I thought I’d share my recent on-line printing experience.
There’s one wall in our family room which has been designated for hanging my photograph prints. It’s been occupied by a trio of common themed framed photos of early morning sunlight over dark Alaskan coastal waters since late 2008 — time for a change.
I felt this selected image, being somewhat abstract in nature, would handle printing poster size better then some. It also had the color pallet we were looking for and the horizontal and diagonal water/wave lines would pull the Splits together giving common paths for the eye.
I selected the options, uploaded the image file and placed the order.
I’ve never been impressed with Adobe Photoshops image enlarging capabilities so I ended up using “Genuine Fractals 6” from OnOne Software to increase the image to 6′ x 3′ at 240dpi — about a 160mb JPEG file. This was definitely pushing the limits at over 300% enlargement but when I viewed the enlarged image I felt positive about the results for this application or use, and the finished product supports that feeling — the print came out well.
I’m sure the results of such a drastic enlargement would vary depending upon the particular image.
The ThinWraps are very attractive and come with a 1/2″ spacer on the back that allows the images to be hung and appear to float from the wall. Since my image was of water I also chose the metallic paper with gives it a shimmer as the light plays across it.
All-in-all, I’m happy with the results. Everyone who has seen the splits have given very positive feedback (my daughter has already stated when we decide to change these out she wants them.) I feel the cost of the prints and shipping was reasonable. The finished product was delivered less than a week after ordering. Of course cost varies depending upon the options you select and there are a variety of panel sizes and configurations for Photo Splits or Clusters.
Overall a positive and successful experience — Kudos to Bay Photo and Genuine Fractals.
Looks like a fine display — that’s a great image for a split. I’ll bet it’s pretty impressive in on the wall.
Hi Pj, thanks! It’s a big wall but at 6’x3′ this image definitely grabs your attention when you walk into the room. There are a couple of chairs which sit below and in front to soften the impact a bit. :-)
This image worked better then I originally imagined — just enough of an abstract look to it and the metallic paper made the water pop.
beautiful presentation . very lovely tones !
Mariana, thanks! Some of your images would be outstanding presented in this way or as a Cluster. ;-)
Thanks for the post, Earl. I haven’t seen one of these ThinWraps…I will have to explore.
I also recently picked up Genuine Fractals 6 and can attest to this software’s superiority in enlarging when compared to Photoshop Elements. For almost a decade I’ve been shooting with a Nikon Coolpix 995, which yields 3.2MB-ish sized images (approx 5″x6″ @ 300dpi). I’ve enlarged images shot with this camera to 16″x20″ and had those printed with a commercial photo printing service, and I’ve seen excellent results.
Hi Jim, Thanks. Yeah, ThinWraps are a good way to present images in a modern but non-bulky way. In the right circumstances they look great. I’ll do it again.
Thanks for sharing your favorable experience with Genuine Fractals 6. A good product that certainly exceeded my expectations.
I like the mild colors in this flower shot. Very appealing.
Thanks for this story, Earl, you know of my first experience in that area. I’ve heard wonderful things about Fractals, and I hope to be able to use it soon. Tell me, if you will, about how you approached sharpening for an image that large? I agree the subject for your triptych, if you will, seems beautiful and appropriate.
Good question, Chris. I have little experience in working a print of this scale and knew that mistakes could be costly. Genuine Fractals has it’s own built in sharpening capabilities and since it was doing the enlarging I decided it would be best to let it also handle the sharpening. Fractals does give a screen preview for adjustments. To be honest I’ve only begun to explore what Fractals can do.