Beginner photography?

I'm new to photography and am unhappy with the quality of my photos when they are printed out. I'm not sure how to improve the quality once they are ready to print. They look awesome when they are on my iPad or on my computer, but once they are printed out they are kind of grainy and the edges of things like clothing is not crisp like it is before printing. I would like to be able to print nice quality pictures! I have a Nikon D5000 if that helps.

The camera is not at fault. You have an excellent camera that is capable of producing brilliant images

You really have to learn the fundamentals of photography and take control of your camera.

First make sure that your camera is set to its highest resolution.
Next make sure that the shutter speed is set to 1/250th second or faster.
Take some new photos and after copying them to your computer, view them at 100%. You should see a marked change in the quality of your images

You need to understand how to balance ISO, shutter speed and lens aperture to produce well exposed images.

http://camerasim.com/apps/camera-simulator/

You also need to understand that high ISO settings will produce noisy images (grain is an attribute of film)

While you are learning how to produce well exposed images, you can visit this site and learn how to compose brilliant images.

http://photoinf.com/General/Robert_Berdan/Composition_and_the_Elements_of_Visual_Design.htm

I'm going to go down a different route from fhotoace… The advice offered isn't wrong it's 100% correct.

Something else that might cause your problem is 'calibration'… Depending on how you edit your images… This might be impacting on the quality of the final print. A photographer calibrates their computer screen/monitor so that they know what they see on screen is what they will get in a print… I actually calibrated my system to one lab that I used just to guarantee my results. It isn't a difficult thing to do… It takes patience and time… I used trial and error… Until I got the results I was satisfied with and it wasn't cheap.

These are the little things that the new generation of photographers don't think about… You won't see any of the photographers on TV or in movies going through the hassle of calibrating their monitor… That would put too many kids off buying into photography… I constantly try to get the message home… Photography isn't as easy or glamorous as it is made to look on the TV… It's hard work and it's expensive.

I'd search your browser for a guide to calibrate your monitor… You Tube might have a tutorial too… Just be warned a guide will show you how it's done… You'll need to confirm you've made good adjustments by getting prints made from your chosen lab.

Learn via betterphoto.com

Sounds like a resolution problem to me. When you go to print, make sure the pic is set to 300dpi. Electronic screens are fine with 72dpi, but printing should be done at least 200dpi, preferable 300dpi.