Give each image a job
Use an image only when it conveys relevant information, such as an approved diagram. Decide whether its whole content must remain visible or whether a defined crop is acceptable. Decorative imagery should not compete with the report’s task. Do not use a vendor screenshot, client photo or logo unless its use is authorized.
Try contrasting shapes
Test a fictional wide rectangle, tall rectangle and square at the same template location. Inspect stretching, cropping, resolution and caption placement. A fit mode that suits one shape may leave a different shape illegible. Preserve aspect ratio unless distortion is explicitly acceptable for the content.
Plan for failure
An unavailable image must not leave an unexplained hole or expose a broken reference. Decide whether to hold the report, omit an optional illustration with its caption or show an approved text alternative. Avoid externally hosted private assets in a public fixture. Check the service’s actual asset-fetch and access requirements before connecting protected files.
Review the exported result
Check the image at the reading size the recipient is likely to use, not only while zoomed in. Verify its caption and nearby text remain together. Where accessibility is required, confirm appropriate text alternatives and document structure using relevant tools and reviewers; visual inspection alone is insufficient.
Worked image specification
For a fictional explanatory diagram, declare preserve the full diagram and caption; no crop permitted. For an optional decorative shape, omission may be acceptable. Test both a wide and tall version in the intended box and inspect nearby text. If preserving the whole diagram makes its labels unreadable, revise the layout or use a clearer representation. Stretching it until the box looks full is not a useful acceptance outcome.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- CraftMyPDF: documented template workflow — Merchant documentation · craftmypdf.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-30