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Our
Digital Output Help section covers the following topics:
Digital
Camera Users
CHROME can accept your
digital camera images from CD-ROM, DVD, Compact Flash, Smart Media, and Memory
Sticks. Simply bring in your disk and tell us what you need. Please
see our Reprints and Enlargements
page for price and size options. Images brought in on
Compact Flash, Smart Media, and Memory Sticks can be scaled and
shot to the size of your choice, but image cropping may occur. Many digital cameras
allow you to choose from several resolution/quality settings.
Using a higher resolution setting will provide sharper images
on print enlargements (but also use more disk space). We can show
you samples of digital images printed at various sizes and at
various resolutions.
Your digital camera
images can also be made into 35mm slides.
The optimum resolution for a digital slide is 3000 pixels
by 2000 pixels. Although many digital cameras shoot images with
fewer pixels, you can get good results with fewer pixels than
the optimum value. For best results, we suggest using a high-quality
setting on your camera when taking pictures that will be used
for slide output (as with print enlargements). Please see our Presentation
Graphics section for pricing and turnaround information on
Slides from Digital Files.
Photoshop
and other image editing and rendering applications
If you are experienced
with Photoshop or other image editing and rendering applications,
you can exercise complete control over your digitally-captured
images. Here are guidelines on how to create and submit your files
to obtain the best results.
Files intended for
10x15 prints or less, should be saved in JPEG (.jpg) format,
and in RGB mode. Our printer can print at 300 ppi, but will scale images of any size and resolution to the size you specify. Image files at lower resolutions can still produce good results. If the aspect ratio of your desired print is different than the aspect ratio of your file, cropping may occur.
For prints exceeding 10x15 please see the Large
Display Prints section below.
When preparing images
for output to our ChromeRA printer or our HP Designjet Z3100 for, you can submit RGB
Photoshop, TIFF, JPEG files.
The ideal resolution is around 200 pixels per inch. Please use
the Image Size Dialog Box to set the image dimensions to your
desired print size (see above). For these printers, we don't suggest
"resampling" your image, but allowing the resolution
to remain at the value shown in the dialog box after your preferred
dimensions are entered. Please be advised that the closer your
resulting resolution is to 200 ppi, the better the quality of
your output.
Please
see our Reprints and Enlargements page for price and size options on all photographic prints, and our Presentation
Graphics section for pricing and information on Large Format
Inkjet Prints.
Photoshop Instructions
for All Digital prints
Size:
To assure that
your image will be printed at the size you order, bring up
the "Image Size" dialog box in Photoshop and set
the "Print Size" dimensions to the proper width
and height per the chart shown above.
It is possible to increase or decrease the amount of pixels in your image, but please be aware that
"resampling" your image (changing the file size
by adding or subtracting pixels) may degrade the image quality. Generally, it is more acceptable to resample an image to a smaller
file size than to increase it to a larger file size, but starting
out with the proper resolution when the image is captured
(scanned, rendered, etc.) is best.
Color &
Density:
In your Photoshop
"Color Settings" dialogue box choose "Web Graphic
Defaults". This will make "sRGB" your RGB working
space. Using this setting, and a calibrated monitor, you should
get back prints that closely match what you see on screen. |
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Terminology:
PPI vs DPI
The
concept of ppi (pixels per inch) and dpi (dots per inch)
are basically the same. An image is made up of pixels
when in its digital state, and is then expressed as dots
on when printed on some devices, such as our large format
printers. A computer monitor displays an image in pixels.
Our Fuji printers and film recorder use a technology that
produces continuous-tone output, so it is correct to express
the resolution in pixels rather than dots |
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For Slide Output
To prepare a file
(TIFF, BMP, PICT, GIF, JPEG, PCX, TARGA, PSD, PCD) for slide
output, please provide RGB or grayscale TIFF (.tif) or high-quality
JPEG (.jpg) files. We can do any necessary conversion, but preparation
charges may be applied.
There are no specific
size requirements to shoot these types of files because the
full frame of the digital image is scaled to fit into the image
area of the film. Document size and resolution are not as important
as total amount of pixel information in your file.
For
optimum results on slide film 2000 x 3000 pixels is recommended
(approximately 18MB in RGB color), but you can achieve good
results with less. To use the entire slide image area, set your
file up for a 2:3 ratio. We recommend adding a 5% black Canvas
area around your image to account for the slight encroachment
of the plastic slide mount.
Please
see our Presentation Graphics section
for pricing and information for slides from digital files .
Other
Graphics Applications (Powerpoint, Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDRAW,
InDesign, QuarkXPress, Word/Excel)
We have the above applications
so you may bring in the files saved in the program's native format.
If you are using another application other than those listed,
please call us. We may be able to suggest a way to save the file
so that it may be imaged.
When possible, please
use the page setup or document setup features of the software
to specify the print size you need.
Note: Our ChromeRA and Fuji printers
are primarily intended for photographic images (jpg, tif, bmp,
etc.). Although we can achieve excellent results from the above
listed programs, additional preparation is required to convert
the files to jpeg and will result in a $5 per image postscript
fee. This does not apply to large display prints, which prints
directly from major graphics applications.
If you are creating
files for large display prints and your software does not allow
document sizes as large as you'd like, set up your document for
a size that is of the same aspect ratio as your desired final
print size. For instance, if you create a document at dimensions
that are exactly half of the final size, we can scale it here
at CHROME to 200% and this will result in a print at the size
you need. Just be sure to discuss your situation with us when
your file is submitted.
Please see our Reprints
and Enlargements section for price and size options on photographic prints
that are less than 30x40 inches. Please see our Presentation
Graphics section for pricing and information for HP Designjet Z3100 output on canvas or watercolor paper.
Certain graphics applications
provide a 35mm slide format page size, which you should use when
creating files for slide output. Powerpoint, CorelDraw and some
others provide this option. When this preset page size is not
available, please use a page size of 11x7.33 inches or some size
at the same 2:3 aspect ratio. This is very important if you want
your graphics to fill the entire slide area. If the page size
is created at another aspect ratio, the graphics will scale to
fit the slide image area and may result in the excess areas to
be filled with an opaque black area. This is generally not a problem
since the black area will not project.
We have the means to
shoot Word and Excel files to slides, however, these programs
are not the best choice for slide output. Preparation charges
may be applied to your job if significant time is required to
adjust your files for slide output. Powerpoint is clearly the
best choice for 35mm slide presentations.
Submitting
Files for Imaging
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Information
We Will Need from You
When dropping
off or electronically transmitting computer files for imaging,
there is information that we absolutely require before we
can begin your job:
- Your name
and phone number.
- Type of output
you need (since we offer several type of output, please
specify).
- Quantity of
images or slides contained in the files you've given us,
the file names, and the quantity you require of each image.
- TURNAROUND
TIME of your job. Normal turnaround is 48 hours for most
types of digital output, but rush service is available.
We provide an online job submission form which makes it easy to provide the information above. Please see our File
Transfer section for more information. |
What to Submit:
Files and Proof Prints
For all the applications
we support, you may simply submit the application file to us.
Some programs require support files (addition graphics imported
into your image from other programs) to be included with the application
file.
To avoid confusion
and eliminate the possibility of errors, it is advisable to bring
your disk with only the files that you need imaged (along with
any required supporting files). In multi-slide programs (presentations
programs, Quark, CorelDRAW, etc.) we ask that you include only
the slides to be imaged in your files.
Also, when submitting
files with more complex graphics (text, photos, artwork, graphs,
charts, etc.), it may be helpful for you provide us with a proof
print of each slide or print to be imaged. This is the best
way to ensure that you will receive each slide or print
you've ordered and that each has imaged correctly to film or paper. Additionally, we can create a pdf file which accurately represents the output of our devices, We can send this file electronically for you to proof.
Font
Issues in Presentation, Illustration and Page Layout Programs
To ensure that we can
image your files correctly, it is important that we have the fonts
you have used in your image files available to us to install on
our system (this does not apply to jpeg and other bitmap images).
Fonts used in your files must either be loaded onto our system
or replaced by a font that we do have. To avoid problems with
fonts, please be sure to include the font files you've used with
your files. Some applications offer an "embed fonts" capability which should eliminate any font problems.
35mm
Slide-specific Issues
Caution for
Slides - Don't Get Too Close to The Edge!
For slide output,
it is important in all presentation, illustration and page
layout programs to leave about a 1/4 inch margin so that
text and graphics you want to project will not be cut off
by our slide mounts. See the
Photoshop and other image editing and
rendering applications section above "For Slide Output" for instructions
to avoid cropping on those types of files.
Slide Presentation
Design Hints
Always be sure
to choose contrasting colors for your text and background.
For example, if you use a dark background color, be sure
your text and graphics are a light color. Slides created
with a dark background color and lighter text provide excellent
results, but a light background with dark text works well,
also.
Red text and
lines can often look great on your monitor, but can be difficult
to read when projected from slides. If it is important to
use red, it may help to add a black drop shadow to your
text. Red also works best when placed on a white or very
light colored background.
Need a series
of scanned photos dropped into Powerpoint for a slide show
presentation?
Microsoft offers
a free "Add-in" called Photo Album, which you
can download from the Microsoft website. It magically puts
each individual digital image on a separate Powerpoint page,
and it takes only moments! It is launched from within the
Powerpoint program after it is installed.
Go to the Microsoft
website at www.microsoft.com and search for "photo album" to find instructions
and the add-in program.
Sorry Mac users.
This appears to be a Windows-only option.
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As always, if you
have any questions regarding any of our digital services, feel free
to call us at 619-233-3456.
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