Photographers: Creating Big Prints

[Squall.Leonhart]

I've got a few shots of the city around here that I'd like to print out and mount. Have any of you done big sized prints before? I'm thinking of something thats about 6-7' in width and about 4' in height. What else in involved? How much did you pay for a big print?

 

[nate10184]

I hope the resolution of the images is enormous. At 300 dpi you'd need an image 25,200 x 14,400 pixels.

 

[milosz]

At those sizes you don't need 300dpi, it's all about proper viewing distance. But images taken with your average compact digi-cam probably aren't going to cut it.

Your best bet is to find a professional photo lab in your area, take your files in on a thumb drive, tell them where you want to hang these images and how close people will be getting, and see what they can do for you.

 

[Squall.Leonhart]

Originally Posted by milosz

At those sizes you don't need 300dpi, it's all about proper viewing distance. But images taken with your average compact digi-cam probably aren't going to cut it.

Your best bet is to find a professional photo lab in your area, take your files in on a thumb drive, tell them where you want to hang these images and how close people will be getting, and see what they can do for you.

Well, the prints will probably end mounted on wood than hung up higher on a wall, so not THAT close. They were taken in RAW format with my Nikon D80.

 

[ghulkhan]

I am currently working for a photo lab. It is pretty much just black and white film work and uses more traditional means of printing using enlargers (non-digital). But digital work is done as well. It is quite pricey but the work is very very good. One of the best photo labs around... www.mvlabs.com

 

[Crane's]

As mentioned above find a good lab that has the OMG huge dollar photo printers. Just keep in mind the printers will resample your photo so technically what you shot is not what you'll see though I doubt you'll see this when looking at your print. I routinely have my pics printed at 12 by 18 inches or 2 foot by 3 foot at 400 dpi and so far the results are just fine.

 

[celery]

I used to have my work printed at 20x30 regularly and had it done via online for fairly cheap.

These guys are who I used and most highly recommend: http://www.elcocolor.com/poster_special.htm

Lustre > Glossy imo (as proper museum grade glass will make up for the lack of gloss).
Also, read the FAQ first as it will mention your prints should be at 254 dpi for optimal results. They use Fuji Crystal paper (which is fantastic).

Whatever work you do, make sure your final dimensions at 100% in your photo editing program are 20x30 (even if you put 4 pictures on one sheet), this way their machine won't try to scale your pictures and they will print out as you want them.

Yes, it is full bleed, but for the sake of framing, it's smart to leave some border.