I want you to be happy with your photography prints!  Many people do not realize there is a vast spectrum of print quality available to consumers today.  This spectrum goes from really BAD to AWESOME and once your photographer puts digital files in your hands, it’s up to you make sure the printing does your photographer justice!  Yes, this makes me nervous 🙂

There is a lot that goes into printing a high quality photograph.  File size, paper quality, color balance, and finish all play a huge role in how your precious image is presented.   Please don’t trust your professional photographs to anyone but a professional printer!  Who do I recommend for printing?

Locally:  Peoria Camera Shop – You can use their ROES software to upload your images for printing or take your images on a flash drive to the store to place your order.  These guys are professionals and you can trust that they are actually looking at what they are printing!  They even have a display in their lobby which shows the difference between their printing and print jobs from local drug and department stores.

Online:  www.mpix.com – These guys have a great assortment of holiday and greeting card templates, but they also give you great flexibility in using your own image designs.  They seem to keep up with new design and product trends while at the same time preserving the print quality that professional photographers trust.

Regardless of where you have your printing done, I recommend that you:

1. ALWAYS upload/use FULL SIZE images.  If your online service asks if you want to use a “fast uploader” – DON’T!  They are compressing your file to expedite the upload, but your image will be of lesser quality as a result.  Be patient and let the full size files upload even if it takes awhile.
2. Print on matte or lustre paper.  Glossy paper creates glare, which gets in the way of the picture.  It also attracts fingerprints 🙂
3. Think before you allow color correction.  Color balance is a tricky thing.  What looks great on one computer monitor can look terrible on another.  In fact, unless the monitor you are viewing this website on has been properly calibrated, you might not be getting a true idea of the color,clarity, and brightness of your pictures!  These discrepancies also exist from printer to printer.  So, if a website asks you if you’d like to have them color correct your pictures for you – think twice!  If you are working with a professional printer with properly calibrated equipment, you are probably safe having them make color corrections, but it’s likely not even necessary.  If you are using a convenience store printer I do NOT recommend allowing them to make any adjustments!

Again, I want you to be happy with your pictures so if you have any questions or need help with printing, feel free to contact me.

-Kristen