Photo site for enlargements?

[andyoxon]

Where do you get your photo enlargements from? The only site I know of (but not used) is http://www.photobox.co.uk I may be interested in trying poster print size http://www.photobox.co.uk/shop/wall-decor/poster-prints.

Edit: how large have you had printed up before..?

 

[Melvil]

I've been very impressed with colour management of Bonusprint - seriously. I now use them and them only now. They get the colours spot on to what I see on the computer.

 

[andyoxon]

Thanks - sounds good. Bit cheaper too.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Photobox: fantastic quality poster prints (I've had lots of 30x20" prints done there), and as they have all the consumer settings switched off, the file you send them is the print you get (assuming a calibrated monitor).

Their own drawback is that they're a bit disorganised and make mistakes sometimes, but they've always sorted them out cheerfully.

Beware of labs that do horrible things to the contrast and colour, which is most of the high-street places ...

Ben

 

[andyoxon]

I use a laptop at home and unfortunately I can vary the brightness of the image just by tilting the screen - are there any tricks to increase your chance of getting the best results. How can I best calibrate the screen, it's 1440x900 with a ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 card? Is it a good idea to have a few smaller test prints done first..?

edit - have a reasonable desktop 19" 1280px Samsung screen at work attached to a mac, I could check images on - any ideas on calibration of this too..?

 

[kyuss]

The best thing for calibrating your monitor is a dedicated hardware monitor calibrator like the Spyder range. However, I design stuff for print and in 17 years I've never had any major problems with colour reproduction when using Supercal for the Mac which does a pretty decent job. I'm sure there will be similar shareware out there for the PC.

Unfortunately LCD screens vary greatly in their ability to produce good colour. There are 3 main types of LCD panel.

TN panels (twisted nematic) are found on most of the smaller (22 inch and under) and cheaper lcd flat screens and most laptops. These are the least impressive for colour reproduction as they are unable to display the full 16.7 milion colours and instead use dithering to make a 'best guess'. They also have a habit of being very poor when viewing from any angle other than straight on and have a habit of over saturating colours, particularly red.

Next best are the VA (vertical alignment) panels which include PVA, S-PVA and MVA. These are pretty good and can display true 16.7 million colours but while not as bad as TN panels can still produce slight colour shifts when viewed from an extreme angle.

Then there's the daddy. The S-IPS panel (in plane switching). These are THE monitor to have if you're a graphics professional. Great with wide viewing angles and stunningly accurate colour, just as good as a quality CRT. Seriously expensive though.

EDIT: photobox are good. The photographer at the newspaper I worked at used them all the time and we've never had anything but good quality, fast turnaround stuff from them. Never used their large format service before but if it's as good as their regular stuff then it'll be good quality and great value.

 

[andyoxon]

Thanks Kyuss, I think I'd have to compromise. This Dell has a DVI port, so one option is to get a decent LCD panel with good wide viewing angle, and reasonable colour. In other words I suppose the cheapest option to improve my chances of getting it right. What would be the cheapest PVA, S-PVA or MVA panel I wonder.

To begin with, I may just risk £4 and see what the result is...

 

[kyuss]

For monitors have a read at TFT central and behardware. Really good in depth reviews and tells you what type of panel each monitor uses (unlike the manufacturer).

Also check out Overclockers who do good reviews and have really good prices. For instance they have their own range of monitors (no doubt re-branded big name ones) like this one which is just an insane price for a 24 inch let alone one with a PVA panel. I paid more than twice that for my 24 inch Dell with the same panel less than 6 months ago.

 

[simon l& and a half]

whatever you do, don't google 'enlargements',,,