Orchids Postcard: Which is Better?

[funnypicmaker]

Honest opinions...
http://www.palm-springs-photography.com/orchids_postcard.html

Which design is better? From a sales and customer point of view, and from a photographer's preference. Are there any imperfections that really stand out?

[Eli F]

I think the first one is best.

[funnypicmaker]

Hmmm....I've been wondering the same thing. I'll print it out on my ink jet (which uses cmyk inks) and see how it looks. I'm guessing that the highlights on top won't be so blown out in print form. But what about the discolored foliage on the right side? In higher res, you can tell that the left flower has water drops, but the right flower is dry. The only good photos with both flowers wet are on slide film, and I have to order the postcards soon for the festival this weekend....

[rhys]

I like the first. The second isn't as bright and cheerful. Not your fault - blame the flowers :p

[GvdM]

I like the first image. One suggestion though. move the framing a little to the right so the yellow pedal just touches the blue border. that will break-up the solid green line down the right side which is a slight distraction.

Then again I am a photojournalist and not a still life photographer so I see differently.

[funnypicmaker]

Thanks, Matthew. Even if that red loses it's "wow-factor" it will still work okay as a postcard and based on responses, probably still better than the other design, even if the other one printed perfectly.

Here's a great idea that every printing company should do: mail free samples and include a CD that contains the print files used for those samples. Any company that did that would get extra clients just for that very reason.

[Photodawg1]

Love the first, and love how you created the back too! red a postcard print from my Smugmug account and it was really good, looked like the printed a picture and pasted the back to it.

[floydianslip6]

I like the first and if you can get it to print go with that. But I find the blue border takes away from the shot since they are both light and bright. My eyes track to the border. I'd say change the color of the border or take it out all together, its a beautiful image and you shouldn't hide the edges.

[SHANGHAi]

The first one has better color so I suggest that.

However, there are two reasons why you should get rid of that green border.

1. It is ugly and distracts from the photo.
2. I used to work at a print shop and we usually suggest staying away from borders in general. You are suggested to leave "bleed" space on stuff for print for a reason, because a certain area may get cut off more than another, thus resulting in uneven borders.

[funnypicmaker]

hmmmm.... it should be sky blue on a monitor. next time i re-order i might try it without the border... a couple things: landers has a clear blue sky, so that's part of the visit when people go there. using a feathered border makes it more difficult to notice tolerances during the cutting process, whereas a solid border is more easily definable. photographers i think tend to prefer photos in their purest form, whereas the general population is different. i would be interested to hear other people's opinions on that subject. thanks again for the comments. i gotta run. scrambling to get prints ready too....

[xandria]

I like the first option sans the blue border.

[amonline]

The first looks too saturated to me... I think the second is a nicer image and would really pop if the saturation was boosted on it. I vote #2 with a sat push.

[MHP]

I'm with them, ditch the border or different colour. i think a border should have some relation to the image, so as not to be something different, but more to enhance. in the top one, if it was yellow it would bring out the yellows, in the bottom- green or cream.

or of course no border at all

[funnypicmaker]

Thanks for all the honest comments. Obviously I need to get rid of the border next time. For now, I have 500 postcards and the red did come out really well. I went with Overnight Prints, which is not the cheapest, but their presses don't alter the colors very much and the gloss is very high and they use 15 pt stock

Has anybody tried USA Postcards? They have really good prices, but I'm wondering about the quality. Also, they have a 5,000 minimum. 14 pt stock is a little better than those cheap places that use 12 pt.

Now that I'm on the subject: I don't recommend 3-MAG for fridge magnets. Their tolerances are sloppier than what they told me, the cutting was not clean, and I actually measured the magnets thinner than what they posted on their site.