How to get Large Hard Copy Print?

[moggy]

Hi,

It takes a lot of work to get a nice astro image. Seems a shame to leave it hidden inside a computer. What are the best ways to get a large print these days.

I am just wondering what you have found to be an economical and effective way to get a large hard copy print of your astronomical Images. Particularly post size images that you could hand on your wall.

Is printing your own on an ink jet the way to go? Fine up to A4 size but any bigger and the printer certainly costs some bucks.

Are there online services that will print A3-A1 size affordable?

What about the quick print places? I have used Office Works colour photocopier/printer. Good pricing for A3 prints but they are very reflective and hard to view.

What have other discovered?

[iceman (Mike)]

I guess it depends on the quality of your original, what resolution camera it was taken with etc.

The DSLR images (8mp and above) will print to A4 or larger with acceptable resolution, unless the bad bits around the edges are cropped out

I've printed some photos of the family in larger than A4 size (taken with a 8mp 350D) by taking my image to Kodak or Camera House.. not especially cheap, but good quality. I've printed A4 size on my home inkjet printer (Epson Stylus CX3100), and it's quite good quality for the price.

I ensure I buy good quality paper and use the highest quality settings.

[Itchy]

Printing can be a real hassle. I own an Epson R210, which does a very good job, but the biggest problem is getting the print to look like the screen image. This requires a hardware "spider" to do the calibration job properly. This is also expensive.

Your instant print places can also cause you grief. It is difficult to get across to the processor (if you can actually talk to them) what you want out of the image.

You are probably best to find a specialist who you can talk to. Of course this can get expensive for larger than A4 prints, but it is worth it for those special shots.

Cheers

[tornado33]

Ive started getting my postcard prints done at a Kodak shop at Wallsend Plaza, where they have the do it yourself machine, it prints my prints in seconds and they appear exactly as they look on the screen, so I will always get mine done there now. I assume their enlargements will be of similar quality
Scott

[NewMoon (Bill)]

Hi Moggy,

Process it in Photoshop Gimp, etc, so the image is 20 x 30 inch and 300 dpi.

Then take it on a CD, flash drive, SD card, or whatever you like to any camera shop that deals with Kodak.
Ask them to do a 20 x 30 inch print.
It will have to be sent away and will be back in one or two days.
20 x 30 prints look magic when framed.

I find that it needs several 4Mpxl shots stitched together to get a really good 20 x 30 image. (Up to 6 shots - 2 across to give the 20" and 3 down for the 30")

If you need to size an image up you must do it in small stages.
Just guess each step so it is about a 10% step up. The amount is not critical, it just has to be a small amount.
ie instead of making a single 30% increase, do it by at least 3 stages of about 10% each.

[NewMoon (Bill)]

Oooops I forgot to add that a 20x30 is about $50, but it is well worth it if (when) it looks magic in a frame.

To get good photos you need to calibrate your monitor or the print won't match what you see on the screen.
Get a gray scale and set the contrast and brightness so the whole scale can be see as individual increments from the darkest shadows through to the brightest end.

I'm not home now, but when I'm there I'll post the really good gray scale that I use.

[sheeny (Al)]

I haven't printed any big astro photos yet (haven't taken any good enough! ) but for my big panoramas, I send them to my brother on the Sunshine Coast. He runs a photo restoration business and gallery, and has links to a lab (I think in Brisbane) that can print up to 1m x 50m.

I stay away from printing myself. I know lots of printers can do a great job, but I haven't got one... so the local photo shop suits me for all my normal size and shape prints. Saves me the hassle!

Al.

[Jonathan]

I'd recommend Rabbit Photo for prints up to 10"x15". I use them all the time because they are cheap and they use Fuji equipment and paper which is as good as anything else around. Their prints also match exactly what I see on my screen every time, but it's definately worth doing a small test print if you're not sure about your montior, or their printers calibration. If you join up as a gold member ($10/year) they cost $4 for 8"x12" and $5 for 12"x15". Just make sure you don't use the "colour correction" option or anything similar when you get pictures printed at a self serve place because it will screw up all your colours and levels.

I can't tell you where you'd get 20"x30" prints done locally. Your best bet would be at a Kodak or Fuji lab and they would probably have to send it off. I get mine done through a local phtographic place that sends them to Kodak, but I'm not a big fan of the paper they use, it's too glossy and reflective. The last one I got done cost about $35.

It's a pitty your not in Adelaide otherwise I could put you on to my uncle who is a picture framer. He knows of plenty of people that have large high quality printers, and he'd also give you a good price on framing.

[NewMoon (Bill)]

Here is the grayscale that I mentioned yesterday.
I'll find where I got it and post the link later.