Considerations for Custom Commissions

Two paths are available for custom commissions. The Quick Commission offers only a few key options to help streamline the process and provide you with a cost estimate up front. These include dimensions for the finished puzzle, piece size, and inscription. For those of you interested in more customized options, the Full Commission offers and exhaustive list of options along with additional free form requests. Multiple communications will be exchanged in order to complete this process. Any free form requests must be evaluated and a price will be determined based on the selections made. You will be sent a link to a customized puzzle listing in the store. 

Selecting Your Image

The most important part of a custom puzzle is the print or photo you choose. There are many things you must consider when choosing an image for your puzzle. This guide is aimed primarily at custom jigsaw puzzles topped with images. 

Subject Matter & Difficulty

Beyond the image quality and and resolution, the subject matter in the image will have a significant impact on the enjoyment and difficulty of your puzzle. In general, images very little variation in color or features will result in a more difficult puzzle as more pieces will be visually similar in coloration or pattern. Images with more variation will be easier, but if the image is very highly busy, the degree of difficulty will again go up. See the examples to the right and below. Both the jellyfish and forest photos would result in difficult puzzles while the vintage radio photo would result in an easier puzzle. The difficulty level of these three puzzles would also be impacted by their size . A larger puzzle with more pieces will increase the difficulty for any image, including all three above. We'll go into more detail about puzzle size and piece count in the Puzzle Options section. 

Images with People and Pets

When choosing photos with people or pets (or other animals), it is worth considering how the subjects in the photo will fit into the final puzzle. If the photo frames the individuals closely, their faces will cover many puzzle pieces, whereas individuals further from the camera may allow for a single piece to make up an entire face. For most size puzzles, the two examples below and left would result in the faces being cut into many pieces, while the two photos below and right would allow each face to fit entirely on a single piece. Though, the further the subjects are from the camera, the more likely that multiple faces may have to share a single piece. This is not always important to everyone or for every puzzle, but may impact the look of the final puzzle once assembled. If this is important to you, a good rule of thumb is that the faces should be roughly 1 square inch in size or less when printed at the desired size. If followed, this would allow all faces in the puzzle to fit on a single standard size puzzle piece. If you want larger or smaller pieces, that should also be taken into account. If faces do not quite fit the 1 square inch guideline, it can still be requested to fit them onto a single piece, resulting in slightly larger pieces for only the faces. One example of where this may be important is for a photo of family get together or reunion where each person in the photo may sign the back of the puzzle piece with their face on it.

Public Domain & License Free Image Sources

For those interested in a custom puzzle but who don't have a specific image in mind, there are a variety of online sources of free, high quality images. Below is a short list of sources for photography, illustrations, and artwork.

• Unsplash -Stock photography
• Pexels - Stock photography
• Pixabay - Stock photography and illustrations
• Wikimedia Commons - Photography, illustrations, artwork, etc.

Additionally, a selection of photos and artwork from calendars may be available upon request.

Puzzle Details

There are several identifying details that can be specified when commissioning a puzzle. Custom jigsaw puzzles will be accompanied by a puzzle card and storage bag. Every puzzle card will include the puzzle title, dimensions, and piece count.  The title should be specified in the quote, and additional items can be added. A photo or piece of artwork should also be credited to the photographer. A date and copyright can be included if desired.

Title (required) - The title should be specified in a quote request but if not provided, one will be created based on the subject matter. Titles can be as simple, descriptive, or creative as you'd like. 

Credit & Copyright (optional) - A photo or piece of artwork should be credited to the photographer or artist. A year or date and copyright statement can also be included if desired. It is highly recommended that a copyright statement be provided for all artwork or for any photographs not taken by yourself.

Dedication (optional) - Is the puzzle a gift for someone or a commemoration of an event? You can include details about the recipient, gifter, and/or the event to be included on the puzzle card. This can provide an additional personal touch to a custom puzzle.

Puzzle Options

Beyond the basic information about the puzzle, you will need to determine other puzzle properties such as the size, shape, finish, and difficulty options. 

Puzzle Dimensions

After image selection, one of the most important decisions is the size of your puzzle. Together with the piece size, the dimensions are one of the driving price factors. Currently, only puzzles up to 8.5" x 11" are able to be printed in-house. Larger sizes up to 16" x 20" must be sent out for printing and may be subject to an additional fee due to the cost of the printing service. If you already possess physical a physical print, this can also be provided to Jen's Jigsaws. Please note that if you have a lower resolution image, your puzzle dimensions may be limited by the minimum resolution recommendations. 

Piece Size & Count

Standard pieces are interlocking and roughly 1" square. Larger pieces are often used for puzzles intended for children or individuals with poorer eyesight or gripping capabilities. For the very young, non larger interlocking pieces inside a tray may be desired. Piece count is one of the primary determining factors of the final price of a puzzle. An 8" x 10" puzzle with standard sized pieces would result in roughly 80 pieces. Larger pieces would decrease the overall piece count while smaller pieces would increase the count. 

Print Finish

Images printed in-house may be printed on premium glossy or luster photo paper. Most retail and online print shops will offer similar print options.

Glossy prints generally do not require any additional top coat protection, but many matte or luster prints do need a top coat to prevent visible scratches from handling or while in a storage box or bag. Spray on top coats are added after the prints are mounted. Protective finish options are matte or glossy. 

Most fabric-topped puzzles will require a brushed on top coat to prevent fraying. If the original texture of the fabric is important, this can be omitted. Top coats are highly recommended for all thinner weight fabrics such as quilting fabric. Top coat options for fabric include satin or glossy. Satin is recommended as a gloss finish is difficult to achieve over the texture of the fabric. All top coated fabric will retain a somewhat rough texture.

Puzzle Shape & Border Profiles

Your puzzle can come in nearly any shape you can imagine.

A square or rectangular puzzle will utilize the greatest portion of your image, but other shapes can add additional interest and fun. Shapes could be basic such as an oval, star, triangle, hexagon, or diamond. The shape could also highlight the theme of the image such as a teddy bear shape for a photo of a child holding her favorite teddy bear, a leaf shape for a photo of a forest landscape, or a paw print shape for a photo of the family pet.

Beyond the basic shape of a puzzle, you may want to add a wavy, zigzag, or other border profile along the edges. Most basic shapes can be combined with a profile for additional visual interest, but do keep in mind that the profile may obscure the shape slightly. For some, more intricate shapes, adding a border profile may not be feasible, but this can be discussed during the quote process. Another option is to contour one or more edges based on the image. This might be a scenic image that is left rectangular except for following the treeline or mountains along the top of the image. Usually contouring is used for primarily rectangular shapes in order to highlight the contour, but they can be combined with other shapes as w

Difficulty Options

There are a variety of options you can add that will add to the difficulty of the puzzle. Difficulty options are available upon request and will not be included unless specified.

Non-Interlocking Edges - Increases difficulty of assembling edge as no two edge pieces will interlock. The interior piece between them is required to lock them into place.

Non-Interlocking Interior - Increases difficulty of portions or the entirety of the puzzle interior as pieces will not interlock during assembly. Unlike non-interlocking, large piece tray puzzles intended for children, these puzzles use smaller pieces without interlocks 

Interior Edges - Fake edge pieces included in the interior of the puzzle confuse the assembly as they do not contribute to the exterior border.

Disguised Corners - Corners cut in half such that no sharp corner is contained in any one piece.

Missing Edges - All edge pieces are left out of the puzzle, providing no border to guide the assembly of the puzzle.

Additional Requests

Additional options not already discussed may be requested during the quote. Examples include puzzle card size, or keeping faces intact for a photo with people or pets. Note that not all requests can be accommodated, but additional requests can be discussed during the development of the quote.

Accessory Options

Drawstring Bag

Custom puzzles come in a handmade drawstring bag. The bag itself is a natural cotton fabric and it's size will depend on the size of the puzzle. The drawstring color is customized to each puzzle and can match the color theme of the image or highlight an accent color. The color can be specified during the quote process if desired. 

Round Box

Alternatively, you can request the puzzle be provided in a round box. These boxes are made from jumbo mailing tubes and come in 4" or 6" diameter and 4" or 6" height depending on the size of the puzzle. 

Get Your Custom Puzzle Today!