The Spoonflower Bootcamp logo, which features a blue boot print and with words "Spoonflower Bootcamp" written on top of it. Spoonflower is written in all caps black font. Bootcamp is written in lowercase yellow cursive.

 

Welcome to this installment of Spoonflower Bootcamp: How to download email image attachments! 

You created an amazing image or found the most perfect public domain file for your fabric design (yay!) and emailed it to yourself for later use. Now you’re wondering how to take this image from your email to Spoonflower. This quick post will show you how to download the image from your email to your computer. Once it’s saved, you can determine the size of your image and upload to Spoonflower!

To get started, log into your email account and find the specific email to which your image is attached. Your image may show a thumbnail preview similar to one of these:

An screenshot of downloading an image from an email showing the thumbnail preview.

 

Click on “Download” to save the file to your computer. The “download” button may also be an arrow icon. You can hover your mouse over the image to help you find the correct button. If you don’t see a thumbnail preview of the image you’re trying to save, it’s possible that you saved attached a document (Word Doc, PDF, etc) and those are not suitable files for printing at Spoonflower.

I saved my image! Now where is it?

The image was mostly likely saved in your Downloads folder. To find your Downloads folder on a Mac, click on Command + F from your desktop to open the Finder. Newer versions of Windows have the Downloads folder located on the desktop. For older versions, click on the Start button to find the Downloads or Pictures folder.

How do I know at what size my image will print?

The pixel dimensions will help you figure out at what size the image will print on fabric. You’ll know right away if the file you have is big enough for your project or not. It’s so easy!

Here’s how to find the pixel dimensions:

Windows

  1. Double-clicking on the image should automatically open it in “Windows Photo Viewer.”
  2. Click on “File” and then “Properties”
A screenshot of an arrow pointing to the Properties box from the File menu of a PC.

3. The Properties box should list the dimensions in pixels. Divide the length by 150 and the width by 150 to get the size in inches. (Ex: 1200 x 1500 pixels = 8 x 10 inches)

A screenshot of the photo properties option from the File menu, which includes specs of the photo on the screen, including title, subject, date taken and more.

 In this purple flower example, 3456 x 2304 pixels would print at 23.04 x 15.36 inches.

Mac

  1. Double-clicking on the image should automatically open it in “Preview.”
  2. Click on “Tools” and then “Show Inspector.”
A screenshot of the Tools menu on a Mac with an arrow pointing to Show Inspector.

  1. The Inspector box should list the dimensions in pixels. As mentioned above, divide the length by 150 and the width by 150 to get the size in inches.
A screenshot of the General info box that includes the Image size information.

In this purple flower example, 3456 x 2304 pixels would print at 23.04 x 15.36 inches.

Now you’re ready to upload your image to Spoonflower! Need help with uploading? Check out this great step-by-step tutorial.