This guide explains how to access and use the crop tool when submitting a new print or editing an existing print.

The crop tool of a specific product is accessed by clicking the 'Adjust Image' button located to the left beside each product source.
Each individual product range has its own crop tool so you can adjust each product's source image to your desire.
You can even upload and use individually prepared source images for any product.
This would save the time and effort of adjusting your originally submitted image for every desired product, and also increase the quality of your products with more suitably and custom designed source images.

The short version of this guide:
Play with the crop tool for a few minutes and you should get the entire hang of it. It's very easy to use!

Prints Crop Tool Guide

Features & typical uses

Change Image
Clicking the 'Change Image' button will pop up your File Deck, where you can upload and select source images for the current product.
You can upload multiple images at once and close the File Deck.
The upload process will continue in the background and you can simply go back to the submission process.

Typical use: To upload additional source images in case the originally submitted image does not meet the requirements for desired products, or to provide individually designed source images.


Selection Tool
The selection tool appears as a broken outline with markers at every corner and the middle of every side around your source image within the product canvas.
By clicking and dragging any of the six markers you can change the shape and size to select a specific portion of your source image.
Portions of your image outside of your custom selection will simply be filled with the color set in the MATTE COLOR picker.
The selection tool is strictly set to mirror your actions horizontally and vertically to ensure any top/bottom and left/right margins are always even.
Additionally, if you select a portion within your image that is smaller than the image itself, you can drag it around within the selection frame to highlight a specific off-center portion of it.

Typical use: To adjust product borders or To trim possibly undesired portions, such as signatures, titles, decorative borders etc. off of your source image within the product canvas


Scaling Slider
Use the Scale tool to resize your source image within the product canvas. Center position is default, sliding towards the left will decrease the size, sliding towards the right will increase the size of your image on the product.
Warning: Enlarging your image on the product will effectively lower the original DPI value which might cause sizes of the current product range to become unavailable due to low DPI.

Typical use: To proportionally adjust overall border thickness or to get rid of existing borders entirely


Presets Menu
This drop-down menu contains common and safe layout settings.
Crop to fit (no margins): Your image will be scaled to fill up the entire product and cropped if your image's aspect ratio is different from the product's
Crop to fit (5% margins): Your image will be scaled down and cropped to achieve an all around 5% matte
Matte to fit (no margins): Your image will be scaled to fit entirely in the product, which will result in a horizontal or vertical matte if your image's aspect ratio differs from the product's
Matte to fit (5% margins): Your image will be scaled to fit within a 5% matte on the nearest possible axis
Leave image unchanged: Use of this preset is only recommended if your image's aspect ratio matches the product's exactly, otherwise cropping may occur.
Custom: This will be auto-selected if you make any adjustments.

Warning: Depending on your original source image, the 'Crop to fit' presets might result in a product design that is NOT desirable, or acceptable by the Quality Control staff.
Simply do not crop what should not be cropped!

Typical use: To quickly apply standard presets.


Matte Color
There are various ways to set a color using this tool.
You can pick one by using the hue slider and the color field, or by inputting RGB or Hex values, which is especially useful for matching the added space with a border already existing in your original source image.
You will notice that these values adjust automatically as you use the hue slider and color field, so if you intend to use the same matte color across a selection of products, write down or remember either the RGB or Hex values so you can easily input them in additional products' crop tools.

Typical use: To set a complementary color for a border added via our crop tool, or to fill blank space that resulted from differences between your original source image's and the product's aspect ratio.

Orientation
Here you can toggle between landscape and portrait product format. By default, product orientation is the same as your original source image's format.

Typical use: To choose a different orientation for more customizable merchandise products such as mouse pads and fridge magnets.

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This guide is included in our FAQ now!
FAQ #877: How do I use the print crop tool?


Ollie | Prints Quality Control