Recommendations for submitting files via e-mail for printing

[rscott900ss]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

 

[shuncheung]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

About 10 years ago, we went to a wedding with some common friends. I had my D800E with me a took a picture of a couple (not in the bride and groom's family). They like that picture very much and wanted a large print. I sent them a TIFF file @ 300 ppi and they got it professionally printed. That was about a 500MB Tiff file.

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

And then we got a group picture printed for some friend's birthday a few years ago. My wife got that done at a local Walgreen's drug store. They had no idea about TIFF so that I prepared a JPEG file for them. Again, figure 300 ppi. If it is going to a an 8x10 print, it should be 2400x3000 file.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

 

[TomS53]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

What are pharmacy's limitations for printing?

Can your email and/or the pharmacy's email handle transmitting/receiving large files?

 

[buildingsights]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

have a try on this site... Print Size Calculator
the venerable fora will surely tell us if there is something wrong with it!

for the type of file the best way would be to ask the printer for the the type jpg, tif, etc and the colour space they used/prefere

 

[rscott900ss]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

What are pharmacy's limitations for printing?

Can your email and/or the pharmacy's email handle transmitting/receiving large files?

Here is the help page I found regarding their recommendations on size submissions...

https://wagcco.my.salesforce-sites....solution-Requirements/?l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=1

(Links to other Walgreen's photo department pages are on the page.)

Thanks,

Bob

 

[rscott900ss]

have a try on this site... Print Size Calculator
the venerable fora will surely tell us if there is something wrong with it!
for the type of file the best way would be to ask the printer for the the type jpg, tif, etc and the colour space they used/prefere

Thanks!

 

[monte12345]

If it conforms to the requirements of the Printer. The first thing you will want to check is the requirements for the file type and resolution requirements at the printing service. Many times if you send them an unaltered full resolution file the first thing they will do is downsize the image to a size they find convenient for them and that will be biased to lower resolution because larger files take up more memory space. It's best to work within their requirements and make sure you are sending a file with the color profile you want and ask that they not alter or edit the image for printing. It is very helpful to have a color calibrated monitor when doing this. I took the easy route and purchased a color calibrated monitor, a 27" ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV 4K HDR Monitor. If you need to color calibrate your monitor there are devices to do that, however they may cost more than a new monitor.

Note, DPI means dots per inch. If you want an image printed at a specific DPI then take that value and multiply it by the dimension of your desired print size. Also note that Roll Printers come in standardized widths such as 24", 36", 48", and 60". Some even go larger but those prints are hugely expensive and VERY difficult to handle in roll form. Picture how you would handle getting a 10 foot long rolled up Print home. So if you want a print 24 inches on the short side at 300 DPI then take 300 times 24 and you have the short side pixels. For the long side of a standard 35mm frame multiply the short side by 1.5 and you have the long side dimension. If you want to do a cropped image, start with the short side first.

 

[rscott900ss]

If it conforms to the requirements of the Printer. The first thing you will want to check is the requirements for the file type and resolution requirements at the printing service. Many times if you send them an unaltered full resolution file the first thing they will do is downsize the image to a size they find convenient for them and that will be biased to lower resolution because larger files take up more memory space. It's best to work within their requirements and make sure you are sending a file with the color profile you want and ask that they not alter or edit the image for printing. It is very helpful to have a color calibrated monitor when doing this. I took the easy route and purchased a color calibrated monitor, a 27" ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV 4K HDR Monitor. If you need to color calibrate your monitor there are devices to do that, however they may cost more than a new monitor.

Note, DPI means dots per inch. If you want an image printed at a specific DPI then take that value and multiply it by the dimension of your desired print size. Also note that Roll Printers come in standardized widths such as 24", 36", 48", and 60". Some even go larger but those prints are hugely expensive and VERY difficult to handle in roll form. Picture how you would handle getting a 10 foot long rolled up Print home. So if you want a print 24 inches on the short side at 300 DPI then take 300 times 24 and you have the short side pixels. For the long side of a standard 35mm frame multiply the short side by 1.5 and you have the long side dimension. If you want to do a cropped image, start with the short side first.

Thanks for the tips!

I did have them print a 16x20 a while back to see how the image would look. I was pleased, considering it cost about fifteen bucks (50% off sale, and printed on paper board).

I thought it could possibly have been a tiny bit sharper, but that was while viewing it an unrealistic distance. I wish I could remember the size and dpi of the JPEG I e-mailed them....

Thanks to the helpful folks on this forum, I'll be armed with a little more knowledge when I order in the future.

Bob

 

[PLShutterbug]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

The general for rule for high-quality prints is you want 300 pixels per inch. For an 8x10 inch print that means your file needs to be at least 2400 x 3000 pixels, as Shuncheung wrote.

Don’t concern yourself with the dpi number stored with the file. You can store a one-pixel file at 300dpi - it’s still either going to be a tiny dot on the page or a big huge blob if you print it a t 1 by 1 inch. The key is the number of pixels you store. So, in NX Studio do an export. Choose the file type based on what the store accepts, with TIF preferred because it allows a higher bit depth so you get less banding. However, even JPG works well - I have a 30x40 print made from a JPG on my wall that is beautiful (shot with my Z7).

Resize the output file resolution, if you want. Just try to get the output size so it ends up being 300 pixels per inch or higher in each dimension , by. My 30x40 print ended up being 206 pixels per inch. If I look really carefully I can see a bit of pixelation in diagonal lines, but I have to be really close.

You probably won’t be able to email the file - generally services have you upload them as you order the prints.

Good luck. A nice image printed large is really beautiful!

 

[cyuill2007]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

What are pharmacy's limitations for printing?

Can your email and/or the pharmacy's email handle transmitting/receiving large files?

Here is the help page I found regarding their recommendations on size submissions...

https://wagcco.my.salesforce-sites....solution-Requirements/?l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=1

(Links to other Walgreen's photo department pages are on the page.)

Thanks,

Bob

It seems they recommend files with minimum resolutions for printing at 150dpi.

You mentioned submitting photos via email. This info page your link goes to makes it look like they have a webpage for uploading photo files to an online account. If so then it gives you more flexibility regarding the size of files you can submit for printing. Many email systems balk at attachments larger than 1 or 2MB. Online uploading systems allow larger file sizes.

I typically submit photos I want printed as PNG files that are sized for printing at 200-300 dpi. An 11x14 print would require the photo to be sized from 2200x2800 pixels (calendar) to 3300x4200 pixels (photo print). The PNG format stores colors at a greater bit depth than JPEG, and typically results in smaller files than the TIFF format.

Good luck with the printing order. Let us know how things go.

 

[Pierre Lagarde]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

I won't worry much with standard printing services : most of the time, Jpeg (>80% quality) in sRGB will probably do.

For size calculation, 300 pixels per inch is overkill most of the time. 100 to 150 will do for most quality prints without any problem if the printing service know what they are doing. (I did 20+ inches/60cms real Fine Art printing with 3000 pixels sides files only, no problem).

Think : "dpi"s are printer service concern, not yours . People usually count dpis as pixels per inch while it's a printing notion. So, if you doubt, I'd simply follow the recommendation of the service about pixels, not the "dpi/size/pixels" online calculators. Anyway, most printing services won't do better (or worse ) than what they indicate.

To go further, If ever and if you can (may be way overkill though with the service you're addressing) :

• Ask them about their practices
• Ask for small test prints
• Ask if they prefer Tiff to Jpeg (unlikely)
• Ask if they handle Adobe RGB (I doubt, only Fine Art printing services would bother usually),
  • if not, stay with what I indicate in first two paragraphs,
  • if they do, then my advice would be to provide both : one file in sRGB one in Adobe RGB.

Take care of the naming of your file : make it clear and recognisable, including format, profile in the name, for instance : Party_2025_04_28_001_2000x3000px_sRGB.jpg

It usually helps both you and the service.

Avoid PNG, they are made for web and some printing services may handle them badly without telling.

 

[rscott900ss]

Thanks very much for all the valuable information that helpful folks shared here! I'll feel much more confident about ordering large prints now.

Thanks again,

Bob

 

[sirhawkeye64]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc. I think they would make great gifts or an inexpensive way to see a photo printed at a large size. The pharmacy isn't in my tiny town and I would submit the files via e-mail.

Starting with an NEF file from my Z 7II, what would you recommend be submitted in regards to preferred file type, file size (actual pixel dimensions?) and, if submitted as a JPEG or TIFF, the resolution in dpi? (I use Nikon's NX Studio for PP.)

Is there a simple formula, or would it be dependent on print size?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Bob

I would talk to the pharmacy and see what formats they'll accept. I would think most should be able to accept the most common types (JPEG and TIFF). I'd say TIFF is preferable if it's an option as it's not compressed like a JPEG is.

The whole resolution / DPI thing depends on size and viewing distance, but I'd use 300 dpi as a good (average and widely accepted) number for standard viewing distance (12-18 inches I think). This is at least how I figure out what resolutions I need to use to print at home. I start with the desired print size (in inches) and since most of my images are viewed from 18 inches or closer, I go with 300 dpi. Then I do the math so for an 8x10 print, I will need about 3000 x 2400 (long x short) or 7.2MP. Sometimes I'll just let Photoshop or the Canon Printer add-in (for PS) do the math for me as I just specify a print size and the add-in does most of the other work (determining resolution and downsizing if needed, etc).

But talk to the lab as they may have specific instructions. I guess if you want to error on the "safe" side, send them a larger file than is needed. So if you're not sure what size you want specifically, maybe send them a full-res TIFF file. They should be able to resize it to the desired print size. If not, they'll let you know what size they need and you can do it.

I know at least when I had some of my photos published in magazines, they would tell me to send a certain file size (usually a bit larger than the target page size) and to send it in TIFF format so they could adjust it if needed. Some asked for JPEgs, some asked for TIFFS. But start with the lab first... talk to them.

A note about TIFFS... my personal preference was to always send uncompressed TIFFS (not ones that were compressed using ZIP OR LZW, but rather without any compression -- it's lossless compression by the way so you don't lose any image quality, it just helps keep the file smaller). But i would do this to ensure maximum compatibility but it did result in larger files in some cases. I also tried to leave all layers in-tact or I would create a new merged layer that had all of the changes in a single layer, but this way it would still maintain all layers in case they were needed for some reason, but this last part you could just skip and flatten the file if you wanted to to save space if you decide / need to use TIFF.

--
* PLEASE NOTE: I generally unsubscribe from forums/comments after a period of time has passed, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. *

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc.

Good deals and relatively affordable prices are often not synonymous with the highest photographic print quality.

Before asking for advice, it might be wise to decide what quality product you are seeking.

You could ask the chemist how they want files submitting – my speculation is they are printed by whoever does the printing for them.

If they only want a JPEG file, then the finished product is likely to be reasonable rather than than high photographic quality.

--
Leonard Shepherd
In lots of ways good photography is similar to learning to play a piano - it takes practice to develop skill in either activity.

 

[shuncheung]

My local pharmacy often has very good deals on large prints, poster prints, etc.

Good deals and relatively affordable prices are often not synonymous with the highest photographic print quality.

If one would like to get a really high-quality print, you don't go to a local pharmacy. I mainly go there for medicine. ;-)

However, my wife has gotten a pretty good 8x10 print from our local Walgreens, a major pharmacy chain in the US. A lot of their stores have a large-format printer on site, e.g. EPSON. Of course the photographer was good: me. :-D She talked to that Walgreens, and they didn't know anything about RAW or TIFF, such that I prepared a JPEG file. They did a fine job and put the print on foam. That image was a group picture with 50 or so people they gave someone as a birthday gift.

Before asking for advice, it might be wise to decide what quality product you are seeking.

You could ask the chemist how they want files submitting – my speculation is they are printed by whoever does the printing for them.

If they only want a JPEG file, then the finished product is likely to be reasonable rather than than high photographic quality.

 

[cyuill2007]

At one time (20+ years ago) the best printers in my city were the ones that worked in the photo lab of the local pharmacy. (Like Walgreen’s, actually a chain.) The photo lab had the same developing and printing equipment the specialty labs did, and were operated by skilled technicians. I was rarely dissatisfied with their work. I also knew photographers who regularly had film development and printing done at Costco because they were happy with the end results.

 

[michaeladawson]

The pharmacy should have guidelines for what pixel per inch and what file types they accept for printing. Pixels per inch is PPI and the general guideline is 300 PPI for a high resolution output. But even 240 will look fine for a print under most viewing conditions.

Don't confuse PPI with DPI. In the printing world DPI means dots per inch and it is what the printer lays down on the paper. The printer lays down ink dots of many colors and is usually laying down more than 300 dots per inch.

As far as email goes, it will depend on your email provider and theirs. My email provider limits attachments to 20 MB in total. That means I usually cannot send any photo that is at the full resolution of the camera and at full JPEG quality settings. But I use 45 MP Nikon bodies. If you use a 20 or 24 MP body you will have fewer issues. The few times I have gone outside to print I have used services that allow you to upload photos to their servers with laxer size restrictions.