WORKING WITH A DIGITAL SERVICE BUREAU

© Brenda Tharp. All rights reserved

I had a client order a 16x24 of a fine art image the other day, one of my favorites from my Impressions of Nature series. After I stopped jumping up and down with joy, I had to get down to the task of having it printed. I don't have a large printer, so that meant having a professional printer do it for me. But that was easy, since I developed a great working relationship with a digital service lab a few years ago.

It's great if you have the experience of using Elements, Photoshop CS2, or even Painter, to produce a quality digital file to print from, and the means to print it on quality archival printers. If you don't, you need to find someone you can trust to produce the image as you envision it. Some of that responsibility will fall on your shoulders, to communicate what you want to the digital preparer, but ultimately, you still want to work with someone who has a strong eye for photographic printing and won't interpret your image their way.

Here are some tips for getting the most from the digital service bureau:

1. Send them a TIFF or PSD file, not a JPEG, for best results.

2. If you have prepared the file digitally yourself, send them a good quality reference print from your printer. They won’t be able to match it exactly, due to the difference in papers, inks and printers, but they’ll have something to refer to and it will help.

3. Find out the specs for sending a prepared file to the service bureau. Do they want the file as a flattened or layered TIFF? Do they want a certain color profile embedded into the file? Do they want to size and sharpen it or have you do that? (and, do you want to trust them to do that?)

3. Ask for a proof print. If you haven’t prepared the file digitally, and are counting on them to do it, that proof will be essential to seeing what their interpretation was of the file you sent them, and you might be pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised with the results! But this is where you get to change things - and adjust contrast, color balance, dodging/burning areas, etc. to arrive at a final print that you’ll be happy with. Even if you have prepared the file yourself, ask for that proof.

If you don’t know what to tell them, in terms of contrast, color, etc., then it’s best to have someone who’s eye you trust, and ask for their opinion on what needs changing on the proof print.

Even though my skill in Photoshop is continually growing, when it came to making the best print I could for my client, I took this image to my trusted service bureau, Colorfolio. Based in Sebastopol, Colorfolio works with clients across the county. They have topnotch equipment for scanning, preparing and printing, and the knowledge to use it all well. Bob Cornelis, the owner, is also a fine art photographer, oil pastel artist, and a guru when it comes to Photoshop, so I know my images are in very good hands when I leave them off to be worked on with Bob and his staff! If I haven't done the prep work myself, I know I can trust them to get very close in the proof print, and we discuss it from there. I have used their services for 6 years now, and the results are always great. I use them for drum-scanning my slides, and to prepare files that are more complicated than my skills can handle right now. Although I’ve been saying for a while that I’m going to get my own printer and get up to speed on Photoshop, having such a great lab has allowed me to focus my time on other things instead, and maybe that large format printer will just wait a little while longer.

Have a great day, everyone.

Comments

[Twyla]

How do you chose a photo printing service? I have tried several and have been sorely disappointed with the results.
Also, what if you only have a jpeg of the image you want printed and not tiff or png or psd or anything of quality?

[Jamie]

Brenda,
Love your abstract shots of the Merced River. How do you achieve that look? Is it all done at the time of the shot or do you do some work on the computer. I hope you don't mind sharing. I'm learning a lot and participating in a Macro class at the moment.
Thanks,
Jamie