suggestion for a print

I have a file thats 12MP and 70 DPI. I already printed a test photo in 36"x 21"(pic was cropped from top and bottom).

I am surprised by how well it turned out. It looks nice and clean even from a few feet away.

Now I want to print it in same size but it color and on thicker paper.

What is the best kind of paper to print on if I go to the lab? Not sure what to tell them. What kind of finish brings out the colors and brightness best?

Also what format should I save the file in? I didnt take this pic in RAW so its currently in JPEG. Will changing format even do anything at this point?

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PJmak wrote in post #17872040
What is the best kind of paper to print on if I go to the lab? Not sure what to tell them. What kind of finish brings out the colors and brightness best?

That all depends on the image itself. The subject matter, lighting, textures, and colors all come into play when making this decision......as well as the artistic vision of the photographer.

Some images look their very best on metallic paper, while others would look horrible on metallic. Some look awesome on canvas, and the texture of the canvas will bring out the painterly qualities of the image. Other images would look horrible on canvas, because the texture would not allow for the accurate resolution/rendering of extremely fine details and the "painterly" look might be in conflict with your artistic vision for that particular image. Same thing for matte, gloss, etc.

If you posted the image here then we would be able to provide you with pertinent feedback.

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Thanks for input. Heres a low res version

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Wow - what a great image! No wonder you want to print it big!

Might I ask, what were your plans for how the print is displayed? I ask because if it is going to be framed or matted, you will lose a little bit of the image around the perimeter, due to the overlap of the frame and/or mat. This overlap won't be any problem on the top or the bottom, but on the sides it will present some aesthetic difficulties. There is sufficient separation between the right edge of the frame and the child, but if any of this separation is lost, and the child gets any closer to the edge of the frame, it will look awkward. The same goes for the person upon the extreme left edge of the frame. So, if this were going to be put into a frame or under a mat, I would suggest adding some canvas to both the left and right sides of the image.

As far as what medium to print on, if it were my image and I were getting it printed for myself, I would have it printed on metal. Not metallic paper, but an actual sheet of aluminum. My reason would be that I would prefer the clean look of a presentation without a frame, and such a presentation would mean that I would not have to worry about perimeter overlap and the need to add canvas to the edges of the photo. I also believe that the print would result in favorably rendering the image with regard to contrast, color, and luminance. But that's just my opinion (beauty is in the eye of the beholder), yours may be different.

Here's a link that describes the type of print that I mention above:
https://www.bayphoto.c​om …rints/single-metalprints/
Please note that I have not used Bay Photo for this type of print (I use Find Art America). I posted the link to Bay Photo because I think they do the best job of describing this type of print, although I have no idea if they do a stellar job printing on it or not.

EDIT: Here is another links that reviews and discusses metal (and acrylic) prints:
http://fineartamerica.​com …ges.php?message​id=1642354

And a link to FAA's metal print page where you can upload your image for printing:
http://fineartamerica.​com …reate-custom-metal-prints

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How you intend to present the image also has an affect on what paper type to chose. You are talking about bringing out the colour, but the image you have posted is as far as I can see a monochrome image with a bit of a sepia tone. So there is not a lot of colour to bring out in the image. If I were to create a print of this image, and money was no object, I would first have it printed on traditional Ilford Fiber based silver halide paper, Preferably a warm tone bromide type paper. Then I would apply a traditional sepia tint. That is going to be very expensive though. The only lab that I know of that does digital prints on FB Ilford papers is Whitewall.com and a print of that size would be around £100 in the UK or $165 in the US, and then you still have to tone the print yourself. They do an Resin Coated paper that would be about half the price that could be toned as well.

Other than that I think that printing it on a semi-gloss/luster paper will provide the nicest finish for this print. I would avoid any finish that is normally very vibrant for an image of this type, that would just be a waste in this situation. semi gloss/luster will be fine though.

Alan

Thank you

Wish I had a better camera at that time. Its only a 12mp and wasn't shot in RAW.

I am familiar with aluminum print. I went to an art gallery this weekend and the guy there had a few prints done on those.

I would prefer to do it on aluminum but its kind of out of my budget. I guess if the picture was perfect and larger in MP I wouldn't hesitate. It still looks fine to the eye so I still might do aluminum print anyway.

I agree with you when it comes to framing. I wouldnt want to do a frame for that reason and because I want a more modern clean look

^^ thanks for input. I guess I dont want it to look washed out. I want the yellow/orange tones to show up nicely.

Ill look into options you suggested

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PJmak wrote in post #17872243
Wish I had a better camera at that time. Its only a 12mp and wasn't shot in RAW.

I don't think that 12 mega pixels is a limitation for this image at all. This photo does a wonderful job of representing form, space, light, and activity - not to mention atmosphere and mood. None of these qualities rely on resolution of fine detail. In fact, being a backlit silhouette image, there really isn't any fine detail in the subject matter. The things that matter in this piece - the things that catch one's eye and hold it - look just as good at 12 mega pixels as they would at 25 or 40 mega pixels. The resolution really doesn't make any difference with this type of aesthetic, especially at a size of only 36 inches.

PJmak wrote in post #17872243
I would prefer to do it on aluminum but its kind of out of my budget.

The aluminum prints are more expensive than prints on most kinds of photo paper, but when you take into account the fact that all you are paying for is the print (no frame, no matte, no glass), then the total cost is really quite reasonable.......in most cases, it is less than the cost of the traditional print/matte/frame/glas​s option. I am not trying to persuade you.......just want to make sure you take everything into consideration.

I have used FAA for metal prints. The size I have most commonly ordered is 36", and the details look great (according to my clients) even with just the 12MP, 15MP, and 16MP cameras that were used for the images. Here's the price for a 36" by 24".......the price may be marginally lower for the 36" by 21" print that you are considering.

What you said makes sense and thanks for nice comments btw.

I called a few places including FAA and nobody does custom size metal prints. I used the image uploader feature on FAA website and for my image the biggest size offered(in metal print) was 20x13.

A local place here does self adhesive vinyl and they glue it to a metal sheet. They charge $50 for the size I want.

I have to go see some examples of how it would look.

Do you have any experience with this?

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PJmak wrote in post #17872040
I have a file thats 12MP and 70 DPI. I already printed a test photo in 36"x 21"(pic was cropped from top and bottom).
Now I want to print it in same size.......

PJmak wrote in post #17872600
I called a few places including FAA and nobody does custom size metal prints.

That's funny - I just uploaded a file to FAA in that aspect ratio, to see if it would work. Looks like 36" by 21" shouldn't be a problem:

PJmak wrote in post #17872600
I used the image uploader feature on FAA website and for my image the biggest size offered(in metal print) was 20x13.

Their basis for determining maximum print sizes is 100 pixels per inch. Hence, this is surprising because you said that the camera you used is 12 mega pixels. A 12 mega pixel DSLR camera will give you roughly 4300 pixels along the length of the frame. This would result in FAA stipulating a maximum print size of 40 inches, not 20 inches.

I suggest that you check to make sure that the image you are using is really the full resolution of the original image. It could be that at some point you generated a lower resolution version (either intentionally or by default) and that you are unknowingly uploading that version to FAA.

PJmak wrote in post #17872600
A local place here does self adhesive vinyl and they glue it to a metal sheet. They charge $50 for the size I want.
I have to go see some examples of how it would look.
Do you have any experience with this?

Unfortunately, no, I don't, but $50 for a 36" by 21" mounted on aluminum sounds like a heck of a bargain! If it turns out good, please let me know. I would be very interested in buying prints from those folks at those prices, as long as the quality is top-notch.

By the way, are you in the U.S.? If so, what area are you in?

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You are right.

I emailed this pic to my self and downloaded it to my phone which is where I uploaded it to the site from. For some reason it resized it self to1920 x1070 on my phone. I didnt even know until I checked now. The version above is even smaller resolution I grabbed of my facebook.

Yep Im in Sacramento, Ca.


I will definietly post results if I go with the vinyl option. I have to go see some examples one of these days.

However, $115 for a nice metal print is not bad at all. Im really considering it.

Whitewall the company I mentioned in my previous post also does several different options for prints on aluminium, in custom sizes.

Alan