Printing Photos - Size

Kunal, FAA always prints your images uncropped.

Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Thanks Dan. Do you know how it does that?

Kunal, the only exception I can think of is when someone orders a greeting card. Buyers are allowed only one size, 5 x 7 and to fit your image within that size constraint you'd have to crop the image, especially as the aspect ratio of the sensor for most cameras is different from 5 x 7. As far as the prints are concerned, I'm pretty positive that as long as you maintain the aspect ratio of the sensor in your file dimensions you should be able to get FAA to print the artwork un-cropped.

Cheers!

EDIT: To explain myself clearly, regarding my "you'd have to crop the image" part of my comment...when you try to place your artwork in that size constraint the artwork gets cropped automatically.

The longest side of the image will print to one of FAA's standard sizes, 12", 14", 16", 20", 24", 30", etc. and the short side gets trimmed to whatever it is. There is no cropping. As Sai mentioned, greeting cards are the exception unless the customer makes the image small enough to fit.

Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Sorry if I wasn't clear in my original post. I'm trying to print a couple of photos myself (at Costco) and wanted to understand how to print - if it is possible - a like the one above to a size like 11x14 w/o trimming/cropping it. It seems like FAA can print (at-least non greeting-cards) w/o cropping and I was curious how they manage to do it.

Kunal,

Go to Costco and talk to the operator and tell them that you want a print,say, 11" by whatever comes out. May be less than 14,maybe over a bit. The longer side usually determines the other side, as Dan has pointed out.

If you need an actual print, exactly 11" x 14" then you will also need to use a program like Photoshop,Photoshop Elements or something like that and then Push it into this size. Costco can probably do that if you want,

Rich

Not sure I understand the question, but I would imagine that they print it the same way Costco or anyone else does. They send it to a printer to print. If it is an odd size then they would cut off the excess material and have a finished print.

I updated the original post with a screenshot in PSE. I specified 11x14 as the crop size in PSE and can only select within the confines of the selected box; anything outside that box will get cropped out. What I was wondering was if FAA would also crop out that part or if FAA will print the entire image.

It seems like the longest side would always print at its original size and the shorter side would print at the photo's original aspect ratio, thereby always resulting in cropping regardless of whether it's FAA or Costco? Sorry for the basic question :)

Kunal, the way FAA prints it I believe is like this: They print all prints with a resolution of 100 dpi. So for your image, if you choose a 11 x 14 print, your image size would have to be 1100 pixels x 1400 pixels. I don't use PSE, but in Photoshop, there's an option under Image -> Image Size, where you can set the resolution and the dimensions for the width and height of your image. Check with Costco to see what resolution they usually choose to go with when making their prints and size your image accordingly. Or ask them if they will do that for you. I think that's probably the easiest way to get the desired size you'd want without having to crop your photograph. Multiply the dimensions (11 x 14) with the resolution that they will use to print the photograph and ensure that your photograph has enough pixels along these dimensions to ensure that you get a quality print.

I'm in the process of learning about the nitty gritty's (sp?) of the printing process as well, so please be gentle on me if I've stated something incorrectly :) and educate me in the process as well.

Thanks for posting this question!

Cheers!

EDIT: To get the optimum quality is one of the main reasons why we are asked not to enlarge/resample the image when we upload our artwork to FAA.

I don't know Costco's system, but they're probably limited to standard print sizes. At custom photo labs you can usually ask to have the "full frame" printed. It will still be on a standard size sheet, and you'll have wider borders on the longer side, but you'll get the full, uncropped image.

With automated ordering systems, you might find a check box to print full frame, but if they don't have that option you're limited to standard cropping.

Kunai,

Don't know if we answered your question and some of us aren't really sure what the question is! The ratio of the full frame sensor or film negative or slide, is more 2x3,so a 4" x 6" print is the uncropped image. An 8x10" print, is a bit squarer and part of the image will be cropped. Here's an example: If you go to a Lab and order a full frame print and say a 16x20", they will take the longest side,20" and then print that. The paper itself will still be 16x20, but the image will be closer to 13"x20" on that paper. If you go to the same lab and order a 16x20,boderless,say,they will need to know where you want your image cropped, or they'll crop it for you.

For FAA, if you want an image, JUST THE WAY YOU WANT IT, then upload that cropped image and you're done.

Most frame sizes and mats, are designed for cropped images,5x7, 8x10,11x14,16x20 etc.,so a full frame image on a print,with one side 8", the other side will be closer to 12", or an 8x12.

So any combination of "2x3" will and can give you a full uncropped print,from a 35mm DSLR,

Rich

There are ways of editing your image so that the uploaded file to FAA provides SOME of the common sizes.

You will see with my image below, that I was able to do this for 8x10 and 16x20

http://fineartamerica.com/products/floral-lilly-of-the-valley-tiny-by-nature-art-print.html