Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising multiple industries across the globe at a rapid pace. And AI image generation is no exception. There are hundreds of online image generating platforms with a staggering array of options to build a creative masterpiece. Image generation is becoming increasingly popular with our clients and printing AI images offers huge creative benefits – but at what cost and what concerns does AI raise?
In 2024 we saw a rise of computer generated imagery for print within our business, from global, well known clients and smaller local businesses too. It makes sense. The exact image required is quickly rendered using the chosen software. The AI process saves time on arranging a professional photoshoot, paying models, hiring locations and retouching. Or does it?
There are of course the downsides to printing AI images and we think that they’re magnified for the large format print industry. Whilst a computer generated jpeg might be perfect for a throwaway social media post, there are a few good reasons why printing it large format might not.
As a leader within the large format print industry, we print high-quality, high-resolution images. Our expertise and knowledge tells us that high-resolution images will always produce a better print. We encourage 300dpi wherever possible, with a recommended minimum of just 72dpi. The problem we are finding printing AI images is that they are never produced at 300dpi and are often created at a pixel size of 1080 x 1080. This roughly translates to a teeny 10cm square.
Our studio team have specialist software to increase the size of small images. But there are limits. And it’s not just about size. Whilst we can probably increase the artwork to the size of a large poster or perhaps even a small wall, what we enlarge, might not be what was expected…
It can look like something from a horror movie. Seven-fingered hands, headless rabbits, extra limbs and three headed cyclops children are just some of the oddities that become visible when enlarging AI images for print. And don’t even get us started on the spelling errors! No-one would ever look that closely on a social media post, but our skilled team of designers and printers do. And while it might seem funny, we really don’t want to print anything you’re going to regret approving. It may impact on the professionalism of your business or question the authenticity of the message.
We use industry leading design packages to create wonderful designs and prepare supplied artwork for our in-house large format printers. AI generative capabilities are now an integrated part of the software and are an increasingly useful tool for creatives who design for small format and digital platforms. Large format printing is a different beast and we are noticing limitations with the generative fills over a certain threshold. We exercise caution when using AI tools and use good old fashioned retouching skills where necessary.
Below is a great example of the generative fill technique removing a horse’s bridle. However when printing large format, the difference between the original photo and the AI fill is visible, as shown in the second image.
Artificial Intelligence is a wonderful thing. It will undoubtedly solve problems we cannot. It will diagnose and cure diseases. It will advance our learning and bring us all a smarter future. But it can never be truly creative. It’s still not very good at it, and for the untrained eye, it is a threat to our creative industries. AI is incapable of emotional depth, a clever nuance or witty sarcasm. AI lacks contextual understanding and human emotion which is the beating heart of our creative industries. If the world fails to recognise our wordsmiths, musicians, artists, photographers, designers and authors for the rich creativity and diversity they bring we may be printing terrible typos and dodgy digits for the foreseeable.
We’re not saying printing AI generated images at a large format scale is a bad thing. We’re just advising caution.
If you’re interested in printing large format AI images for your school, office or commercial project then we’d love to hear from you. We can offer guidance and our expert knowledge to transform your space. Call us on 01332 613 900 or email ideas@mxdisplay.co.uk