Help With Printing Square Image: I have created 8x8 images with black borders that I want to put in 8x8 frames. No matte as the black border will suffice. However, when I send it to...

Moose Loc: North Carolina

I have created 8x8 images with black borders that I want to put in 8x8 frames. No matte as the black border will suffice. However, when I send it to the printer (Sam's Club) my options are only the standard sizes, like 8x10. As I said above, my image size is 8x8, which one would assume would be okay with an 8x10 print. However, the printer crops the picture so I only get a fraction of the border on the sides and nothing on the top. Can you folks help me? Is there another printer company that will print an 8x8? BTW, I use PSE 11 for my resizing efforts. Thanks in advance for your help.

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

You could just change the format of the photo to 8X10 by adding an inch of black to the bottom, and inch of black at the top, or two inches on eighter end then trim finished product down to 8X8. Just my guess

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

Trim them !!!!

Annie_Girl Loc: It's none of your business

order from a print lab that allows for square crops. Mpix, millers, H&H color, Bay Photos, etc.

I still don't understand why you spend 100s if not thousands of hours learning photography, spend thousands of dollars on equipment and in the end only to cheap out on printing the finished product.

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Annie, not sure by what you mean "cheap out" on printing. Most of my prints are 8x10 or standard size and Sam's does a good job, so why spend any more. Thanks for the tips on who to send them to.

Annie_Girl wrote:

order from a print lab that allows for square crops. Mpix, millers, H&H color, Bay Photos, etc.

I still don't understand why you spend 100s if not thousands of hours learning photography, spend thousands of dollars on equipment and in the end only to cheap out on printing the finished product.

Moose Loc: North Carolina

That was my plan, however, as I said the black borders on the sides were cropped off.

JR1 wrote:

Trim them !!!!

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

This may not be the answer you are looking for with your question, but I am curious as to why you would frame a photo that you are obviously proud of, without a mat. With no mat, the photo will be in contact with the glass. This usually results in a less than attractive look, and in many cases will result in damage to the print due to the print adhering to the glass. Why not consider using a good black mat board? (It would also also allow you to print the smaller portion of the image only, allowing you to trim the paper to fit).

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Thanks Bill for trying to help. When I change the format to an 8x10 before sending to the printer, the image is elongated and no longer round. Perhaps there is some setting in PSE that I'm not familar with to keep that from happening, but I don't know of it. I'll keep plugging away.

Bill Houghton wrote:

You could just change the format of the photo to 8X10 by adding an inch of black to the bottom, and inch of black at the top, or two inches on eighter end then trim finished product down to 8X8. Just my guess

Annie_Girl Loc: It's none of your business

Moose wrote:

Annie, not sure by what you mean "cheap out" on printing. Most of my prints are 8x10 or standard size and Sam's does a good job, so why spend any more. Thanks for the tips on who to send them to.

I challenge you to print the same picture at walgreen, shutterfly, walmart (or CVS), Sams (or Costco) and a REAL photography lab (Millers, H & H Color, Bay Photos) and compare the results. I promise you, you will be surprised how bad your big box stores "good enough" prints services will look in a side by side comparison.

Spend the extra couple of cents on 8x10 and let your time and effort learning your craft really show, then when your looking to print a not so standard size print or print something larger than an gift size print you won't be left scratching your head wondering who offers such services.

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

Not for not, it gets trimmed off properly because they are enlarging it to fit the 8X10 from top to bottom, which would case the sides to be cropped off. Hope that helps explane it.

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Jim, my plan was to use a matte, however, for this project I want to use front load frame which is difficult to find in the size I wanted, which was 8x8. Once I found it and added a matte, I found the image was smaller than I wanted it to be. Next size up was a 12x12, which, assuming I could get the thing printed without cropping, add 4 inch to each side. If I can get it printed as an 10x10 without the black border the 12x12 frame would be ok. Only a 2 inch matte border which is fine. First I got to figure out how to get around this cropping issue with the printer.

Photographer Jim wrote:

This may not be the answer you are looking for wit... (show quote)

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Bill, again thanks. Now if I only keep them from enlarging to fit the 8x10.

Bill Houghton wrote:

Not for not, it gets trimmed off properly because they are enlarging it to fit the 8X10 from top to bottom, which would case the sides to be cropped off. Hope that helps explane it.

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Okay Annie, I'll give your suggestion a try and see just how much difference there is.

Annie_Girl wrote:

I challenge you to print the same picture at walgr... (show quote)

KennyMac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

Moose wrote:

That was my plan, however, as I said the black borders on the sides were cropped off.

If your pix is 8x8, then they probably mean they will print it on 8x10 paper (no border and probably centered). You will just trim it ! I use a Fiskars paper cutter that takes up to 12" on the cut path.

Moose Loc: North Carolina

Thanks Kenny. That is my plan as well, if I can get the 8x8 image on the 8x10 without cropping the sides.

KennyMac wrote:

If your pix is 8x8, then they probably mean they will print it on 8x10 paper (no border and probably centered). You will just trim it ! I use a Fiskars paper cutter that takes up to 12" on the cut path.