| Author | Thread |
|
|
08/18/2015 05:08:28 PM · #1 |
I have no shame in admitting that I am a muddy ceramist and a messy painter.....not a professional photographer, computer geek or photoshop junkie. I fell into this DPC thing like Alice down the rabbit hole and apparently have little clue which door to pick after time traveling. It's a blast being here and now that some of my photographs have seemingly been deemed worthy of a second glance I'd like to print some to put in my gallery/studio.
I've navigated the forums, spending hours getting sidetracked and have yet to successfully print a decent 8x10 of any of my portfolio pictures. I gave up trying to print from DPC and went back into my picture folders. Still no luck.
I suppose to cut to the quick the subject of this thread is my question above AND... does anyone know of a basic tutorial ANYWHERE online that teaches beginning printing from Photoshop 10? Now that I have ruined a packet of photo paper only to render over pixelated prints with little print clarity and horribly blueish blacks..... I know I am not anywhere near the right track to the Cheshire cat.......... and I will BETCHA there are lots of others here thinking the same thing I am. Where to look? Press POST....there did it
|
|
|
|
08/18/2015 05:51:59 PM · #2 |
Well, you CAN'T print well from your portfolio if those are the 1200-pixel images you're talking about, those are good for 6 inches MAX on a print.
For the rest of it, I'll leave it up to someone who has a regular print flow going, 'cuz I rarely print any longer. |
|
|
|
08/18/2015 06:17:24 PM · #3 |
For an easy start... upload your images to Wal-greens and pick them up in an hour. :D A bit longer for enlargements.
|
|
|
|
08/18/2015 09:53:00 PM · #4 |
To print images "from your DPC Portfolio" ...
1. Prepare your high-res image with the aspect ratio and DPI you want; here is a table of available print sizes in inches and pixels. This Tutorial may help with this step.
2. Go to the Portfolio image you want to print; on the "edit image" page there is a section at the bottom to upload an associated print image. Note that this large (can be up to about 14MB) file DOES NOT COUNT against your Portfolio space allocation, and DOES NOT have to follow the editing rules (if printing a challenge entry), though it still has to comply with the TOS.
3. If you want to sell the image to the public, fill out the additional info and submit for approval. If you only want to order prints for yourself you DO NOT need approval.
4. Once you've uploaded the large file your Portfolio image should now display a "Print Available" link below the title/photographer name -- click on that and order away ... :-)
There's also a video tutorial here ... |
|
|
|
08/19/2015 09:40:16 AM · #5 |
|
|
|
08/20/2015 11:00:51 AM · #6 |
Yes - first off, if you want decent sized prints, you should use a higher resolution than what is submitted to DPC. Ideally the res from the original image. I know from my own experience that I sometimes make final edits to my images after I've already sized them down - so if you're like me, you need to make sure your "large" image has the edits you want so you can print from those.
Secondly, most printing devices benefit from a presumed color management workflow. It seems like online print sources do well with sRGB - I would guess that was the case with Walgreens. So in Photoshop, if your image is not carrying or hasn't been worked on using the appropriate color profile, go to: EDIT > Convert to profile ... If you are using Costco (the most affordable place I have found), they require a specific profile that you can download and apply to your images. This is also the case for places like mPix as well, I believe.
Personally, I never had much luck printing at home. This is one case where DIY is nowhere near as affordable as letting another place print your stuff. By the time you buy paper and ink for a consumer-based color printer, you could have printed hundreds of images elsewhere.
When you look online at places that print, many of the popular places offer cheap 4x6 prints. THis is their effort to get you in there and store your files - so you become a continued customer. The thing is, however, prints that are larger than 4x6 tend to be very overpriced in comparison. That is why I use Costco when I want to print larger. Mind you, my workplace has huge epson printers that I will typically use but their primary use is not for photography - so the finish is different.
Long story short, I would say Costco.com good prices on color-managed prints. Mpix.com might be a better choice for print quality - and I believe they will send you a sample package of the papers/finishes they offer.
Also, if you are having issues but still want to try to print at home, get your printer name and look up online which profile they recommend (or they may have included the profile or software to help on a disk?)
GOod luck.
Originally posted by Lydia:
For an easy start... upload your images to Wal-greens and pick them up in an hour. :D A bit longer for enlargements. |
Message edited by author 2015-08-20 11:01:11. |
|
|
|
08/20/2015 12:34:01 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by tate:
Secondly, most printing devices benefit from a presumed color management workflow. It seems like online print sources do well with sRGB - I would guess that was the case with Walgreens. So in Photoshop, if your image is not carrying or hasn't been worked on using the appropriate color profile, go to: EDIT > Convert to profile ... If you are using Costco (the most affordable place I have found), they require a specific profile that you can download and apply to your images. This is also the case for places like mPix as well, I believe. |
Thanks a lot for the explanation, Tate. I have not printed much to date, but I may start and I know nothing about color management. I think I'll start with Costco. I assume the profile is generally available for download at their website? I tried to look but the Costco Photo Center site appears to be currently undergoing a security/maintenance upgrade and access is temporarily suspended. If that's where I should get it I can wait until it's back up. |
|
|
|
08/20/2015 12:47:28 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by markwiley:
I think I'll start with Costco. I assume the profile is generally available for download at their website? I tried to look but the Costco Photo Center site appears to be currently undergoing a security/maintenance upgrade and access is temporarily suspended. If that's where I should get it I can wait until it's back up. |
Costco uses profiles from Dry Creek Photo ... you may be able to download them from there or at the store. I do almost all my printing with them as well -- even with a recent price increase they are still a bargain. I don't use the profiles, but my images are "natively" in sRGB anyway, and I think the color match my expectations pretty well. |
|
|
|
08/20/2015 02:57:08 PM · #9 |
Oh yeah. Looks like Costco's online photo site is down for a while (among others).
Here's Dry Creek's page that will help with the color profiles - it is dependent on the particular location that does your prints since they apparently use a few different devices.
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by markwiley:
I think I'll start with Costco. I assume the profile is generally available for download at their website? I tried to look but the Costco Photo Center site appears to be currently undergoing a security/maintenance upgrade and access is temporarily suspended. If that's where I should get it I can wait until it's back up. |
Costco uses profiles from Dry Creek Photo ... you may be able to download them from there or at the store. I do almost all my printing with them as well -- even with a recent price increase they are still a bargain. I don't use the profiles, but my images are "natively" in sRGB anyway, and I think the color match my expectations pretty well. |
Message edited by author 2015-08-20 15:02:51. |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Prints! -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/16/2024 04:55:53 PM EDT.
