A Word on Prints
I had a question today about prices and picture options, so I thought I might be able to answer that question here for anyone else that’s interested. I’ll interpret “picture options” as “prints.”
(Before I get into that, don’t forget to check out the Free Wedding Promo 2011)
First of all, the options now are essentially endless. I have recently signed up with an online ordering service called SmugMug Pro, which prints its photos with Bay Photo. Both are leading professional services in the U.S. But what does this mean to you, the person who wants prints?
It means that once the photo editing is done and the final versions are uploaded, you can get any sort of print option you can imagine, and several you probably haven’t imagined.
Conventional prints
For conventional prints, you can have them printed in the usual glossy and lustre (the stuff you’re used to seeing your school pictures printed on). Then there’s metallic prints. You can’t really get a good feel of what it looks like until you’ve seen it for yourself. Monitors or pictures in magazines can’t do it justice. The colour saturation is amazing. For photos with lots of strong colours, like green grass, for instance, it almost looks better than real life. The colours just leap off the wall.
Then there’s something called “Giclée”
Giclee prints are made with high-quality archival inks on fine art papers using a high-resolution large format inkjet printer. Premium inks produce images with smooth tones and rich colors, making these prints ideal for extraordinary presentations. They are available in Watercolor and Canvas paper surfaces.
See what I mean? I never even heard of this stuff until recently. These are top notch products, not stuff you’re likely to get at the corner drug store.
Although metallic prints cost more than your traditional glossy or lustre, I’ve priced them the same as those options. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. The Giclee prints cost a lot more to produce than other prints. However, I have tried to price them as close as possible to the other types, so that it is not cost prohibitive.
Canvas Wraps
This brings us to canvas wraps. Every see a painting on the wall, where the picture wraps around the edge? That’s what a canvas wrap is. It’s a high-quality inkject print on museum-quality canvas, typically laminated.
I’ve fallen in love with wraps for a few reasons. Number one, they look really classy. Secondly, they require no additonal framing. This makes a big difference on non-standard sizes, essentially anything larger than an 11×14. Custom framing can look very nice, but can be quite expensive. For a very large print, for instance, it will cost substantially more for the print and custom framing than a canvas wrap.
Metal Prints
If you like the contemporary look, you want to take a serious look at metal prints. They are printed directly onto a thin sheet of aluminum. They are mounted so they look like they float on the wall. Tres chic.
Again, because they have their own mounting hardware, you don’t need to spend anything on framing. Personally, I would much rather have a larger picture, be it on canvas or metal print, than a smaller one in a fancy frame. After all, what’s more important, the people in the picture, or the frame?
Metal prints can be made as large as 30 inchs by 40 inches – about as big as your door on your stainless steel fridge. That’s huge!
And this all means?
All that said, I can offer prints in all these options, in every size and shape imagineable, including panoramas and squares. There are literally over 300 permutations available. While my price offers a few options, in reality, there are hundreds of options now available.
If you would like to take a look, go to zinchuk.smugmug.com and click on the Cushon family link. On the top right, click on “buy this photo” (You’re not actually going to buy it, but it shows the prices and sizes) I will be using this service to sell prints after the editting is complete. It’s also a great way to show your pictures to family and friends. If they would like to get a copy of a picture, they will be welcome to order from it, too!
Long story short, I can now print pretty much anything you desire. I hope you like it.
Brian Zinchuk Publishing 