Vector right?

[DeZiner]

Hey everyone! it's been awhile since I last posted, but I'm back with yet another question.Just playing around I made this graphic for a greeting card; yeah Raster. When I finished it, it appeared clear and perfect in my preview window, but when I printed, it came out like it lacked sharpness. I know the instant remedy would be to make it a vector image, but is there any other way to keep it clear? why would it show perfect in my preview window and then change once printed? typical raster program routine I guess. Here's one of the images:

[Patrick Shannon]

Only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that the dpi is too low. Lots of graphics look good on screen, but the clarity of the printed page shows their true nature. When working with raster images, make sure they're at least 300 dpi (and if it's black and white text or art, maybe even as high as 600-1200). You don't have this problem with vector images because their dimensions and lines are mathematically calculated and drawn on screen.

Patrick Shannon

'Dear valued customer, go home and die. Signed, your friendly graphic artist.'

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[DeZiner]

Okay thanks.http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/emoticons/specool.gif