Costco Photo Printing: Hi neighbors, What format (Tiff, PSD,etc) and color profile should I use to have a photo printed at Costco Photo Center, and would the answer be the same for...

espJSB Loc: Cal

Hi neighbors,
What format (Tiff, PSD,etc) and color profile should I use to have a photo printed at Costco Photo Center, and would the answer be the same for paper, acrylic or canvas? Also for a 11 x 14 acrylic or 12 x 16 canvas, what would be the minimum resolution for a good result? Thank you!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

espJSB wrote:

Hi neighbors,
What format (Tiff, PSD,etc) and color profile should I use to have a photo printed at Costco Photo Center, and would the answer be the same for paper, acrylic or canvas? Also for a 11 x 14 acrylic or 12 x 16 canvas, what would be the minimum resolution for a good result? Thank you!

Highest quality JPEG in sRGB color space.

11x14 = 2640 by 3360 original, un-interpolated, converted-from-the-camera-raw-data pixels. That’s 240 PPI.

12x16 = 2880 by 3840 pixels.

Why 240 PPI? It’s the minimum required to reach the point, beyond which, we can’t see more detail in a print at a normal viewing distance (1.0 to 1.5 times the print’s diagonal).

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

If you adjusted settings in an editor, don't select auto correct.

AZNikon Loc: Mesa, AZ

Longshadow wrote:

If you adjusted settings in an editor, don't select auto correct.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

espJSB wrote:

Hi neighbors,
What format (Tiff, PSD,etc) and color profile should I use to have a photo printed at Costco Photo Center, and would the answer be the same for paper, acrylic or canvas? Also for a 11 x 14 acrylic or 12 x 16 canvas, what would be the minimum resolution for a good result? Thank you!

Costco accepts both JPG and TIFF files. As far as I know, they do NOT accept PSD. I always do mine in Adobe 1998 and they turn out exactly as I see them on the screen, except for a bit less magenta (I say their machines "eat" red.). When you're doing this (either at the store or at home) the software will warn you about the "cropping" for the size you have requested, and you can adjust how you want the image cropped.

Dikdik Loc: Winnipeg, Canada

burkphoto wrote:

Highest quality JPEG in sRGB color space.

11x14 = 2640 by 3360 original, un-interpolated, converted-from-the-camera-raw-data pixels. That’s 240 PPI.

12x16 = 2880 by 3840 pixels.

Why 240 PPI? It’s the minimum required to reach the point, beyond which, we can’t see more detail in a print at a normal viewing distance (1.0 to 1.5 times the print’s diagonal).

Thanks... didn't know that... usually used 300...

Dik

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Dikdik wrote:

Thanks... didn't know that... usually used 300...

Dik

300 contains an editor’s “fudge factor.” It is also appropriate for prints *smaller* than 8x10 inches.

Kuzano

Dikdik wrote:

Thanks... didn't know that... usually used 300...

Dik

300 huge waste of ink. 240 optimal for ink conservation. 300 also takes longer to day.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Kuzano wrote:

300 huge waste of ink. 240 optimal for ink conservation. 300 also takes longer to day.

Do not confuse *file* resolution (in absolute, *pre-resizing* pixel dimensions) with output (printer resolution in ink dots per inch).

The former usually is the most important.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

No need to resize. Just crop to the desired aspect ratio and you are done. I prefer uncompressed TIFF that avoids loss of data when making a JPG. The important thing is to start with a large, preferably raw, file.

Let me repeat what someone else said: click off auto-correct. Costco does a great job and I have no need to go elsewhere.

Deanie1113

abc1234 wrote:

No need to resize. Just crop to the desired aspect ratio and you are done. I prefer uncompressed TIFF that avoids loss of data when making a JPG. The important thing is to start with a large, preferably raw, file.

Let me repeat what someone else said: click off auto-correct. Costco does a great job and I have no need to go elsewhere.

Yes, click off auto-correct. I have also noticed their smaller prints come out very, very sharp so I don't worry much about my sharpening in post.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Deanie1113 wrote:

Yes, click off auto-correct. I have also noticed their smaller prints come out very, very sharp so I don't worry much about my sharpening in post.

In general, you are right. I feel the prints are much sharper and better than my monitor.

Dikdik Loc: Winnipeg, Canada

Thanks...

Dik

espJSB Loc: Cal

Thank you BurkPhoto and everyone else who joined in.

Robdur

Find out what printer your local Costco has and then you can download the color printer profiles from drycreekphoto.com.