Large Poster Prints in Brisbane?

Hi Group,

Im looking for a good source that can print poster or similar size prints.
Whats the normal practice and image type most places wish to have. What size
does the picture need to be taken in to print to poster (a3? or larger) RAW?

Cheers,

B.

 

What size are the files you want printed Ben?

I have the facilities to print (600mm x 6M) prints. I can scan from
negatives or enlarge most digital images. The main difference between
camera RAW and jpg files is the detail discarded to reduce the files to
jpg makes it a little (but not much) harder to enlarge the image.

Generally speaking no digital camera can natively produce a file big
enough to make a poster. The technique called Interpolation is used to
enlarge the files. See here for some information http://www.ryadia.com

My prints are 75 year life, Inkjet. I can laminate them (on the spot)and
make them last as long as any other photograph. Several traditional labs
also have the technology to print photo posters. One which I used before
investing in my own equipment is: www.fstoponline.com.au. The cost from
them is about $65 for one print and less for several of the same size.
My costs are fixed, no matter how many you want.

Harvey Norman at Mt Gravatt have an Epson 600mm inkjet service too. I
think they charge about $90 a poster or it might be per sq meter, I
can't remember which. Anyway, $55 each from me and $20 extra if you want
it laminated. It might be just as easy to buy a can of UV photo sealant
for $15 and coat about 4 of them with it. You'll get the life from
almost any coating which will adhere to the paper. You don't have to
laminate them. The same applies to photos incidently, Sunlight will
destroy them in a short time.

Cheers..

 

Try www.digilab.com.au ...I have always found them to provide great service
and excellent quality.

 

Should i take them in raw? I normally take them in 3264x2448. Is both OK ?
OR isnt there must noticable difference unless you're real picky

 

First, contact them for a "calibration kit" so that you can adjust your
monitor to look similar to their output.... ie you want to see on screen how
your image will look in print. After doing this you should run a few small
test prints and make fine adjustments so that you are confident that your
larger images will print OK.

Don't send them RAW. RAW conversion is a process that offers many variables
and these are best done by the photographer, as only you will know what you
like. Plus there are many RAW formats out there and I would be very
surprised if any lab is catering for all formats of RAW, if any.

After your RAW conversion you would normally save the file as a TIFF of a
JPEG. TIFF will offer the best quality, but it is also the hungriest on
file space. So it depends on how you intend to transfer your images to them.
ie If you are sending them on a CD, you may as well send TIFF for the extra
quality.... but if you need to upload them to their server, you would be
better off with JPEG for the smaller file size.

If you do send JPEG you may be asked for a compession level of 7.... I find
that a bit low as it can look a little messy around text (if you have
created a poster with title or something), so I run at level 10 for JPEGs.

With regard to file size.... They print images at 250ppi, so a 10D (6mp)
will only give you a native size of around 12x8 inches, so you will need to
interpolate up to your required size. You can do this using 110%
enlargements in Photoshop using it's bicubic engine, or using an
interpolation program like Genuine Fractals, VFZoom or S-Spline 2. I
regularly print 20x30 inch prints (@ 250ppi) on their Pegasus LED and these
are around 107mb in size.

If you wish to print bigger via an ink jet machine you may get away with a
running at a lower ppi, but I would have a chat to them about that, as size
and intended use can have a lot to do with what ppi to run at.

I hope this helps.

Russell
POTD.com.au

 

Correction....

After your RAW conversion you would normally save the file as a TIFF "OR"
a
JPEG.

 

i've had good results with fspot in the valley. printed out some lambda l2 of
my photos for last year's xmas gifts (yes i'm THAT cheap ).

prices aren't bad (or weren't at the time) and service is good. they only
accept jpeg, but the photos i printed out, 50x30cm turned out great.

www.fstoponline.com.au

its a bit of a pain setting up an account but it doesn't take TOO long.

 

Hi, do you want to print it on silver hy... paper? If yes, try RGB in
Yeronga. They only accept JPEG file and the charge is only $17.5 for 20x30
inches print.

 

Hi,

Silver HY ? I have no idea what this is...

 

I think it is normal photo paper instead of using ink. You may call RGB for
more information. They phone number is 3217 1313. The owner is Greg Black.

 

Silver HY ? I have no idea what this is...

Silver halide - eg silver chloride, bromide, iodide
- strange meta-stable salts of the element silver, which
break down into microscopic metallic silver grains when
exposed to a tiny amount of light. Weirder still, the
resulting metallic silver will autocatalyse gross additional
breakdown when the result is immersed in a suitable
reducing agent, neatly amplifying the light signal into
a negative logarithmic density proxy the accumulated light
flux.

Believe it or not, years ago photographers actually used
this crude chemistry to produce quite reasonable analog
monochrome images. They even made colour ones by various
layered metallic dye transfer processes. It seems that a
few weirdos still do, but we're gradually weeding them out...