Image Downsampling

Image downsampling is an export optimization feature in Print for Figma Pro that reduces the final weight of your PDF by recalculating and compressing oversized raster images.

How Downsampling Works

High-resolution photography is excellent for print quality, but images that drastically exceed necessary print resolutions (e.g., placing a 6000-pixel DSLR photo into a 2-inch wide business card design) will cause your exported PDF file size to bloat. Extremely large PDFs can cause slow uploads to prepress systems or get blocked by email attachment limits.

When downsampling is enabled, the plugin evaluates the effective print DPI of every raster image in the document during the export phase.

• If an image exceeds the chosen DPI threshold, the plugin uses a resampling algorithm to shrink the pixel dimensions down to exactly match the threshold, recompressing the image data.
• If an image's effective DPI is at or below the threshold, it is left completely untouched.
• Vector elements and text paths are never affected by downsampling.

Choosing a Threshold

In the Export tab, toggle Downsampling on and select a maximum DPI limit:

• 300 DPI: The recommended standard for almost all commercial printing. It guarantees professional, close-viewing sharpness while aggressively stripping out useless pixel data from oversized camera photos.
• 150 DPI: Recommended for large-format designs (like 24x36 inch posters or trade show banners) that are viewed from several feet away. At a distance, human eyes cannot distinguish 300 DPI detail, so capping at 150 DPI saves massive amounts of file space.
• 600 DPI: Used strictly for fine-art reproduction or specific archival prints where extreme micro-detail is necessary.

Downsampling vs. DPI Checking

Downsampling is a destructive reduction of data to fix files that are too heavy. It does not magically enhance low-resolution images.

A professional workflow involves first using the plugin's DPI Checker tool to identify and manually fix images that are below 300 DPI, and then using the Downsampling export tool to cap the ceiling of any remaining images that are unnecessarily massive.