SmugMug Pro Users - Sharpening for Web vs What is Sent to Print

Hi everyone -

I operate a small website dedicated to my landscape photography and I use SmugMug Pro.

I want to apply some heavier handed sharpening techniques to my photos for viewing on the web, but with the way SmugMug works the files loaded to my galleries are also the ones that are sent to the print lab.

Obviously, a file that has been optimized for the web is not going to look good printed at 20x30.

So, fellow SmugMug users, how do you get around this?

I thought about creating a mirror gallery and creating a link to the printable images within the gallery for web and blocking purchases from the web gallery, printing verbiage explaining this at the top. But, what a cruddy buyer experience...maybe good for SEO though...

And no, the SmugMug sharpening that can be applied to galleries doesnt cut it for me.

Thanks everyone!

SmugMug let you put a delay on the order - it won't be printed until that delay is hit - giving you time to switch the file out for your preferred file, with edits.

I do this with events - I'll upload the keepers (with only batch job editing, WB etc) quickly to get them online while people remember about it - then manually edit (skin smoothing etc) and replace the JPG when people order them. I have a 3 day shipping delay, but I think it can go out to 7 or so.

pcj wrote in post #12150982
SmugMug let you put a delay on the order - it won't be printed until that delay is hit - giving you time to switch the file out for your preferred file, with edits.

I do this with events - I'll upload the keepers (with only batch job editing, WB etc) quickly to get them online while people remember about it - then manually edit (skin smoothing etc) and replace the JPG when people order them. I have a 3 day shipping delay, but I think it can go out to 7 or so.

Might work for lower volume, but that could get hard to manage when things get busy. Besides, then any customer that sees your image during that time is seeing an image not optimized for the medium.

When I used Exposure Manager, you still had to upload the print version of your photo (they didn't store the high resolution original though).

I think to acheive what you're wanting, you either need to have two galleries (which would be work and potentially confusing for your customers), or simply replace the final version for printing - yes, it'll be different to what they order, but so will the version you are wanting to store in the second gallery.

I went through this too, and I use a 2 day delay. I put web optimized images up, then rework whatever is purchased for the print size ordered. For smaller prints 4x6 or even 5x7, I may not bother, but anything larger, always. I don't sell enough prints for volume to be a problem, but if it were, I'd probably just push out the delay time as needed. I agree it is not a very elegant solution, but I have yet to find a better way.

I just create a seperate gallery specifically for web photos. I never knew about the delay thing. Don't know if I could be that disciplined.

What also worries me about the proofing option is the size of the images. Will the customer be able to choose a 30x40 print size if the web image is 800x600 or 1024x768?

MNUplander wrote in post #12176268
What also worries me about the proofing option is the size of the images. Will the customer be able to choose a 30x40 print size if the web image is 800x600 or 1024x768?

I don't believe they can - thats another vote for proof delays or uploading the print ready version instead of a web ready version.

MNUplander wrote in post #12176268
What also worries me about the proofing option is the size of the images. Will the customer be able to choose a 30x40 print size if the web image is 800x600 or 1024x768?

You can put the full-res print version in the gallery, then just restrict the size they can view at (to reduce theft).

As for the sharpening bit, in the gallery settings, SmugMug allows you to add additional sharpening to the display copies, maybe you could experiment with this?

http://www.smugmug.com​/help/display-quality