New to Photobox! Help!

Scam

Scam

Scam

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
19,017
Location
London
Hello all. I've decided that i'd quite like to try and get some prints done from Photobox for some Christmas pressies for relatives. I've just signed up and uploaded a couple of photos, however before i take the plunge i'd like to get some advice from you knowledgeable folks.

Firstly -- saving photos. How should i do this in PS (CS2)? I have fullsize TIFFs that are obviously too large to upload, so i have re-saved them as JPG (not 'save for web'), at full resolution and '10' quality. Will this be sufficient? I'm looking at printing at a decent-ish size, maybe ~14" or so. Do i need to convert to CYMK or just leave everything as is? (Adobe RGB iirc).

Do i need to worry about calibration too much? I've looked at their calibration image and i can see all the shades fine.. or should i be printing this off and comparing or something? :p

Hmn.. just after a bit of advice as to how everyone uses Photobox really! There doesnt seem to be a very detailed beginners guide or anything!

Thanks for any pointers :)

EDIT: I'm thinking of getting prints of this, this and possibly this. :)

EDIT2: For images that are funky sizes, does shrink to fit work ok? It seems to be the only option that would work well with that beach pic, for example.
 
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When ever i have used photobox i've always used jpeg, but others on here will tell you what is best.

I'm not sure about the screen calibration so can't answer it sorry.

Yes shrink to fit would be your only choice for panoramic shots or you run the risk of cutting off some vital image parts, unless you chose the image to be printed as a panoramic, but iirc these cost more and still might be too small for what your looking for.

Best of luck with it, photobox really does produce good quality prints.

Edit: You have some very nice images on the links, you deffo have an eye for detail.
 
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Thanks. I just noticed i have some credits to get some 6"x4" prints free. Maybe i'll order a couple as tests and see how they come out. So.. gloss or matte finish? :)
 
I got a couple of shots done in Panoramic 20x8

Be warned...custom frames for them cost an absolute bloody fortune!
But, would probably cost the same if you shunk to fit on 30x20 or whatever.

They do look cool though. ;)

DSCF2987.jpg


Shrink to fit works great. It's pretty much essential I think.

The Quality rating is also well worth keeping an eye on. I try not to go below 8 tbh so I have no idea what lower quality levels look like.

Simon/~Flibster
 
http://www.photobox.co.uk/help.html says:

We only support JPEG photos. We also allow you to upload ZIP files containing JPEGs.

We do not support any of the following file formats: bitmap, TIFF, GIF, PNG, Jpeg2000 or PDF.

Please note that JPEG files must be in RGB colourspace (not CMYK).
Click to expand...

Personally I upload the largish size I can get away with.
 
Scam said:
So.. gloss or matte finish? :)
Click to expand...

I've always gone for gloss, but a few on here have gone for matte.

I've not had any problems when mounting my prints as i've used non reflective glass, it costs more but it gives a nice finish.

As stated above, the frames will cost a lot, i got 4 pictures framed and it came to over £200.
 
Flibster said:
Shrink to fit works great. It's pretty much essential I think.

The Quality rating is also well worth keeping an eye on. I try not to go below 8 tbh so I have no idea what lower quality levels look like.
Click to expand...

Cool. The ones i uploaded have both scored 10 so i guess that'll be fine! Is that framed picture a panoramic shot shrunk-to-fit into a panoramic frame? Hence the white space? :confused: As for framing i think i'll steer clear, i might look into getting it done in town or something..?

Flibster said:
Just remembered.....

Photobox special offers. :D
Click to expand...

It was that thread that made me think ''Hmn Christmas presents..." :p

Dont forget the last order dates!! :)
 
As you have the free prints why not order a couple in each of gloss and matt.
I personally prefer the matt. But my Dad prefers gloss.

Also - they will post you a free calibration print for you to match up to your monitor.

Simon/~Flibster
 
Scam said:
Cool. The ones i uploaded have both scored 10 so i guess that'll be fine! Is that framed picture a panoramic shot shrunk-to-fit into a panoramic frame? Hence the white space? :confused: As for framing i think i'll steer clear, i might look into getting it done in town or something..?
Click to expand...

Thats a 20x8 panoramic. Shrunk to fit a little so it's actually 19x8 in reality.
The white space is the mount. I like large mounts on prints. No idea why. :D

This one is shrunk to fit though. Was printed on A3 and has a reasonably large gap on the paper top and bottom.

I was lucky with the frames, My other half's brother used to run a fram place so I get the done at near enough cost. :D

It helps. 3 custom frames, 2 8x10 in oak and 1 brushed aluminium 12" square for £90

Would have been over £200 otherwise :eek:

Simon/~Flibster
 
Cool thanks. As i can get a calibration print, i reckon i should get my skates on and get some free prints first and see how they come out. Good idea about trying gloss and matte. :)

Flibster, for the ones you posted, did you have the black borders on the images you uploaded? Or did they add those? Should i worry about a border on images i upload?
 
They did have a small border on them, but the mount that I chose was a very cool one.

It's very thin white card on top of black foam card so once it's cut at an angle you see more of the black than the white. :D

All of the images I have online have a small border - if they've going to be framed it makes it easier for them tbh.

Simon/~Flibster
 
Thanks. Last question. Has anyone had any experience of getting them to deliver internationally? Debating sending one over to my grandparents in NZ (assuming PB send that far!).
 
Cheeky bump for that last question^ (sorry!).

I've just ordered 20 small prints (using my free credits woo!) just to see how they came out. I tried a variety of gloss and matt, and gloss border and matt border (whats that? :confused: ). I'm quite excited actually, just a shame that i've cropped most of my pics willy-nilly (i.e. not correct ratios), so most of them are shrunk-to-fit!
 
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