If you are completely new to digital photo printing, there are a few things that you should know ahead of time. When you are aware of the benefits and limitations of digital photo printing, you can be sure that you will get the best results and be happy with your pictures. Here's a brief guide to everything you need to know about digital photo printing.

1. The quality of your camera will dictate the results. While there are a few things that you can do to optimize an image, the type of camera you are using will have a big impact the finished results for digital photo printing. Newer cameras usually have a high enough resolution, or pixels per inch, to produce high quality pictures that will print very well. However, camera phones, webcams and older digital cameras may not have a high enough resolution to get good results. A good rule of thumb to follow is to use a camera that has at the very least more than 1 megapixel resolution. Over 3 megapixels is ideal.

2. Editing your photos is important. In order to get great results from digital photo printing, you may need to edit your photos a little bit. Whether it's fixing a problem in the photograph, such as a light orb or red eye, taking the time to edit these issues out of a photograph will help you get better results. You can do this by using photo editing software and the process is very easy. Each different type of software will have a little different method for taking care of these problems, but tutorials are widely available.

3. Use the right scanner. If you are scanning in old photographs in order to use digital photo printing for restoration an extra copies, it is a good idea to get a very good scanner. Once again, the resolution that the scanner can produce will have a big impact on your finished results. In addition, it is important to use a flatbed scanner to avoid the risk of having your images warped or torn while they are being scanned in.

4. Remove any photos you don't want to be printed. Unlike traditional cameras, when you are using a digital photo printing service, you get to control which pictures will be printed. This is an economical alternative to traditional processing and you're in complete control over which pictures do and do not get printed. It's a good idea to organize all of your photos into one folder. Then, you can go through them all and find which ones you don't want to print. Simply move these into another folder and you'll be ready to go.

5. Uploading is necessary. In order to get your pictures printed by a digital photo printing service, you'll need to upload them to their website. Generally, most services will provide you with a secure account area where your images will be stored. You can then place your order right from your account and decide how many pictures you want to have printed.