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General - Frequently Asked Questions.
 

Why are Photo Color's prints better?

The saying “You get what you pay for” applies to digital printing.
At Photo Color on a calibrated monitor we manually inspect and adjust each photo to give the optimum colour and brightness.
Cheaper processors and mass merchandisers give you first-off auto machine prints.
We use the most expensive professional Kodak paper to give the cleanest whites and excellent colour reproduction. This paper has optimum thickness and contains more silver (and hence more expensive) to give the deepest blacks.
A testament to our quality is the large number of professional photographers that use our services. See Photographers that Recommend Us.
In the chain stores digital prints have become a “loss leader” (They advertise a cheap price to get you into the store in the hope that you will buy something else). With this strategy comes staff with little or no knowledge, experience or time to assist customers, all the requirements needed to produce high quality photographs
– your memories. What are your memories worth?

Please Note: We offer two options for printing digital prints in-store. The above information applies to our “Print Later” service. We also offer an “Instant Print” service where you can have your photos in a few minutes for those times when speed is more important than quality.
 

What are your guidelines for preparing digital files for printing?
For this important topic we have created its own page. Digital File Guidelines
 

Why are my photos cropped compared to the image on my camera?
The Problem:
The photos produced by most compact digital cameras* are the same shape as a standard TV / monitor screen (3:4 ratio). Standard size 4”x6” photos are wider with a 2:3 ratio. So to fill a 4“x6” print with a picture from a compact digital camera some cropping will occur.
The Solution:
The following choices are available.
Print to full 4”x6” size and either allow a strip to be cropped from the top and bottom of photo or manually adjust the cropping position at the photo kiosk. Print photo smaller to allow full image to be printed. Photo will be shorter than 4”x6”. Can also be printed on 4“x6” paper with strip of white paper at each end.

Use digital border. Print full image on 4”x6” paper with white border. The border will be wider at ends t

o allow for different ratios but looks great.
Cropped
Digital Size
Digital Border
Note;
- Prints can be made larger at 4.5”x6” to fit all of image, however this option is not a logical alternative as albums are not available for this size.
- *Some compact digital cameras have a 2:3 ratio setting which eliminates this problem. USE IT! - Digital SLRs use 2:3 ratio so this problem does not occur.
 

Should I choose gloss or lustre (often called matte) prints?

Glossy finish:

This fiinsh is often prefered for those who want to see the greatest depth in a photo. Photos such as scenic outdoor photos or photos of objects look best on glossy. If you are looking to show lots of detail, glossy is a good choice. The drawback to glossy is that the surface tends to show fingerprints and smudges to a much greater degree than other surfaces.

Lustre finish:

Lustre does not show as much glare as glossy and also fingerpints and other smudges are less noticeable. It gives a picture a more professional look and feel. People pictures, portraits, indoor shots, etc. tend to look better on Lustre. Because of the rougher finish this paper does not show quite the detail and depth seen in glossy.
 

What size is that?
 
Size
Millimetres
Approx inches
A0
1189 x 841mm

48.8 x 31.1"
A1
841 x 594mm
31.1 x 23.4"
A2
594 x 420mm
23.4 x 16.5"
A3
420 x 297mm
16.5 x 11.7"
A4
297 x 210mm
11.7 x 8.3"
A5
210 x 148mm
8.3 x 5.8"
A6
148 x 105mm
5.8 x 4.1"
A7
105 x 74mm
4.1 x 2.9"
DL
210 x 100mm
8.3 x 3.9"
B/Card
55 x 90mm
2.2 x 3.5"
 
Standard Print Sizes:
Inches
Millimetres
3.5 x 5"
89 x 127mm
4 x 6"
102 x 154mm
5 x 7"
127 x 178mm
6 x 8"
154 x 203mm
6 x 9"
154 x 229mm
8 x 10"
203 x 254mm
8 x 12"
203 x 305mm
10 x 12"
254 x 305mm
11 x 14"
279 x 356mm
12 x 16"
305 x 406mm
12 x 18"
305 x 457mm
16 x 20"
406 x 508mm
16 x 24"
406 x 610mm
20 x 24"
508 x 610mm
20 x 30"
508 x 762mm