Sharpening Required Online Printing

[drisley]

Hi,
I always apply alot of sharpening (using SNS) before printing with my inkjet printer.
However, I am curious, is this also usually necessary with online printing services like Futurephoto etc?

[phili1]

Drisley, if your photos are already sharp, why are you sharpening your photos. But it is my experience that some labs sharpen and some dont. You have to ask the one you use. If you sharpen and they sharpen it can degrade the end results.

I do my own printing and the print program I have has a selectable feature to do it or not.

[PFlor]

I get my prints done at FuturePhoto and do my own level of sharpening prior to sending them in, but I usually instruct them not to do any other corrections or adjustments. You may want to email your online printing service and ask about this. It may differ with each one.

[pradeep1]

You are right. You have to ask your processor if they apply sharpening. Most digital printers I know of don't do anything to your picture (Adorama Pro Lab, Walmart, etc.) other than outputting it. Some of them that are geared towards newbies do some "touch up" by a tech if they look bad...I believe my local Wolf Camera does so.

One thing to keep in mind is that sharpening needs vary on what printing process one uses. I know my pictures printed on different types of papers, using different methods require different levels of sharpening to make them look the best. Usually, I tend to sharpen more pictures printed using a ink-jet printer than pictures I have a pro-lab finish, such as Adorama.

Hope this helps,