Printing Images HELP!!!

[Raw photographer]

Hi

If someone here could explain how or why i have to resize my images before i print them, I have only recently tried to print some 4x6's at the machine, i think it's called a kiosk, anyway i tried some there and they were not the best, i want to order some online from the lab but i don't know the first thing about it. I know i probably have to resize and edit the images so they come out looking alright.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[otherprof]

Hi

If someone here could explain how or why i have to resize my images before i print them, I have only recently tried to print some 4x6's at the machine, i think it's called a kiosk, anyway i tried some there and they were not the best, i want to order some online from the lab but i don't know the first thing about it. I know i probably have to resize and edit the images so they come out looking alright.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Let’s assume the one you want a copy of was an 8x10. (Think more of shape than size.). If the copy is 4x6, the shape would be the same as an 8x12. It will be cropped differently, and be a different composition. It’s not the size change; it’s the shape change.

 

[Derrel]

my experience is that once in a great while, the machine will "see" the thumbnail, not the main JEG image file, and a print that appears VERY low in resolution, will be printed,maybe 1 time out of 100 prints, or less often.

 

[Raw photographer]

Let me give you an example. Lets say i have a picture that is 3888 x 2589 and i want a simple 4x6 or 5x7, would i have to resize it or would it be fine.

Thanks.

 

[Derrel]

4x6 and 5x7 and 3.5 x5 are all different aspect ratios!!! Most d-slrs shoot at 3:2 ratio, or put another way, 2:3 ratio, so the 4x6 is close to the whole frame area, while 5x7 or 8x10 are serious crops of a part of the photo's original area. 8x12 is a pretty good full-frame enlargement and shows "the whole shot", but an 8x10 has the left/right or top/bottom areas cropped out. 6x9 inches printed on an 8x10 inch piece of paper looks good.


Sometimes cropping helps, at other times it hurts.

 

[webestang64]

3888 x 2589

That is a 4x6 (8x12 12x18 16x24) format or in film or full frame sensor terms standard 35mm format. So there will be some cropping going to 5x7 or 8x10. You can order prints online (our lab will do this) as "Fit To Print" and you will get a 6.6x10 with white borders.

 

[JonFZ300]

You don't have to resize, but as others have said, the pic has to be the same aspect ratio as the print or you will get cropped images or white borders.

Since your original is already 4x6, if you want a 5x7 or 8x10 print without crops or borders, go into your editing program and crop it to that aspect ratio. Most editing programs allow you to choose the aspect ratio of the crop window.

 

[Soocom1]

Typically speaking (though I don't know this particular Kiosk) there will be a preview of the image prior to printing. This preview is typically pre-sized so that you know exactly what you are getting image AREA wise.

Having worked in a photo lab with a kiosk, there are several other factors that you need to be aware of.

You could print a 120 med. Format image off of a Kisok system and still have horrible prints.

Why?

Many times its not the actual image. Depending on who makes it and what system of printing they are using, the image QUALITY can suffer greatly. Including image sublimation systems uses heat transferred plastic film to create the print and typically has ALOT of red and the image quality is not the best.
In some cases the print is an inkjet print that has varied and somewhat questionable results.

Hands down the best outside of a first class print shop is silver halide printing.

The long and short is that the quality may be a bad kiosk.

As Derrel said, there is also the possibility that the image printed was a low quality thumb over the actual print.

Now. if you want a very specific scene from the image, you will need to pre-set that image at home before printing it (ergo, cropping out a bunch of stuff for a portrait of someone.) . That requires post processing and a bit of work.