Printing larger prints questions

[bobandcar]

I have a picture that I would like to get printed large not sure on size yet but something maybe 18 by 30
Not sure what sizes are available.

I have never printed anything bigger than 5x7
My program of choice is lightroom 4 and I am still very new to it.

How can I ensure that it will look right after I order it?
What companies have good quality prints that would ship this to me?



Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[TCampbell]

There's as much risk that your 5x7's will not have correct color as there is for a larger print. The only difference is that the larger print costs more.

You need to take care of things on your end and your printer needs to take care of things on their end. That means you need to have a properly color-balanced display so that the colors you see are accurate and should appear the same on any other display which is ALSO color-balanced (calibrated.)

Printers get calibrated as well but it's more specific... a printer has to be calibrated for both the specific ink AND paper combination being used. If you switch to a different paper you have to recalibrate the printer.

Some labs make their printer profiles available to you for download so that you can load the printer profile and proof the image based on the color gamut of the printer. It also allows the computer to adjust the colors so that they come out right on the printer (e.g. suppose a printer doesn't saturate a certain color as much as it needs to to produce accurate color ... the profile would tell the computer that it needs to artificially boost saturation so that when it's printed the image will appear correct.)

You can check sites like: Using Printer Profiles with Digital Labs

They explain the profile and they have a link on that page that will let you locate and download the profile of printers at nearby labs. Costco (of all places) actually profiles their printers and the profiles are available for downloads. Just be warned that you must download the profile for the SPECIFIC PRINTER (the profiles are not generic.) I've never used them so I don't know if they support printing 20x30 prints in the store or if the only way you get that is by mail.

Adorama (adormapix.com) says you should either (a) convert your images to the sRGB color space or (b) download their printer profiles and install them (they have different profiles for different printers and papers... so you have to download the correct profile) and this will give you better color matching control.

You should contact the lab before submitting your prints if you have any questions.

 

[silve225]

I used adormapix.com and there prints came out fantastic.

 

[bobandcar]

Think ill try them. Prices seem reasonable

 

[bobandcar]

I used adormapix.com and there prints came out fantastic.

Well I sent out 2 files for printing at 16x24, we will see what they look like by the end of the week

 

[PagesPhotography]

very nice! Post up some pics when then come in!

 

[bobandcar]

The pictures came in Tuesday. I had ordered them on Sunday!

They look awesome!!
I had one oversight though. I picked up frames locally and wasn't thinking about the mounting and matting.
Is there somewhere that deos custom sizes for reasonably?

Cheapest I found was $45 each local and online for 18 each

 

[KmH]

How to Frame Pictures | Framing Information

Hopefully you got your 16x24 images printed on larger paper to facilitate a mat.

If you want 2" of mat on all 4 sides of the image it helps mount/mat and frame assembly a great deal to have the 16x24 image centered on a 20x28 sheet of paper (the same size as the outer edges of the mat).

Otherwise, you'll need a mat window cut that is 15.5" x 19.5" so the print will overlap the back of the mat window by 1/4" on all sides. More overlap is better but you will cover more of your image..

If you opt for an offset mat window to provide bottom weight to the matted and framed image the print would not be centered on the larger piece of paper.

A bottom weighted mat might be 2" on the sides and top, but 2.25" on the bottom.

 

[bobandcar]

Unfortunately pictures are 16by24 and frame is 19 3/4 by 27 1/2

Ill have to figure it out.
Checking out that link now

 

[bobandcar]

Ok. Ill post final product tommarrow.

2 black frames from ikea. Frames size 27 1/2 by 19 3/4. $25 each
2 custom matting from pictureframes.com 2 1/4 inch on all sides $44 total
2 pictures from adoramapix. 16 by 24 $40(if I remember right)

Very happy with my final products.