quality for magazine

[webejamn]

i called one of our local magazines the ohter day and inquired about submitting photos, when they refered me to their webpage, i told them i shoot digital and they dont have any instructions for digital on the page, they said the quality for that isnt nearly good enough to submit in the magazine, that they could only do thumbnail at best, and thats on the very best quality shots,

so my question is, if this is true, how come i can print out a 8X10 and it looks just fine, quality is great, yet they cant use it for their magazine, or is she mistaken.... i dont know anything about the process that they may go through to get them ready for a magazine, i have the 300d, would it work or do i need to upgrade to a 20d or what? some more info would be great here, thanks very much,

[nevilleb]

I think its just their policy not to accept digital images. The 300d with it's 6.3MP resolution, should be acceptable, provided the image was razor sharp and did not exhibit noise.

Its best to ask what format submissions are required in, in such cases.

nevilleb

[webejamn]

the office is only a couple of hundred miles away, i was thinking about going in there next time i am in that town, and taking a few examples blown up and see what they have to say, i wouldnt want to be unprofessional, or overberring,
they did say if a person uses top of the line stuff that some times its good enough..

[ricphoto]

The real issue may be how their internal system is set up.
Here in Australia, I've been contributing to National magazines and syndicating overseas for 15 years.
My 20D images are published on front covers and across 2-page opening spreads ... published in Australia, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy.
No problems and I beleive that 6Mp images are possible too.

It may just be that the magazine you are trying has a system in place to scan slides and they've never explored the digital camera thing because it would mean new training (costs), new equipment (costs) etc.

Some publications out there still prefer the 'look' or 'feel' that images scanned from trannies provide ... but that's an argument and discussion for another place and another time.

Your digital camera should be good enough ... and don't try to compare the blow up to the size they produce ... there are differences in DPI, pixel count and a host of other technical matters.

But your camera should be good enough ... they are the one with the problem :)

[F. Stop Fitzgerald]

I think ricphoto may be onto something, though I would think that any publication which publishes color would embrace a camera-ready print. If it's already scanning prints for digital inclusion into the mag, then they already know about digital files. If they produce any of their own images, then SOMEONE there already knows about digital cameras.

Magazines get all kinds of inquiries. If the mag has an email address, it can handle digital files. My bet is that the mag is trying to put you off. A good way to get a foot in the door is to find out which yearly events the mag covers, then show up at some of them and then submit prints. Better yet, find out if the editor/publisher will be there. Find out where she is and put out the old hand.

[webejamn]

ya, next time i travel to the town where they are centered i am going to go and have a visit with them, i think they may have thought that some jackass with a 100$ wall mart special took a pic and wanted to submit it, but who knows

[Alpieagle]

I've had colleagues who had 300D images (RAW-shot) printed in magazines across 2 pages. No grain or similar visible.

It's definitely possible, no need to do any body upgrade.

[Mike Panic]

i've had 2 page spreads in national mags here in the us off my 10d w/ zero problems

some mags just aren't setup for a digital workflow yet, which is sad

[Desertraptor]

What camera are you using. They maybe assuming you have les than 6mp quality.

[waldograce]

i called one of our local magazines the ohter day and inquired about submitting photos, when they refered me to their webpage, i told them i shoot digital and they dont have any instructions for digital on the page, they said the quality for that isnt nearly good enough to submit in the magazine, that they could only do thumbnail at best, and thats on the very best quality shots,

so my question is, if this is true, how come i can print out a 8X10 and it looks just fine, quality is great, yet they cant use it for their magazine, or is she mistaken.... i dont know anything about the process that they may go through to get them ready for a magazine, i have the 300d, would it work or do i need to upgrade to a 20d or what? some more info would be great here, thanks very much,

What web page did they send you to?

Usually you need 300 DPI for print work.

If they have a problem with digital then print them out some 8X10's and send them that way.
If they want to waste time scanning the image back it to print it that's their problem.