Quality Printing Advice Needed

I have been browsing around but I can't find good information on printing NOT from printer, but from local photo shop.
I would like to print my pictures in 5x7 and 8x10 sizes, I shoot my pictures in RAW format with 20D, and I read that the picture need to be in around 300dpi for quality prints, but I am not sure what are the procedures I should do with my photoshop software before I bring the file to local print shop.
Here are my questions :
1) First of all, I realise that the 5x7 and 8x10 photo print does not fit the picture sizes, so the left and right sides of the file will be cropped, is there anyway not to have it cropped?
2) I am using photoshop, any step by step advice to prepare a good JPG or TIFF file so that I could bring it to photo shop to print it, I want it to be printed in good quality, so I want to make sure I prepare the file correctly.
3) Is there anything that I need to tell the personnel in photo shop about printing the photos?
4) Any good recommendations on quality printing, like which local shop is good etc?

Thankyou.

1) No.
2) Crop to your desired ratio using RAW - create a ratio for 5x7. Don't enter a resolution.
3) Glossy or matt paper.
4) I have no idea where you are...

Save as a Q12 JPG, ignore the ppi/dpi, and don't do anything fancy - it's unnecessary.

The photolab I use has a pretty good breakdown...

http://www.whcc.com/pr​icing.htm

Click on the PDF for the Price book.

As for YOUR local photo lab, just ask them what they want. I have no local photo labs, so I bought a i9900 (friend got the epson which I have access to >) and send out stuff I want framed, or to sell.

i tried tried the free sample set from whitehouse and i will be using them. they were excellent.. photo prints from digital on kodak endura paper

I'll never understand why people don't put that in their sig.

Why not matt it to the proportion you need?

hi I am in bay area california, I wonder if anyone knows where to get a good printing? I jsut got my 8x12 print from Keeble & Shuchat in palo alto, I was disappointed, the colors are not as good that i expected.
Anyone knows a good place to develop here?
Do you recommend getting a printer myself, will be it better?

What's wrong with the colours in the print that you have? If you're expecting a match between an uncalibrated monitor and a print made with auto-adjustments on, that won't happen.

Firstly, you need to calibrate your monitor - a colorimeter based setup is ideal, though using the monitor manufacturer's profile and Adobe Gamma (or similar) is a good start if you don't have access to a colorimeter based setup.

When you've done that, you need to find a printer that uses a profiled workflow, and find out how you're supposed to use those profiles. There seem to be two alternatives. Some printers take sRGB files, others supply you with a profile for their machine, and you supply them with data converted to that profile (usually without the profile embedded). In each case, you must tell the printer to turn auto-corrections off.


DIY printing is usually more expensive than using a digital lab, and the resulting prints may not be that robust (especially if the printer uses dye based ink rather than pigment based ink). There is no doubting the quality of prints made by high quality inkjet printers on quality photo paper, but they do cost.

Prints made by a digital lab are printed onto conventional colour photographic paper.

David

In my area, Costco rocks! I've stopped using my local pro lab & am using Costco exclusively now. The 12" x 18" prints from them are EXCELLENT and can be ordered with NO lab processing changes! And at $3 each I can order one to use as a proof, make small changes in PS & have a perfect print for another $3 which is way under the cost & up to the quality that the pro lab produces for $20 in 3 days, or $28 in one day (for a 11X14"). At times I've made a few 4X6" prints of a 100% crop just to check the colors at the available resolution before printing a 12"X18" print. The colors of the small print have been consistent with the final large print.

I can't speak to their mail options, but if I upload pic files at 1AM, I can pick up the prints at the local store in the morning. You can also change some of the printing options on the back there. Just before clicking on "Place Order" at the end, click on "Options - Edit Options" for back printing & to turn AutoCorrect off. There's plenty of room for © 2005 XXXX XXXXX.
If you order at the store, tell them to turn AutoCorrect off. My store never turns it on!

"What would be the proper color space to save it in to take it to Costco?"
Go here. http://www.drycreekpho​to.com/Frontier/index.​html