How to Print & Frame Your Digital Art Print
You've purchased a Discovering Marin digital art print — congratulations, and thank you for allowing us to help you bring the majestic natural world of Marin County, California, into your home or office. Your art print purchase includes 8 digital image files of various sizes (see chart below) to allow you to choose from several frame sizes to create a real, framed piece of art on your wall. This guide walks you through choosing a print-on-demand framing service, what to look for in terms of cost and quality, and step-by-step upload instructions.
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← Back to Art Prints & MerchandiseWhat is the Passion and Purpose of Discovering Marin's Digital Art Gallery?
Discovering Marin creates digital art prints celebrating the wonderful wild natural world of Marin County, California. Every print features one of Marin's wild animals in its natural setting — often from a perspective that lets you see the animal's world through its own eyes. Some prints are photorealistic, some are styled in an impressionistic way like the great painters, and some sit somewhere in between — a view that's part real, part imaginative.
This guide introduces the process of turning these digital art prints into framed wall art you can proudly display anywhere in your home or office — or give as a gift to someone who loves nature. It walks you through every step of acquiring your art and turning it into a beautiful piece for your wall or countertop.
The Six-Step Journey, Start to Finish
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Purchase your art from the Discovering Marin Etsy store
Choose the print (or bundle) that speaks to you and complete your purchase on Etsy.
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Open your "Thank You" PDF and click through to Google Drive
Etsy will email you a link to a PDF file. Open it in your browser and click the big link button — it opens a Google Drive folder containing 8 JPEG digital art files, each cropped to a different size and named for its aspect ratio (for example, 11x14.jpg or 16x20.jpg).
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Save all 8 files to your computer
Download the whole folder for safekeeping, so you have a permanent local copy of every size.
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Choose a framing service, upload, and customize
Pick a print-on-demand framing service (we compare several below), upload the file matching the size and aspect ratio you want printed, then follow the vendor's prompts to choose your frame, mat, and glass — and complete your purchase with them.
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On Its Way!
Soon your new window into the wonderful and wild natural world of Marin County California will be delivered to your door!
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Display & Enjoy!
When your new and amazing digital art print arrives, put it on your favorite wall or on your kitchen counter, then sit back and enjoy!
Before You Start — Finding & Choosing Your File
Make sure you've clicked the big link button in the "Thank You" PDF that Etsy sent you, to open your Google Drive folder and download your digital art files — that's Steps 2 and 3 above, and it happens right after you complete your purchase from the Discovering Marin Etsy shop. If you can't find that PDF, check your Etsy Purchases & Reviews page or message us and we'll help you track it down.
Here are the 8 file sizes you'll find waiting for you in that folder — each one already cropped and sized for a specific print, from a small 5"×7" up to a large 24"×36" or a metric ISO A2. No resizing, no resolution math, no guesswork — just grab the file matching the size you want and upload that exact one to your framing service in Step 4.
You'll find one of the two size sets below in your folder, depending on whether you purchased a vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape) piece.
🪑 Small & Personal
5x7 or 8x10 — a shelf, a desk, a small gallery-wall accent piece.
🖼️ Standard Wall Art
9x12, 11x14, or 16x20 — the most popular sizes for a single framed piece above furniture.
🎯 Statement Piece
18x24, 24x36 — a bold focal point for a living room or entryway.
🌍 Metric / International
ISO_A2 — sized for standard European and international frame sizes.
Step 4, Part 1: Choosing a Framing Service
With your 8 files safely saved (see the Reminder paragraph above if you don't have your digital files yet), it's time for Step 4: getting your art printed and framed. There are dozens of companies that will print and frame an uploaded digital file and ship it to your door. They range widely in price and in how much control you have over the finished product. Below are four well-established, reputable options spanning budget to premium — pick based on how hands-on you want to be and what you're willing to spend.
The best choice if you want a completely hands-off, done-for-you experience and don't mind paying more for it. Upload your file, pick a frame from 55+ styles, and Framebridge handles printing, matting, and framing — it arrives ready to hang. Named a top pick by the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wirecutter. Some reviewers note occasional quality-control inconsistencies (a crooked mat here or there), balanced by a solid happiness guarantee if anything arrives wrong.
Our top recommendation for most buyers. Frame It Easy gives you full control over frame style, mat color, and glass type, at meaningfully lower prices than Framebridge for a comparable size and finish (in independent price checks, roughly $50 vs. $90 for the same 11"×14" black frame with a white mat). Their interactive tool calculates your image's DPI automatically as you resize, so you'll know immediately if a size will print sharp before you order.
A familiar, mainstream photo-printing brand that also offers framed prints with archival paper, framing-grade acrylic, and ready-to-hang hardware. Quality is solid rather than luxurious — a good choice if budget is your top priority or you're framing a piece for a casual space like an office or a kid's room rather than a formal gallery wall.
If you'd rather have your Discovering Marin print on stretched canvas instead of matted paper behind glass, this is a well-regarded option. Canvas prints have a different, more casual gallery feel — no glare, no glass to break in shipping, and a slightly more contemporary look. Available in seven frame finishes from classic black to rustic white.
For most Discovering Marin customers, we suggest starting with Frame It Easy — it offers the best balance of price, quality, and control, and it confirms your file will print sharp at the exact size you've chosen. If you'd rather not make any decisions at all and want a fully guided, done-for-you experience, Framebridge is the more premium, hands-off alternative. The step-by-step instructions below walk through the Frame It Easy process — the general steps are very similar across all four services.
Step 4, Part 2: Uploading & Customizing Your Print
Picked a service from above? Here's exactly what happens next, using Frame It Easy as the example — the general flow is very similar across all four services.
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Go to your chosen framing service's website
Visit frameiteasy.com (or whichever service you've chosen) and look for an "Upload Your Photo" or "Start Framing" button on the homepage.
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Upload the matching file and select that size
From the files you saved (Step 3 above), upload the one matching your chosen size (e.g. 16x20.jpg) and choose that same size — 16"×20" — in the service's size options. Since the file was already sized precisely for that print, you shouldn't see any quality warnings.
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Pick a frame style and mat
This is the fun part. See our styling tips below for suggestions that pair especially well with Discovering Marin's nature and landscape prints.
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Review the preview carefully
Most services show a live preview of your framed piece. Check that the full image is visible and nothing important is cropped off by the mat or frame edge.
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Add to cart and check out
Complete your order directly with the framing service. Note that this is a separate purchase from your Etsy order — the framing company prints, frames, and ships the physical piece to you.
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Track your order
Most services provide tracking and typically ship within 1–2 weeks depending on the company and any current order volume. Once it arrives, it should be ready to hang right out of the box — and that brings you to Steps 5 and 6 from our journey above: it's on its way, so sit back and enjoy!
Styling Tips for Marin-Themed Art
🪵 Frame Color
Natural or light wood tones (maple, oak, walnut) pair beautifully with the golden hills and redwood greens of our Photorealistic Nature prints. Black frames give a cleaner, more modern look if that suits your space better.
🖼️ Mat Width
A generous mat (2"–3") gives landscape and wildlife prints room to breathe and reads as more "gallery."
🎨 Monet-Style Prints
Our impressionist Artistic Interpretation prints often look wonderful with an off-white or cream mat rather than stark white, echoing the softer palette of the painting itself.
📏 Sizing for Your Wall
As a rule of thumb, art should cover roughly 60–75% of the width of the furniture beneath it (a sofa, console table, or bed). Measure your space before choosing a size.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to buy the frame from the same place as the digital art?
No. Your Discovering Marin purchase is the digital file set only. Printing and framing is a separate step you complete with whichever service you choose from this guide.
I want a size that isn't one of the 8 listed — what do I do?
Use the closest larger size and let the framing service trim it down.
Can I get it printed at a local print shop instead?
Absolutely. Any local print shop that offers photo or fine art printing can use your file — just bring it in on a USB drive or email it to them, and ask for archival or giclée-quality paper if available. Give them the file matching your desired size (for example, 16x20.jpg for a 16"×20" print) and mention it's already sized to that print, at that resolution, so they shouldn't need to resize it.
Which of my 8 files should I upload?
Only the one matching the size you're ordering. Each file is already cropped and sized specifically for its labeled print size, so uploading the matching file — and selecting that same size at checkout — gives the sharpest result.
Please Help Us Improve Our Service to You
If you have any feedback or questions about Discovering Marin's digital art gallery or your purchase experience, please contact us here. Thank you again for purchasing a digital art print from Discovering Marin celebrating the wonderful wild natural world of Marin County, California.
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