Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Image Questions:
How do I produce a quality
scan?
What file
format do you recommend?
Will compression
or JPEG hurt my image?
How do I avoid
JPEG distortion for low-resolution files?
What resolution should I
use for a photo? A poster?
A 3D rendering? A scan?
A generated image?
How much can I enlarge my
digital
camera image?
How can I see in advance
what my image will look like when enlarged?
Does it help to resize
an image? (see also oversampling)
What if my image needs cropping
(changing proportions of width and height)?
What is the resolution of
a typical photograph?
What resolution is required
to look good on my wall?
File Questions:
How do I reduce the size
of my file?
What if I am using Adobe?
What file formats
do you support?
What is the largest file
I can upload?
Can I send a larger file
on CD? Place your order online and write "will mail" in
the file name
space. Then see contact page for CD mailing address.
How do I avoid
JPEG distortion?
Printing/Paper/Ink Questions:
What is the largest
I can print my image?
What resolution
can you print?
What kind
of printer do you use?
Can I display my print outdoors?
Do you use UV inks?
How long will my print last?
Can you provide laminating?
Can you recommend a large-format
offset
printing service for quantities over 100?
What kind
of paper do you recommend?
How can I get samples
of your papers?
Business Questions:
Do you give quantity discounts?
If you have checked Kinko's lately, you know already
that all our prices
are discounts! We have professional customers that resell prints.
If you order a
large quantity, the order form automatically calculates additional discounts
of up to 30%
How do I get a quote?
Can you print large
quantities? How long does it take?
Can I save money on small
prints by combining them?
How
long will it take to fill my order?
Can you provide rush
service?
How can I track the status
of an order online, or view my order history?
How do I send an order by
regular mail? All orders are entered online.
Please save us
the trouble by doing this yourself. To pay by check or money order
(US funds drawn
on a US bank only) write #checknumber in credit card space, and
we'll send you
the payment address.
Can I get prints from multiple
files in one print order?
How do I return
a damaged print for replacement or refund?
What kind of guarantee
do you provide?
Who is MyCustomPrints
and how long have you been in business?
Scanning Recommendations:
- Use
300 dpi to scan most prints, this is about the resolution of photo
paper.
..use 150 or 200 to scan large items, but don't use more than 300
..if you rescale/size the image allow dpi to drop naturally (unless deliberately
oversampling)
- For
24" x 36" enlargement scan an 8" x 12" photo, if possible.
..can work from 4x6 if viewed from over 5' away
..select a print size that matches your width/heigth aspect, we will do
scaling for you
- Save
as an IBM PC compatible jpeg file (.jpg). Re-open and check for problems
before sending
..don't save a second time
..use oversampling if you rotate
an image or have a low-res image
..Adobe users: you must increase the
default compression settings, see below
..we guarantee image quality when you
follow our recommendations
- Digital
camera images - see tabel of max size below, and discussion.
- 3D
rendered images - render at 150 to 300 ppi.
..if file is too large, reasonable results are obtained with 72 or 96 ppi.
Maximum Enlargement
Sizes:
Table below assumes viewing
at 4 to 5' - see also below for computer generated
images discussion, and note for poster lettering.
To preview what your image will look like instantly on-line, see the image
eval wizard.
NOTE: the maximum printed
width is 42" - at least one print dimension must be less than this.
To figure the print size
obtainable from a given photographic or art image size, divide the
pixels by about 50, or select an image size from the table below. This
will give a minimum viewing distance of 4 to 5 feet (that is, you
must be at least that far away for the image not to look blurry or distorted):
| non-camera image size* |
camera megapixels |
suggested max print |
| 480 x 640 |
0.5
|
10" x 13" |
| 728 x 1024 |
1
|
16" x 20" |
| 900 x 1200 |
2
|
18" x 24" |
| 600 x 1800 |
N/A
|
12" x 36" |
| 1200 x 1800 |
3
|
20" x 30" |
| 1600 x 2400 |
4
|
24" x 36" |
*Sizes
listed above are for realistically textured images. POSTERS
with lettering on an
uncluttered
background or similar crisp images require DOUBLE this resolution!
Resizing:
Up to about twice the above pixel values will improve print clarity only
if the clarity exists in the original print, and not if you
simply resize an existing image. In a very clear photographic
print, probably the additional clarity does exist (see below),
but not in a digital camera image. More than twice these values does
very little. In terms of printer specs, a "dot" is only a spec of
one of the primary colors, not a true-color pixel. Sometimes resizing
is useful, see oversampling below.
Oversampling:
If you are having trouble saving as a high quality
JPEG or you plan to rotate your image
by an amount other than 90 degrees, you need to oversample
your file:
..find your software's resize or rescale feature
..select the "smooth" or "interpolate" option
..exactly double the number of pixels per inch (or total pixels
in each direction)
Examples of a distortion
prone image with and without oversampling:
original 75 DPI image with sharpe edges |
75 DPI image saved as normal JPEG |
2x oversampled 150 DPI image saved as normal JPEG |
4x oversampled 300 DPI image, without smoothing, saved
as normal JPEG |
Cropping:
If the proportions of the print you want are different than your image,
you should crop it. For example, if you scan a 4" x 6" photo, and
you want to print 16" x 20", you have to take a little off the width.
Otherwise it would print as 16" x 24" (which is the same proportion or
aspect ratio as 4 x 6). Just calculate the width divided by the height,
and make sure this ratio corresponds to you print size.
Graphics software varies
widely on how to crop an image. Some software provides a special
crop tool. Other software allows you to position a moveable mask.
Or you can create a new image of the correct size, and paste the old image
into it, letting the excess fall off the edge. Consult your help
file for your graphics program.
Printer DPI:
It takes many printer dots to make an image pixel, e.g. our 1200 dpi printer
will print about 300 true pixels per inch (ppi), depending on the color
density. This is photographic quality, see next.
If you request UV resistent pigmented ink for outdoor display, this is
printed at lower resolution.
Photographic
resolution: Photographic paper, due to the fibers,
only retains about 200 ppi resolution. This is the reason you don't
need to scan higher than 300 dpi (unless you are scanning a negative).
And since we print at 600 dpi on very high quality (smooth & thick)
paper, we easily achieve photographic quality. Of course, the resolution
of a particular photograph may be much less if it is out of focus.
Visual (Eye) Resolution:
At a distance of 3 feet, the human eye can see about 75 pixels per inch.
Digital Camera's:
IMPORTANT:
- Take photo on max
quality setting, NOT on memory save setting!
- If you plan to
edit and re-save the file, oversample
it.
- See table above
to relate your camera's "megapixels" to possible image size.
A small digital camera image
or cellphone camera image often can be enlarged only 1/2 as much as a scan
of a photographic image of the same nominal resolution. Some cameras
do better than others. Enlarge your image on-screen
so that a part of it is actual size, and see what it looks like.
The pixels in a digital camera image may be very crisp, and if the camera
compresses the image (which it usually does) this can produce JPEG distortion.
The pixels in a scan of a photograph are blended, which produces less distortion.
JPEG Distortion:
JPEG distortion occurs mostly in low resolution mages with small
features or abrupt edges, such as from a low-end digital camera.
With a high resolution image (300 pixels per inch), there will be
no abrupt edges, and you can JPEG at a high compression without harming
the image at all (for an example, see oversample
topic above). The first image below is from a customer 448x426 digital
camera image. The second image is expanded so the faces appear on
your computer screen the same size they would in a 16x20 print. Notice
the JPEG distortion is much more objectionable than the slight fuzziness.
How far do you have to stand back for this image to look OK? (in our
opinion, over 10 feet) Try this with your images when deciding
what size to print. If you cannot get at least a 1600x1200 (2 megapixel)
digital camera, we suggest sticking with film.
- from 448x426 camera
if printed 16x20 - 
Computer Generated
Images:
A computer generated image is often crisp like a digital camera image.
But since it has undergone no color distortion, and is not a photo of a
natural object, the effect is usually not as devastating. However,
the "poster" doubling rule may apply (see above).
File Size:
If you size your image to 150 or 300 dpi at the final print size, and use
a normal amount of JPEG compression, you will get a resonable file size
and a clear, undistorted image. See JPEG discussion
above for the reasons for this.
-
If your file is of low resolution,
increase the resolution by oversampling and you
may get a smaller file size because you can use normal compression, whereas
on the low-res file you cannot!
-
Investigate the JPEG settings
on your software (particularly Adobe),
or perform the final save operation with another software package.
You can manipulate your image as a TIFF file in Adobe, and convert to JPEG
with Microsoft's photo editor, for example. When done, open your
file and zoom in to verify that no distortion has been introduced.
(preferably do not re-save a second time)
-
Always save in IBM PC compatible
format!
File Formats: For
images we prefer JPEG, but can read most types, such as GIF (reduces color),
BMP (too large), TIFF (too large). We can of course read PDF files,
but may not be able to control the printing as well. We can read
standard document files, such as MS Word DOC and Excel XLS files.
Since we are consumer oriented, we do not maintain specialized high-end
software such as Quark, Illustrator, etc. If you are using these
programs, export to an image at 300 dpi, and convert to a JPEG. Quality
is guaranteed if you follow our recommendations.
Simulated On-Screen
Viewing: If in doubt about what your image will
look like, use our image eval wizard.
You are welcome to use this no matter where you get your files printed!
If you prefer, here's how
to preview it using your favorite graphics software. This works best
on a 17" monitor at 1024 x 768 resolution, but you'll still get the idea
at other settings.
-
View your image at a 1:1 ratio,
or 100%, or so that it fills the screen. This is about equivalent
to an 8" x 10" enlargement. Step back to your desired viewing distance
and see if it looks OK.
-
For 16"x20" or 18"x24" view
at 2:1, or 200%, or so that about 1/2 the image fills the screen.
Pan around so you can see all areas of image, and make sure it looks OK
at desired viewing distance.
-
For 24"x36" use 3:1 or 300%,
so that about 1/3 the image fills the screen, and follow the same procedure.
-
For larger sizes, divide the
smallest dimension by 8" and use that scale factor. Example, for
35" x 105" use 35/8 = approximately 4x the size of your screen in the 35"
dimension (or 1/4 of the 35" height visible on screen).
Order Status / Rush
Service Availability: Use the contact
form to inquire (the phone reaches only the marketing partner, who
may not know!). Rush service depends on whether we are in-town, etc.
Laminating
Services: We can take your prints to a local office
services provider and have them laminated. This may add some time
to your order. For price and more info see special
services.
Combining Small
Prints: If you are printing several small items,
you will incur the minimum order charge on each, which we require to cover
paper wastage, order setup, and handling. If you are handy with a
graphics program, you might consider combining them into a single image
which we'll handle as a single order. For example, if you want two
11 x 14's, and both images are at 150 dpi resolution, create a new blank
image which is 30 x 14 and paste the two smaller images into it, leaving
some whitespace between them. Instead of being charged $16 each for
two orders, you'll only be charged $20 for a single 30 x 14 print, and
you can easily cut them apart yourself when they arrive. As your
size approaches 16 x 20, it is no longer necessary to do this.
Ordering Multiple
Prints: To order multiple prints of the same file,
use the quantity box on the order page. You may order prints from
different files on the same order IF they are the same size and on the
same paper. Just list all the file names and upload the files separately.
Otherwise use a separate order. In either case, we will consolidate
shipping to the extent practical. Normally a $2 additional shipping
charged is assessed for a second print, substantially less than separate
shipping.
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A service of 
and
Allgraphics
- Copright 2004
