Ever print your work?

[zCypher]

A couple years back, I printed some of my shots (small sizes only) and was fairly pleased with the outcome. Now I am thinking about trying out some large prints. I'm having a hell of a time just selecting which photo to start with, but worse than that, choosing between different types of materials and so on. Metal? Acrylic? There are so many options. A really big print costs a fair bit, so I don't want to be too off the mark with experimentation.

Anyone have experience with large prints, what was your experience like? Any thoughts about particular type of compositions you tend to lean towards for print vs looking on a screen, or particular materials better suited to a particular type of shot?

 

[CuriousMike]

I've printed out a various number of shots over the past couple of years --- one thing I've consistently found
1 - printing larger is better
2 - printing "brighter photos" look better than darker photos

I've used Adoramapix for all of my printing - I sent in one shot I liked in particular of my parents ( good, bright and sharp shot ) and had them print the same shot in 8x10 in all the various styles they had - it wasn't an inexpensive proposition, but it was immensely satisfying seeing all the different textures and colors.

You might also consider printing the same photo, but with an extra 1/2 stop of exposure. I'm sure it's an issue with my calibration, but it always seems that photos I print come out 1/2-1 stop darker than I expect. Of course, a photo doesn't have a backlight ...

Also - what are you going to do regarding framing? Adoramapix has an option to print on a simple matte board ( sorta like a thin corkboard? ) that makes a good short-term framing option that makes the print pop.

The largest I've ever printed I did just a month back, a 12x36 Acrylic of my Milkyway shot. It looks good in daylight, but doesn't show well in a dim room.

 

[zCypher]

Nice! That's some good feedback, thanks. For now I am trying one 12x24 metal print and one 8x12 acrylic print with Posterjack. I didn't think about the brightness thing at all, that's a good point - we're always viewing these on backlit electronic devices, a totally different viewing experience. I'm hoping these will turn out OK, but maybe I will have to aim brighter for my next prints depending how these turn out.

They have options for framing as well. I'm trying their "float mount" style first: http://www.posterjack.ca/1.0/STATIC/CONTENT/Acrylic_Tabs/acrylic-floatmount1.jpg

That milky way shot looks great, must be something... Any other thoughts on the acrylic?

 

[zCypher]

For the 12x24 metal print:

For the 8x12 acrylic print:

 

[CuriousMike]

My guess is the bee is going to print fantastic.
The silhouette - I'm less sure about (worried about blacks being crushed even blacker)... you might do a test print on that one.

 

[Brainonska511]

I've printed some of my photos in 11x14" format (and also framed one and given it as a gift) and I need to print some more. They make nice wall decorations. As far as what type of paper to print it on, it kind of depends on the image itself. I like night shots and higher contrast shots on metallic. Some also look fine on plain matte or glossy. If you're not sure, places like Adorama (which is where I get my prints) let you order smaller versions, so you could just get some small samples, then order a larger one.

As far as which photos I choose to print, usually it's something eye-popping. Some of it has significance in that its representative of a place I used to live or representative of a set of photos from a vacation.

 

[tdawg]

I've printed a number of my photos on canvas, glass, and metal; I love it. All but one 8x10 metal print have been done at 16x20 at the smallest (20x24 is the sweet spot for me). I only do so when I find an offer on groupon to cut the price dramatically and I've only had one issue with a canvas print that the company quickly remedied by sending out a new print.

 

[Red Squirrel]

If this counts, I have this nice picture frame with a Bible verse on it with a small spot for a picture, so I printed one with my B&W laser printer and it actually turned out decent! I actually kinda jokingly put it in there, and liked it. Never crossed my mind to get some large prints professionally done though, I could definitely use some more decorative pictures around the house, I'll have to think about it, Especially some of the ones I've gotten of the moon and stuff would be neat to have in a large print. Never heard about the methods mentioned here like metal and glass, how does that work? Are they better than just normal glossy paper that you'd typically get if you got it done at Staples?

 

[Brainonska511]

I've printed a number of my photos on canvas, glass, and metal; I love it. All but one 8x10 metal print have been done at 16x20 at the smallest (20x24 is the sweet spot for me). I only do so when I find an offer on groupon to cut the price dramatically and I've only had one issue with a canvas print that the company quickly remedied by sending out a new print.

At a curiosity, where do you order prints like that from? And if don't mind sharing, could you post a picture of a print or two? I'm curious about how those look compared with a traditional paper print.

 

[tdawg]

At a curiosity, where do you order prints like that from? And if don't mind sharing, could you post a picture of a print or two? I'm curious about how those look compared with a traditional paper print.

Honestly, they are places called, Image on Glass, Image on Canvas, etc, or Printerpix, which is the one that screwed up an order but quickly rectified it. Cost is usually $50 or less thanks to Groupon; I'm not super interested in spending more.

I'll try to get a few images of how the prints look on the wall to post here.

 

[Anubis]

biggest ive printed is 30x40
many in 11x14-16x20 range as well

regular paper, canvas as well as metal paper and metal directly depends on the image and who/what it is for

 

[Syborg1211]

Bayphoto has a cheap sample pack option for metal prints where you can order 5 small metal prints of the different surface options and see the effects. Pretty useful for helping to get over the option overload with those. I'd recommend instead of printing the whole photo you want to do bigger, you should print a small section of what you intend to print bigger. For example, if you want to print at 20x30, do a quarter of your photo for a 4x6 sampler. I did my whole photo and it made it harder to tell what the quality would be like blown up.

That said, I printed a couple at 30x45 and love them.

 

[bigrash]

I order canvas prints all the time. Groupon always has deals for canvases so I go through them. Last one I ordered was a big panoramic 48"x16" and only cost me $40 (excluding shipping). I'll see if I can put up a pic later.

 

[zCypher]

Awesome, thanks for all the great feedback. I'd definitely love to see what that canvass looks like!

 

[BrainEater]

Nice pics.

I've done some 'medium quality' prints....I've really liked the shots.
The only advice I might give , is this ;
Do trial prints at office depot/staples , to see how they turn out.....
You can use medium grade papers/print quality for cheap (10-15$ for poster size) , and still get a feel for how the image will turn out.
I have some amazing 'medium grade' prints from staples.