DIGITAL FILE SETUP GUIDE

DIGITAL FILE SETUP

In order for us to provide consistent quality results from your digital image files, we need to create some guidelines by which files are created and organized prior to delivery to our lab. By following these standards, your order will not only be completed in a more timely manner, but in many cases at a lesser cost to you.

DIGITAL CAMERA MEDIA AND CAMERA PHONE MEDIA

We are able to print from Compact Flash, Micro Drives, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo and Pro, XD, SD, Mini-SD, MMC, RS-MMC, Trans Flash, Mini CD and Floppy.

• Acceptable file formats are JPEG, PSD and TIFF only
• We cannot make prints from video clips
• Most people find prints made from files with a resolution of 640x480 unacceptable. We recommend a minimum file resolution of 1600x1200 for quality 4x6 prints. See our Resolution Explained. information on our counter or website

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS

CDs, DVDs and USB Drives with Organized File Folders (OFF System):

The following system is intended only for professional sports and event photographers who need prints from a large volume of files. Files delivered on CD, DVD, USB, or sent online and organized in the following manner will receive discounted print pricing if all criteria are met:

• All specifications listed above must be met or regular prices will charged.
• Each different print size and paper finish must have a separate folder labeled as such. Example: A folder named "5x7 Glossy" or "8x10 Matte".
• Each folder must contain at least ten image files and the order must total $100 or more.
• One print will be made from each file. Duplicate prints will require duplicate files with different names, ie. 01A.jpg, 01B.jpg, etc.

The following OFF PRICING will be used if all criteria are met

iPhoto CDs



Please do not use iPhoto CDs to deliver files to us. Apples file organizing and sharing program called iPhoto creates multiple copies and thumbnail images in multiple folders and subfolders. Rather, select your image files and burn them to a CD with conventional CD writing software.

CD, DVD, USB JUMP/THUMB DRIVES, ZIP DISKS AND ONLINE FILE DELIVERY

We accept CDs, DVDs , ZIP 100/250 (PC & Mac), all USB drives, and files sent to us through WeTransfer.com (preferred), Drop Box, Hightail, or http://transferbigfiles.com. All media will be subjected to a virus scan before being accepted.

• Image files must be JPG, PNG, PSD or TIFF. We do not print from RAW files, nor do we convert them to JPG for you.
• All files must be saved in 8-Bit RGB color and cannot have any layers, channels, paths or LZW compression.
• File names must have only one period (.) followed by jpg or tif . There cannot be any apostrophes, exclamation points (!), or other characters (#,~,%,$, etc). File names should not be longer than 20 characters.
• Files should be sized properly to the print size requested to avoid cropping (ie.4x6 sized file for a 4x6 print
• Our time to fix any incorrectly formatted files will be billed at $60/hour in 1 min. increments.
• For photographic quality results, resolution should be 300 ppi at print size.

COLOR SPACE

If you are using a point and shoot digital camera, we suggest that you do not try to adjust the color or density of your images. We look at and correct each photo as we are printing them. If you are using a digital SLR camera, we ask that you shoot your images in the sRGB color space, as this is native to all digital cameras and is the color space that our digital printers are calibrated. If you shoot raw files and convert them in Photoshop, we advise leaving them in the sRGB color space instead of converting them to Adobe RGB.

BALANCING YOUR MONITOR

Be aware that if your monitor is not color balanced, the files seen on our monitors and the resulting prints may not match your monitor. We have two suggestions that will help:

1) Free and simple . Ask for our sample print, then compare the print to the image below. Adjust your monitor?with the RGB color controls, brightness controls and contrast controls by eye. This is better than nothing.

2) Better and accurate . Purchase a monitor calibration spyder such as the ones sold by Datacolor. You can accurately balance all of your monitors: CRT, LCD and laptops.