Comments on: Why no 8″x12″ photo paper?

By: Phillip Moore

Phillip Moore — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:52:23 +0000

To print 8×12 my self I buy 13×19 paper and cut it in half on my paper cutter, and then make a custom paper size for my printer (Epson R2400. This gives you 13×9.5 which fits nicely an 8×12 print. It will take you a little experimentation to get the custom paper size right but it does work.

By: Michael Medina

Michael Medina — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:03:35 +0000

Hi Terry, I recently compared prints from WHCC against Costco and found the Costco prints were sharper. I still use WHCC if I want something drop shipped, and Costco for everything else. I just wish that Costco would give us the option of unmarked packaging so we could ship it in the same envelope.

By: PhotoWalkPro Â» Warming Up for Turkey Day

PhotoWalkPro Â» Warming Up for Turkey Day — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:11:56 +0000

[...] Terry White, the Adobe Guru and keeper of the great Terry’s Tech Blog, had an interesting post the other day about how he was having a difficult time getting things printed to his camera [...]

By: Thomas Miller

Thomas Miller — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:46:12 +0000

Terry…this has been a long time coming and I am glad to see that you are picking up the torch! I am tired of crop, crop, crop!

Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!

By: Marek

Marek — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:51:57 +0000

Yep, Costco makes them. Just got some printed yesterday. Good quality and the great think is that you can bring them your files converted to Costco’s machines with the profiles posted on drycreek’s site. Just ask them to run zero adjustments and no resize either.

I am sure you will like it.

By: Roger

Roger — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:35:03 +0000

I too agree with the entire print size issue. I currently use MPIX for my big stuff (best quality I’ve seen yet) but will checkout Costco (as I’m a member) for these 8 X 12 prints. For all my frames I use the Frames By Mail website. Any size you want, great quality, service and value. Check them out at http://www.framesbymail.com. Keep up the great stuff at your site!

By: David

David — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:36:12 +0000

I completely agree – I try to drive all my work to 6×9, 8×12, 10×15, 12×18, and 20×30. It’s where it belongs and where it feels right. I gotta think the 5×7, 8×10, 11×14 stuff just doesn’t make sense as the default size anymore. Some parts of the world are just pretty far behind I guess.

By: Dave Birdsong

Dave Birdsong — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:19:39 +0000

Most models want 9×12 prints instead of 8×10, 8×12 or 11×14, in order to get those printed I do 2 9×12 on 1 12×18 sheet at Costco and they will cut them in half for me at my favorite Costco for all of $3 for the 12×18.

By: Gerry O'Brien

Gerry O'Brien — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:17:47 +0000

Costco usually does great work, if:

a) you download and use their custom printer profiles (you can choose the profile for the local Costco nearest you, or one on the other side of the country).

b) during checkout, just before you click on Place Order, look for the box called ‘options’ and make sure it says “Auto Correct Off” … you can edit the options so it will never auto correct your photos.

$3.00 for a 12×18 print is incredible.

By: Mike Lucas

Mike Lucas — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:14:06 +0000

One thing you don’t mention – color profiles are available for most Costco stores – they use mostly Noritsu printers and a good FAQ for work flow is available at:
http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/using_printer_profiles.htm
They update the profiles all of the time, so download before you print.

As to where you choose the no correction option – it’s at the end – just before you place the order. I think you choose more options or something like that – haven’t done it in a while.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:21:55 +0000

I don’t print much but I’ve found that Sam’s does a great job too. Sam’s is like Costco and are comnon in Texas and Oklahoma.

They also print to 8×12.

By: Joe Holmes

Joe Holmes — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:14:25 +0000

I’ve been pushing paper manufacturers to start offering cut sheets of 17 x 25″ paper, which fits our dslr images perfectly, rather than the traditional 17 x 22″ which leaves larger borders on the top and bottom than on the sides. Finally for a show I had up in Seattle last month, I ordered custom cut sheets (and printed on my Epson 3800). Expensive! But man, a 16×24″ image on 17×25″ paper looks incredible.

But what’s odd is that our 2:3 aspect ratio for dslr images is the same as 35mm film. That is, this isn’t a recent problem. Those sheets of 8×10 paper have frustrated 35mm shooters for decades. The 4:5 ratio probably came from medium or large format, which is an extremely tiny part of the market these days.

Tradition is tough to overcome.

-=-Joe

By: jeremy

jeremy — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:33:32 +0000

I’ve been asking similar questions this week…

I am working on printing an 8.5×11 pina zangaro portfolio, but there are no commercial prints available at that size, so I’ve been ordering 9×12 prints and cutting the edges so the images fit into my book. What a pain that’s been!

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:02:33 +0000

This has also been a pet peeve of mine. The selection of 13 X 19 frames is extremely thin, which is becoming a much more common size for home printers. Even 8 1/2 X 11 frames tend to be oriented to documents rather than photographs.

By: Leo

Leo — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:53:37 +0000

Totally agree. Seems like everything else, if there is a change that transition takes time and paradigm shift for some. Maye that’s why the camera companies are coming out with more megapixels- to crop the image to fit the print for a certain size output. Hopefully the move to mainstream will be sooner than later.