Back in the old days of film you had no option , no prints, no see.
So rather than going to your local Ikea and buying `that` picture ......come on ...you know the one `Three pebbles on white background`!...........why not just get one of your own printed !?!. I have been using the photoprinting website www.photobox.co.uk for sometime now , and i have to say the service and quality is second to none . With various printing options and sizes availiable at a resonable price , its never been easy to get your pictures printed , and maybe even out on display . The upside is as well as making your home look better , you also have that warm ,fuzzy feeling of knowing you did it yourself !
"Hmmmmm but i am limited by the size i can print my pictures at, my camera only has 7 megapixels" i hear you say!! Thats not exactly true . I have four images of mine on display at home, two of em at A4 size in the kitchen , these were done on my Fujifilm s5700/s700, and they look great at this size. In the living room i have two much larger prints , a 20"X 8" panorama of a pier in blackpool , which was taken on a 6mp Casio exilim digicam i had, and then i have a much larger A2 size print , which was taken with.......a 7mp olympus point and shoot !!
When you look close to an image of this size sure you can maybe see some imperfections, but you have to remember , when Auntie Flo comes round and takes a look , she wont be pressing her eyes rght up to it , the image looks just as amazing when stood a few feet away as it does whrn viewing on your PC . Dont belive me ??? Next time you walk past an advertising billboard , look closer at it, not so clear when you look at it from a few inches away is it.
So dont let the constant confusion and minefield of megapixels vs print size worry you , as long as you aint looking at it from 3 inches away , trust me , it will look fine and also give you a good talking point when people visit.So.........SHOOT IT ....PRINT IT .....AND STICK IT ON THE WALL......
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ReplyDeleteHiya Matt,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great posting. How many times do we have to scream out, "Get it printed!", before people start realising. Having your very own work hanging in your own home is the best feeling in the world. OK, having your own work hanging in someone elses home is an even better thrill. Come to think of it having your work hanging in an establishment and paid for is even better!! But prints at home give you that very first taste :)
There are some good online services available and it's great you've found one you're happy with. Some produce the most terrible ink jet prints but they don't stay in business for long. Most local stores will do an in house 15"x10" print at a reasonable cost, (and on proper photographic paper too, not an ink jet), and look absoultely great.
Couple of tips whilst I think about it:-
Gloss prints can 'double reflect' when in a glass fronted frame. Matte can look rather dull and flat though but a good Lustre finish looks best.
If you have an image that is small in megapixels why not resize? We're all used to resizing down when we upload our images but it works just as well the other way. If using a decent resize option, (photoshops bicubic, paintshop smart size etc.), you can get away with 200% or even 300% rescaling without affecting quality to badly. Far easier to print larger then.
Anyway, I'm 'blethering'.
All the best,
Victor
Lol, thats the shortest comment i have ever seen you post victor ;-)
ReplyDeleteAh , never mind!!, lol, yeah we should start a movement, the `get it bloody printed` team,when i first decided to get some prints done , i checked online for photoprinting sites, the beauty of it was most of them do a first 20-40 prints are free , only 6x4 , but when you just have to pay for p&p it made sense.i think i got about 180 photos for the price you would pay for a 36 exp film process at boots. in the end photobox won !! thanks for commenting victor .
ReplyDeleteRegards
Matt
Ah, yes. Internet connection 'timed out' and left a half done comment which I deleted :)
ReplyDeleteGot to agree, digital printing is far cheaper than film processing ever was. Plus you get to select the best ones and not go throgh the embarrassment of the poor shots being printed!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, I had often thought of getting images printed, and when I had a Photo printer that worked (I had dye sublimination printer from Kodak, far better than inkjets), used to print lot out, but since I have to order them, I don't tend to do it much. Sure I have pictures of the kids that have been printed, but nothing of anything else.
You have just inspired me into adding "look at photobox.co.uk" onto my ToDo list.
Lets hope I can get some good images to send.
Hi Matthew I just got a few photos printed for my wife. Got them done at Photobox and must agree the service and quality was excellent despite the many poor reviews they seem to get.
ReplyDeleteLarry