Frequently Asked Questions
Account Management\General Information
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* Orders cannot be combined or split once they have been submitted.
When combining different product types in the same order, the product with the longest service time will be used for the service time for the entire order. We strongly recommend separating orders whenever any portion of an order is needed with a faster turnaround time. Separating two orders will get both orders back to you earlier than submitting them together. Orders cannot be combined or separated after they have been submitted.
When placing your order, please be sure to look over all of the items you've ordered in the Review Order Screen before you actually place the order. Make sure you've ordered the correct paper type, the correct finishing services, and the correct quantities. Also check the cost of the order. Make sure it is what you're expecting to pay for the order.
Materials
More information is available by each product type under Products and Services on the “Details” tab.
File Preparation and Editing
When sending files to Full Color, follow these guidelines to avoid having additional charges added for correcting your files:
- Color Mode: RGB (Recommended Color Space: sRGB)
- Acceptable Filetypes: JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIF, TIFF
- No LZW Compression
- No 16 bit files
- No Progressive files
- No Alpha Channels
- No layered Photoshop files
- No RAW or Proprietary Camera File Formats
- File should not exceed 200 MB (uncompressed)
- File Naming: Please do not use %, #, ~, @, or * characters in your filename, and do not exceed 25 characters in length
Both formats have advantages and disadvantages. The better question is, “When should you use each?” Tiff is usually the best quality output from a digital camera. However, the file size is huge compared to even the best JPG setting, and the advantages may not be noticeable. A more important use of TIFF is as the working storage format as you edit and manipulate digital images. You do not want to go through several edit and save cycles with JPG formats, as the degradation accumulates with each new save. One or two JPG saves at high quality will not be noticeable, but the tenth may be. JPG is best used as the final format for all digital photographs. You can achieve excellent quality with a JPG file even at high compression settings. This will save time in uploading to the lab and space when saving to archives.
Images intended for printing should be taken at the highest resolution setting for best print quality. Lower resolution photos printed at too large a print size may stretch the pixels beyond the point where they look sharp or clear. If your file was captured at a low resolution, artificially adding to the file size will not significantly improve the print quality. The chart below has been provided as a rule of thumb only and is based on the file’s native resolution from the camera and for properly exposed files. You can also view your files at 100% in Photoshop for a good representation of how the file will print. To view your file size, open the image in Photoshop to check the full image size and not the compressed JPG file size.
| Print Size | Minimum Pixel Size | Minimum File Size |
|---|---|---|
| 4x6 | 800x1200 | 2.75MB |
| 5x7 | 1000x1480 | 4MB |
| 8x10 | 1600x2000 | 9.16MB |
| 8x12 | 1600x2400 | 11MB |
| 11x14 | 1925x2450 | 13.5MB |
| 16x20 | 2000x2500 | 14.3MB |
| 20x24 | 2100x2520 | 15.1MB |
| 24x30 | 2400x3000 | 20.6MB |
| 30x40 | 3000x4000 | 34.3MB |
The reason for this problem is aspect ratio. Aspect ratio is the width to height relationship of an image. When you order a print size that is a different aspect ratio than the image, you cannot get the full frame of the image in the print.
When adding text, be sure to crop the image to the correct print size first, before adding the text, so you will be sure to place the text in the correct spot. Place your text no closer than .25” from the edges of the image.
Beware of online editing tools. Many free photo editing tools on the web are for online file editing and sharing, not for printing. These are not recommended for professional photographers and they do not support professional photographers. You may find that they use different terminology, they may not support cropping to a print size or aspect ratio, they may not allow you to embed a color profile, and lastly, they may lower the resolution of your file to a thumbnail.
Color Management
When chosing Color Corrected, your images are professionally color managed by our specialists. Non Color Corrected is intended for photographers who want to manage their own color. Learn More.
We recommend that you submit files in sRGB; we also recommend setting your camera to sRGB. If you are managing your own color, follow our Color Management Tutorial to calibrate your monitor to Full Color as well.
Photographic Prints
No, all of our prints are borderless, your image is printed to the edge of the print. If you would like a border, you can add the border on yourself using photo editing software. On photographic prints, borders should come in at least .25” on your image to avoid getting cut off or appearing uneven.
Yes, you can mix and match paper types in one order when ordering through select ordering systems.
Over 100 years when displayed out of direct sunlight.
We make one correction for the entire file, adjusting color and density; we do not adjust contrast or saturation. For portraiture, we adjust for best skin tones.
For best results when ordering B&W images on photographic paper, choose the B&W print tone option in the ordering system - even if you have already converted the image to B&W. You may want to convert your image to B&W yourself to have more control over the tonal range of your image, however, applying the Full Color B&W profile will give your B&W prints a more pleasing neutral tone that is closer to a true B&W. Remember, if your image is primarily B&W but has some color, you will need to use the Color print tone – do not switch to B&W.
Wallets are 2.5x3.5 inches.
We also offer die-cut wallets. It is critical that anything important in the image including text, heads, etc. should be moved in about a ¼ inch on the image to ensure that it will not be cut off on the final print. See the sizing guide under Products and Services to ensure there are no surprises.
We have two distinctly different types of canvas products. Traditional canvas means we print the print and bond it to a canvas material which can be mounted on masonite or stretched over a board frame. This is referred to as Masonite canvas and Stretcher canvas, respectively. Canvas can also be mounted on 3/16" Gatorboard.
Unlike traditional canvas mounting, with our Fine Art canvas and Canvas Wraps, the image is printed directly onto canvas using high-quality archival ink. This can be mounted on masonite, mounted on a stretcher frame or you can order as a Canvas Wrap where the image extends over the sides of the canvas, which is stretched over your choice of a ¼”, ¾" or 1½" frame
Metals and Dye-Sublimated Products
We offer a variety of metal, circle and standUP® metal prints on .030", .045" and .055" thick aluminum, available in Brushed Metal or High Gloss surfaces. To create your metal prints we use a special sublimation process to achieve an extremely high level of detail and vividness of color on ultra-thin aluminum.
To remove dust or smudges use a microfiber or soft cotton cloth. If needed, you can use a damp cotton cloth and wipe dry with a dry soft cotton cloth.
For displaying metal prints outdoors, or indoor in bright sunlight, we recommend choosing our Outdoor Metal Prints, which are rated for a 5 year outdoor lifespan.
Dye-Sublimation represents a new medium for displaying photos by infusing dyes directly into specially coated products. Because the image is infused into the surface and not printed on it, your images will take on an almost breathtaking luminescence. You've never seen a more brilliant and high resolution print! Colors are vibrant and the detail and definition are unsurpassed. Therefore, photographers need to keep a few simple things in mind when processing images for ordering dye sublimated products. Adding to an image's brightness, shadows, clarity, vibrancy and even sharpness are all bumping up the contrast of the image. For example, what the sharpen command is doing is simply increasing the contrast, but in a slightly different way. Instead of just looking at the image as a whole and making the dark colors darker and the light colors lighter, the sharpen command examines each individual pixel and its surrounding neighbors. If the pixel is darker than the average of it's neighbors, then the sharpen command makes that particular pixel even darker. The opposite process is performed on the lighter pixels. The end result is that edges of color and brightness changes to become more defined, or sharpened. Adding too much contrast to an image can result in halos and banding or posterization. Going overboard on contrast can blow out highlights and lose shadows. The color saturation in highlights fades and the details in the shadows will be washed out. Additionally, areas with too great of a contrast, especially in a small area, may also result in black artifacts or other areas of discoloration in the final product. These types of artifacts produced by over-processing an image may not be seen when looking at the file on your monitor, however in the high definition and high resolution of a metal print or other dye sublimated product they may not be acceptable.
Design
For photographic prints, borders should come in at least .25” on your image to avoid getting cut off or appearing uneven. For products requiring bleed, such as press printed and sublimated products, borders should come inside the safe line by at least .25”.
Yes, for custom sized metal prints, you can order through the Custom Metal Prints page.
Products requiring bleed, such as sublmated prodcuts, will be cut or trimmed to the final product size. Safe Lines are used to help you ensure that important elements of your image will not be lost on the final product. Photoshop guides can be found on product pages to help you correctly layout your design.
No, the Safe Line is not a cut line. Anything inside the Safe Line will be on your final printed product. However, anything outside the Safe Line could still be in the final product. Therefore, you cannot design just to the safe line or you will have uneven strips of border showing on one or more sides of your final print.
Dye-Sublimation represents a new medium for displaying photos by infusing dyes directly into specially coated products. Because the image is infused into the surface and not printed on it, your images will take on an almost breathtaking luminescence. You've never seen a more brilliant and high resolution print! Colors are vibrant and the detail and definition are unsurpassed. Therefore, photographers need to keep a few simple things in mind when processing images for ordering dye sublimated products. Adding to an image's brightness, shadows, clarity, vibrancy and even sharpness are all bumping up the contrast of the image. For example, what the sharpen command is doing is simply increasing the contrast, but in a slightly different way. Instead of just looking at the image as a whole and making the dark colors darker and the light colors lighter, the sharpen command examines each individual pixel and its surrounding neighbors. If the pixel is darker than the average of it's neighbors, then the sharpen command makes that particular pixel even darker. The opposite process is performed on the lighter pixels. The end result is that edges of color and brightness changes to become more defined, or sharpened. Adding too much contrast to an image can result in halos and banding or posterization. Going overboard on contrast can blow out highlights and lose shadows. The color saturation in highlights fades and the details in the shadows will be washed out. Additionally, areas with too great of a contrast, especially in a small area, may also result in black artifacts or other areas of discoloration in the final product. These types of artifacts produced by overprocessing an image may not be seen when looking at the file on your monitor, however in the high definition and high resolution of a metal print or other dye sublimated product they may not be acceptable.
Click the Text tool “T” on the toolbar. Click the uppermost of the two squares at the bottom of the box. The top square represents the foreground color; this will be the color of your text. Choose the desired color for the text from the palette and select OK. Click the picture where the text will be placed. A dialog box opens. Select the font name, size, style and alignment. Click in the white box and begin typing your text. Click OK when finished. Move the text by holding down the left mouse button on any selected area (surrounded by the selection line, which looks like marching ants) and dragging the text to its position. Delete the text by pressing the Delete button on your keyboard or selecting Clear from the Edit menu.