Art photography printing

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  • #607061

    JayDee
    Participant

    I purchased a digital print from a photographer that masses 50 MB or so. I would like to get a large format print of the same (11×17, or 22×34) but have no idea who can print something like this. The ink doesn’t have to be archival quality — I have the rights to print additional copies for my personal use.

    Does anyone in WSB-land know of a place where I can get this printed?

    #787776

    jissy
    Participant

    JayDee: Try Courtney at Wallflower Custom Framing (on 42nd across from Jefferson Square). If she can’t do it, I’m sure she can direct where to go.

    #787777

    ghar72
    Participant

    Not local, but Costco should be able to do this.

    #787778

    celeste17
    Participant

    Zebra Printing on 35th at the top of the bridge probably can do it. They seem to be a full service print shop and nice people also.

    #787779

    PDieter
    Participant

    Costco actually does really well for prints so cheaply that you think they must not be very good but they sure can be.

    for Canvas or speciality paper in a giclee process I would recommend the Giclee Factory (canada, affordable but fairly slow 4ish weeks), Canvas to Art, or locally the Color Group on 4th ave s.

    #787780

    clark5080
    Participant

    I could help prepare the file for printing at Costco as I have the printer files for them and convert the image so it prints well there in photoshop

    #787781

    JayDee
    Participant

    I kind of wanted to preserve the details–the photo is of the Paria River canyon. So Giclee probably won’t work, but thanks PDieter. I may go Costco.

    Clark5080: I am trying to figure out the iCloud. If I can post the photo on iCloud then you can grab it and make it suitable for Costco, and then reupload it, correct? If making the photo suitable for Costco is non- trivial, let me know. I see your email and will contact you on the side.

    #787782

    cjboffoli
    Participant

    JayDee: 22×34 is an odd, non-standard size and also a weird aspect ratio (roughly .647) that might require a strange crop. 24×36 will be a bit easier to find.

    Costco may be cheap but you’re definitely not going to be getting anything of exceptional quality. I don’t have any experience with Costco printing but my guess is that what you’re getting there is a machine-made print on inexpensive, thin photo paper. The quality of the product will be contingent on a number of factors including: how the file is prepared, who is doing the printing, how often they have their machines calibrated and what the printing process is. Inkjet printing (where photos are printed with ink pigments on paper) is the most common these days, versus the less common and more desirable “Lambda” printing in which photo paper is exposed with light. This latter method gives you a print of better quality with more depth and is exactly how professional prints all used to make prints except instead of printing with a physical film negative the “negative” is now digital. LEDs expose the paper. There is another process called “Lightjet” that is similar to Lambda except the entire paper is exposed at once.

    If this is something that you’re planning to go to the expense of framing you may think about investing a bit more in a professionally made print. Pretty much all of the pro houses in Seattle are doing inkjet prints these days. Personally, I find inkjets to look pretty flat unless you’re face-mounting them with acrylic or something. Finding a good Lambda print around here is like trying to find some kind of extinct animal skin.

    When I need to make high-quality Lambda prints for West Coast exhibitions and collectors I go to A&I in Los Angeles: http://aandi.com/printing

    If you’re not looking to spend very much but still want a high quality product, you might look into Nations Photo Lab (in Maryland): http://www.nationsphotolab.com/

    Nations does very high quality Lambda prints in a number of sizes. And they offer to print on Endura metallic paper which looks amazing and is very archival.

    #787783

    JayDee
    Participant

    For some reason I suspect that I will be spending more on the printing of the photo than I did purchasing it. I think the ratio is like 16:9, but I have to go boot it up.

    #787784

    JayDee
    Participant

    4912 x 7360 pixels. Some experimentation showed the original is equal to 20 x 30 in scale, so I will likely go with that. The original was pretty closely cropped, so I will rely on the photographer who took it. Nation’s has what seem to be decent prices, though I’ve yet to calc the shipping.

    Thanks for all of the help.

    #787785

    nighthawk
    Participant

    Panda or Moon photo are local (well North Seattle) good photo labs.

    #787786

    cjboffoli
    Participant

    Definitely nice folks at both Panda Photographic and Moon Photo Lab. But again, both are doing inkjet prints and are no longer exposing light-sensitive paper to a negative.

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