Image Upload

The FAQ below was created to help CafePress.com users overcome common uploading issues. By following the suggestions listed below, you should have more success when trying to upload files to your image basket.

Recommended Image Types

Generally speaking, JPG and PSD files work well for files that are anywhere up to 10 MB in size.

TIF and PNG files work well for images that are up to 4 MB in size.

For images that are above 10 MB in size, we strongly suggest using only JPG files.

User Specific Issues

Large Image Errors

Although HTTP upload gives us the ability to safely accept a wide variety of file formats, it does have certain limitations. When the file size increases, some file types may not work as well as others. By following image type and file size suggestions above, you will have more success when uploading your images to our server. We are also currently developing and testing more effective image upload methods.

Symptoms
If you are in the middle of an upload and you receive a message that says: "Page Cannot Be Displayed" with the URL https://upload.cafepress.com/upload_image.aspx, this means that your image size is too large for the file type you are attempting to upload.

Solution
Changing the file type to one of the recommended image types above should help with the problem. JPG is the friendliest format for large images like those required by the posters. You may also try optimizing the image so that the file is more compressed without losing the overall image quality. If you stay within the recommended pixel sizes suggested on this page, it will help keep the file sizes manageable.

Connection Errors

There may be certain times when uploading an image works better than others. You may notice that the same size image you uploaded last week will no longer upload for a certain period of time. Due to the nature of the internet, this can be from a wide variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

• Firewall Software or Proxy server
  (Norton System Works, ZoneAlarm, corporate proxy server, etc)
• Internet Interference
  (overall heavy internet traffic)
• "Noisy" Phone Line
  (a bad connection between your phone and your ISP connection)

Symptoms
You will receive an error page letting you know that your file upload was unsuccessful.

Solution
Our dialup users have found that by disconnecting and then reconnecting to the internet, they are able to establish a better connection to their ISP, thereby allowing them to successfully complete uploads.

If you are using a firewall software program such as Zone Alarm or Norton System Works, you may want to consider turning off the software while you are trying to upload. Several of our users have reported that temporarily turning the software off allows them to complete their upload.

Other solutions include restarting your computer and clearing your browser's cache. Sometimes the extra memory will help your computer process the upload.

System Wide Upload Error

Like any other application, there are times when our actual image uploading/crunch server will go down. We actively monitor this server on an ongoing basis, and when this happens, we will do our best to get the server restarted as soon as possible with the least amount of downtime.

Symptoms
Users system wide will be unable to upload and will most likely receive a "Page cannot be Displayed" error immediately when attempting to upload.

Solution
Our server technicians will be notified and the server will be restarted as soon as humanly possible. We appreciate your patience during this time.