Preparing Files for Print

The following illegal characters should be avoided.
! < > * ~ # % & + , : ; ‘ “ { } [ ]

Limiting filenames to alphanumeric characters is good practice, while using an underscore as a separator is also perfectly acceptable.

Rachel_Mark_001.jpg is an example of a suitable filename.

Character Length

Please ensure filenames do not exceed 30 characters in length.

File Sequencing

Where the running order of printed images is important it is wise to number your files consistently.

The filenames in column A in the table opposite would result in the incorrect order as most computer systems look first at each character in turn (left to right) when sorting occurs. This means IMG_10 follows IMG_1 as they both have “1” after the prefix and file IMG_2 doesn’t appear until IMG_19 has been sorted.

Using a naming system similar to Column B in the table shown will ensure the files are sorted in the correct order. Zeros fill the numerical part of the name to give the same number of characters on all files. Free programs such as CKRename can easily name files in this manner.