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What Size Prints Do You Really Make?

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
For my prior business experience , process optimization should always start with the end in mind. The optimum process for producing a wedding collection might therefore differ considerably from that of a fine art print. As my volumn of work continues to grow ..I need to focus on desired results. To start off I focus on three specific outputs (1) web presentation , (2) small collections ....prints on 8 1/2 x 11 matt ..typical print size is about 6.66 x10 as I try to maintain the 2:3 format and medium collections on A3 with 10x15 image size. I do like to crop a little if the image requires it ..so say 80-100% of the original. I am trying to print everything on epson enhanced matt but will upgrade that to better paper with the next generation of my digital darkroom. So what size prints do you really make ? :D
 

Terry

New member
I'm newer to printing my own or knowing how to prepare files for large prints. Also, I don't sell prints or have unlimited wall space. So, at my current stage of development I am putting together collections to put into books (blurb) for myself. When I fall in love with a shot, I print it large 17x25 paper. Then using that and working backwards I am not thinking about size until I see what I've got.
 

LJL

New member
Well, I make and sell a lot prints. I try to confine things to 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, and 16x20, but just this past week I delivered several 26x20 canvases that got framed, and also had one client want everything in 4x6 because that is what her photo albums were. I also have to deliver images in both low and high resolution for a client every week after the Sunday polo match, so that things can go into electronic newsletters (low res) or be shipped off for magazine prints (high res), including posters that are 40"x60" or so.

So, it is important to be somewhat flexible in what is delivered, but at the same time, not redoing things for various sizes. I sort of settled on an 8.5"x11" size image at 300ppi in my RAW conversion and process. This lets me take things down or up fairly easily without having to reprocess. (This is really important if there are a number of retouches made, and folks want multiple copies at different sizes. Everything coming off the printer must look the same, be it the 5x7 glossy or the 20x26 canvas. There will be some slight differences due to formatting, but the main subject has to look the same across all copies.)

The one thing that I have done is to discourage odd sizes, like 4x6. So, I price things accordingly to drive business toward the image sizes I prefer to print, like 8x10s or 16x20s.

I also print most of my stuff on an Epson 7800 using the Colorbyte ImagePrint RIP, and that has saved me more time and money and provided truly matched prints to deliver to folks every time, regardless of the media for the most part. I also do most of my printing on Epson Premium Luster (now called Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster) for sizes to 16x20. Bigger than than usually goes to canvas. I rarely print on matte finish, unless a client requests it. The gamut is lower, and it usually takes more ink to achieve the same look, and the blacks are never quite as deep, though some of the newer matte finish papers are getting there.

LJ
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
I proof on 13 x 19 then print per request
Typical is 17 x 25 or larger. Larger goes out of house.
Most are glossy on Harmon FB Al
Matte is rare but usually on Hanemuhle Photo Rag
-bob
 
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harmsr

Workshop Member
I normally do 8x10 & 13x19 for the stuff that I print.

Alot of other stuff goes out as a file and gets used from something like 3x5, 8 1/2 x 11, 17 x22, or 8 ft. banners.

The real problem is when you send a file out for one size and then it gets cropped and blown up poorly to a ludicrous size without your knowledge. Hopefully, MF will save me on that.

What I print is done on an Epson 3800.

Best,

Ray
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
I can see that things can be somewhat variable with client work. But it seems that you picked a decent compromise position. Bob When you proof at 13x19 what size image are you printing . Are you essentially focused on very large prints? I ask because I expect that your images must be considerably different than what I shoot out on the street .
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Most of the requests that I get for Landscapes are in the 30" wide or larger. Somehow, what I shoot seems to lend itself pretty well to large prints. That is pretty much why the M8 is a great travel camera. I can eke out prints that large (just barely) with the M8, but I am hoping that the P45+ will give me more margin for error. I think that it is just the kind of images I tend to shoot. Nobody has yet to ask for a print of my street shots larger than 5x7, and then usually in B&W. Meanwhile, I am working my way into some studio work. I have no idea where that might lead.
-bob
 

JPlomley

Member
For my 4x5 landscape photography, 20x24 is my standard print size on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl. For the less serious M8 street stuff, 11x17 printed on 13x19 Harmon Gloss FB Al (B&W) or HFAP (color). Once in a while I'll print a big canvas from my street work if I've captured the image with my Mamiya 7. I'm currently using an Epson 7800 and generate all my own profiles using an i1 Pro spectrophotometer. Will probably upgrade to the 7900 once a few reviews emerge.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
20x24 is my largest standard size for the darkroom. I print good 35mm negs to that size, as well as medium and large format. In the digital darkroom I will go up to 17x22 with my 3800, and I have gone up to 30x30 for 6x6 scans. They look fantastic and I would love to get some more opportunities to use a wide format printer. I don't often print smaller than 11x14...it often seems like a waste of time for me. 11x14 is fine, but 8x10 or smaller isn't usually big enough for me. Unless it is a contact print ;).
 
I tend to like larger size prints. The widest paper I can print on my printer is 17" and frequently push the printed image to about the full width and let the length take care of itself (if using roll paper). The only problem is that I don't have enough wall space to display to display everything I print. The extras end up in portfolio case which is kind of a waste, butt is still fun and educational to print the images.

Mark
 

woodyspedden

New member
I have the Epson 7800 and tend to print large. (22x30 or so), I may yet end up with the new 9880 with the extra cartridges and can go up to 44" wide. Now that I have a 39mpx back (Hassy H3DII-39) it may be worth the investment. I will need to either rent one (a real hassle given its size) or go to Mike's Camera in Boulder and have a print made from the Hassy files.

Woody
 

David K

Workshop Member
Woody,
Pretty sure you can upload your file to David at Dale Labs and have him print one out and ship it to you. Might make sense with the price of gas these days. If it's a print from an Epson 9880 you're looking for better check with him first as I believe he was moving away from these.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
I really enjoy prints and prefer to show my work that way . Almost all my work is personal and when I get a odd commercial assignment ..the client always wants digital content . No question ..large prints (for me thats over the old 16x20 standard) are most impressive. But given that I am not trying to build a inventory of fine art prints or supply a client with prints .....how many prints really should be made larger than say 12x18 on a 13x19 sheet? For my needs it seems that its really two sizes.....one for proofing(8 1/2x11 or A3) and including in a small easily carried portfolio box and the other for presentation , display and serious reviews. (13x19). Subject matter of course has a major impact ..if you are shooting landscapes with MF ..than I would expect that much larger sizes would be desirable. No real answers here just trying to see how others are viewing their print requirements.
 

jlm

Workshop Member
thought i would ask a few questions.

are you mounting the prints? method?

in the old days, with silver/rag paper, I would dry and flatten prints in blotter books for a couple of days, then hot mount in a press using sheets of adhesive film.

how does one handle the inkjet papers?

thx
 

LJL

New member
thought i would ask a few questions.

are you mounting the prints? method?

in the old days, with silver/rag paper, I would dry and flatten prints in blotter books for a couple of days, then hot mount in a press using sheets of adhesive film.

how does one handle the inkjet papers?

thx
John,
There actually are many similar approaches, but not involving heat today. Some folks laminate the prints. Some mount to backing board with adhesives (spray, roll-on, double stick sheets and tapes), some mat the prints using traditional artist hinge tapes and things for archival means. Not really that different, just eliminating the old heat presses and dry mount tissues that do not work well with plastic based papers and some inks. Most of the pigment inks can handle some heat, and if printed on rag paper, that may be an option, but most stuff today is cold mount adhesive or hinge tape and mats.

LJ

P.S. Check out some of the tools and materials at Light Impressions.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Actually, we HAVE hot mounted Epson x800 and x880 prints on Harman FB Al Gloss using Bienfang buffer-mount (slightly lower temp) tissue and had excellent results --- looks just like a traditional hot-mounted air-dried glossy wet print.

:thumbs:
 

LJL

New member
Jack,
That is what I had suggested being possible, so it is good to hear about first hand results with the heat press and tissue (traditional mounting). The K3 and Ultrachome inks should handle the heat, and since the Harman paper you mention is fiber based, it should not have any issues with heat as resin based "papers" might.

John,
That will work. I tend to like using linen tape to hang the print on the backing board, but folks have used the corner mounts quite successfully also. Both will let the print float a bit and allow removal should you want to change mats or something. I do not print full bleed for most of my stuff, but leave a border for handling and mounting. Beneath a mat, nobody but you will know ;-)

So what paper(s) are you using for what kind of prints? There are quite a few new and great choices out there now to create things that are stunning in B/W or color. This is such a step up from just a few years ago on paper choices.

LJ
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
And FWIW I also *much* prefer hinge mounting to corners. Depending on the print, I will use linen or archival paper tape; linen tape for art papers, archival paper tape for photo papers...
 
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