Questions about photo prints...

[topazsol]

Do you order your prints online or do you print them yourself? I've been told that the photos are not high quality enough when actually printed out on a printer. Is this true? What sites do you order your prints from? There is nowhere in my small town to get high quality photos prints, just the average Rite-aid, Alberston's, etc and I've noticed the prints I've gotten at those place before I started getting into photography are just terrible. They always crop the picture on the sides and the effects I add to the pictures come out looking awful.

So I figure online prints are the way to go but I am not sure what site to use. I certainly hope the photos don't come to me cropped and messed up like they do from Rite-aid. Does the size of the file matter? Is it the bigger the better file size for high quality prints? I am so new to photography, I am trying to learn all of this before I really get into it more. I want to put together a photography portfolio so of course I want the best prints I can get.

And another question, if I send my pictures off to an online printing site that have added effects, like Orton effect, B&W, Sepia, Cross process, etc will that effect the quality of the photo?

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, I appreciate any suggestions, tips, opinions, any help would be appreciated!

 

[xjoewhitex]

I don't print very often most of my work I just post online, but when I do I use Nations Photo Lab and so far ive had some good results.

But to explain a few of the problems you are speaking of, the cropping of photos is almost always going to happen unless you specify that you would like to keep them full size which at that point the photo will not cover the whole print. The problem is your camera formats the photo at a different ratio than the print paper, and every other size is different as well. 4x6 will be cropped differently than a 8x10. If you want the photo to fill the paper, you've got to crop them yourself before printing.

The size of the file does not matter but the size of the photo will have difference in quality. The bigger the better, being if the photo you submit is smaller than the print it will be enlarged and distorted which may have been the problem you ran into with your last batch. Being sized down wont effect the quality.

And as far as your editing goes, some programs don't do nearly as well as others. So its really hard to say if that will have an effect on your photos, but not all printers have the same colors as your computer so it may clip or change some of the colors making it look completely different than how you remember it. Also your screen may not be calibrated, so the colors you see may not be what it actually is.

 

[southrndarlin]

Check Mpix.com they have reasonable prices and often run specials!

 

[topazsol]

Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[KenC]

I've been told that the photos are not high quality enough when actually printed out on a printer. Is this true?

Not if you print on a good photo printer, such as:

EPSON Stylus Photo R2880 Inkjet Printer - Product Information - Epson America, Inc.

 

[hyperdash]

yeah get a good printer (one with not so expensive printer ink) but try mpix , really like how they can retouch photos and print it. this is a plus for people who don;t know how to do photoshop or photo editors.. inkjetsuperstore ink printer

 

[cgipson1]

Since you have a thread on opening a business, you really should get decent printer that would give commercial quality . Not some little rinky dink home printer. Don't forget the cost of a decent IPS monitor and calibration equipment so that you get consistent professional quality output also.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...-i-am-new-photography-i-love.html#post2601086

 

[spacefuzz]

I will also chime in and mention that if you get a good quality printer, you can print professional quality at home. I have one of the canon pixma 9000 series and it is wonderful, much better than right aids printers.

 

[KmH]

If your camera makes images that have a 3:2 aspect ratio (most DSLR's), but you order prints that have a 5:4 or 7:5 aspect ratio, the sides of the photos have to be cropped.

It doesn't matter if a pro print lab, a drug store lab, or a home printer prints the photo. The sides of a 3:2 photo would still have to be cut off to make a 5:4 or 7:5 print.

Quality inkjet printers can print at higher resolutions and use more colors than El Cheapo inkjet printers. Another quality issue when inkjet printing is how durable and permanent the inks/dyes are that are used.

Most pro labs make both c-prints (chromogenic), and inkjet prints. They often call their highest quality inkjet prints - Giclée's.

For a photography business, the photographer's time is often better spent doing tasks other than making prints.