Labs That Can Print w/o Cropping, Print B&W

RalphTomaccio · #8 01-29-2005, 02:57 PM

If you are going to extent the canvas in your own files for printing to standard size papers, you can make the position of the borders any way you want. Certainly, printing the full frame is no problem either for any lab as long as it is in the standard dimensions of the paper.

Obviously the simplest way, especially if you are going to do an action and batch them, is to center the image in the canvas.

Millers does have some 35mm aspect ratios available, but I'm not sure which ones exactly. Other than occassional 4x6's, I seldom use that proportion. Their price list is available for download on their site, but it's in the Customers Only section, which doesn't help you at this point.

Give them a call. I don't think you'll be disappointed. They offer fair pricing, excellent quality and really, really great turn-around. I can upload files in the morning one day and get the prints back either the NEXT DAY, or the following day - even during the busy season! They're fantastic.

David_Buzzard · #9 01-29-2005, 10:07 PM

I'm a real believer in finding a good local lab and building a personal relationship with them. That way, if you need a special aspect ratio, white borders, or whatever, they can do it up for you. What we do for proof printing is run an action on our processed images to move them into the sRGB colour space, resize them to 6x4, and knock down the JPG compression to 6 from 12. I find that Photoshop does a much better job of re-sizing the images than the Fuji software, and if the files are too large and you have a large volume of them, it bogs down the computers at the lab. I drop off the disk, and there might be anywhere from 200 to 600 proofs on a disk, they usually have them ready within an hour or two. If there's a problem, I can go talk to the guy who's actually dealing with the printing.

David Buzzard

Sean_Reid · #10 01-30-2005, 01:52 AM

David,

Thanks for the reply. I agree with you and that's how I worked when I was in NYC. But now I live in southern Vermont and there are no pro labs in this rural area. I can do the printing in-house but it isn't cost effective. I would very much like to work with a local pro lab if one was nearby.

Cheers,

Sean

MathewLodge · #11 02-01-2005, 02:37 PM

Pictopia in Emeryville, CA (just across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco) will do completely custom print sizes. They charge a flat $10/sq foot for custom print sizes, and can do up to 50"x120". They will also drop-ship prints directly to clients, which I find invaluable.

See

http://www.pictopia.com/pub/ourservice.html

They accept files via CD, DVD, FTP or web browser upload. I use them all the time for fine art prints and have been very happy. Service is great -- you can always speak to a real human being who knows what they're talking about.

Mathew