Apples and Oranges
Making a print that mirrors the digital image
you see on your computer screen is a tricky mathematical process
that involves matching apples and oranges. For example, all printing
software “examines” a digital image then forces it fit
the print you’ve selected. But be careful. There’s a
good deal of math involved. When you double a 4X6 it becomes an
8X12, so when you order an 8X10, two inches are going to be lost
somewhere. Here are the four secrets of making a print that matches
your image.
|  Size your image to the paper
If you want an 11X14, size your image to 11X14. Be exact and test
it before you send it. If the image is a little too small or a little
too big, we automatically enlarge or reduce it to fill the paper
and however minute, that changes your photograph. If you’re
exact, you will get exactly what you want.
Automatic
Center Crop
Unless otherwise specified, this is the industry’s standard
cropping methodology. Center Crop is applied to all prints unless
you specify otherwise(see the next two choices). In this mode, we
enlarge or reduce your image until it fills the print, automatically
center it, and then crop off the edges. 95% of the time, this is
what you want. This is also our best value.
Print-to-fit
Let’s say you have a group portrait with people stretching
from one side of your photo to the other. If you don’t want
us to crop out Uncle Harry, and you haven’t sized it exactly,
this is your choice. Our software fits the longest dimension of
your photo to the paper you’ve selected and lets the other
dimension float. You will receive a print with a white border somewhere
(top or bottom) but you won’t lose any of your image.
Add
Canvas area
This is a good solution if you are extremely finicky. If you want
a size that’s not in our menu of options, be sure to add a
canvas border while you’re editing your image in your photo
editing software. Our machines see your border and print it as part
of your photograph. When you get the print you can trim off the
excess, or, frame it. This is a great option if have a quirky size
and don’t want us to touch anything. |
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Print-to-fit
Print to fit solves the math of enlargements
by fitting the longest side of your photograph to the print size
you ordered and leaving the extra space on the other dimension white.
In the photograph to the right, the longest dimension is the horizontal
dimension so we print-to-fit the left-right and leave the bands
of white on the top and bottom. A standard enlargement destroys
the power of this picture by cutting off the swimmers’hand. |
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How many pixels do I need?
Here are some guidelines to optimize
your prints:
4x6 - 800 x 1200 (200 dots
per inch)
5x7 - 1000 x 1400 (200 dpi)
8x10 - 1600 x 2000 (200 dpi)
8x12 - 1600 x 2400 (200 dpi)
9x12 and up 2000 x 3000 from a 6 megapixel digital
camera (200 dpi).
While we recommend 300 dpi for
optimal clarity, 200 dpi will yield excellent results. The difference
in print quality isn't noticeable to the naked eye. The difference
is that a 200dpi file is 1/2 the file size, taking half the time
to send to myPhotopipe.com.
To see how long it will take to send your images
to us, test your upload speed at our SpeedTest
Page.
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Technical
info
What file types do you support?
We prefer JPEG files but also support TIFF files.
What is your preferred color space?
sRGB or Adobe RGB (1998)
Can you print true black & white?
We calibrate our emulsions for true black & white.
The days when hues of color were apparent are gone.
Do you have a printer profile?
We do. Please go to our profile
download page here.
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