand painted by my husband. We photograph the ornament and then select the portion of the image we want using background remover. We load the edited image into Canva and continue designing the greeting card. The final product is a PDF on an 8.5 X 11 USPS letter size. The concern is that the resolution of the pdfs is too low for proper printing. 

Is there a recommended resolution for the digital download pdfs and how do we get the files to that point without increasing the size beyond 8.5 X 11? I did look for other forums on this subject but did not find any that addressed pdf file size. 

Thank you, 

[CuriousityShop]

Resolution is dots per square inch You can make a nice card with 250-300 DPI for a 5"x 7" size card. DPI is not size, it is saturation of detail and color. To post a picture on the web, only requires 72 dpi, but if you printed that it would be terrible.  When I use photoshop, under "Image"  I put in "Image size" (That would be the total area you want to print) then change the color to CMYK, and the resolution to 300DPI. For larger pictures like 10x13 I would use 600 resolution (DPI)

Etsy allows a size of 20 mb per instant download. If you converted one card to a PDF it should be fine. If you were to put in more than one card in the PDF, you would have to experiment with the numbers. Each "Instant download" can have up to 5 PDFs in one listing each 20 mb.

[VintageRescueSquad]

Curiosity is right, and the procedure is 100% accurate (I work for a print publication as a designer). For printing, resolution has to be at 300 DPI. 

[Amaradorn]

DPI is image quality. The higher the dpi, the better the print quality. You need to make sure the image dimensions are correct for output at min. 300dpi. A 5x7 inch image is similar to A5 so your image needs to be approx. 2480 x 1748 px.

There's a useful table here: https://www.instantprint.co.uk/printspiration/print-design-tips/size-guide

[Former_Member]

Thank you, everyone for taking the time to answer. This is all very helpful information. Now, I am going back to the files and checking to make sure they are right. Such a learning adventure!