best format

[bernardofeio]

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Hello

 

I’m using the LR and i need to print a A3 photo but I don’t have a printer. What is the best format to take the photo to the shop?

 

Thanks

bernardofeio

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[Guest WPalank]

bernardofeio,

First find the "shop" and then ask them. My experience has typically been sRGB and somewhere between 200-250 ppi. But again, check.

[ChrisC]

Bernardofeio - Yes ask. sRgb is a Small Colour space and to get to it from eg Adobe 98 [a larger Colour Space] you are throwing away colour information in the conversion. Epson inkjets, for example, have a Colour Space close to Adobe 98. A professional print service will likely have a website download available for the Colour Space of their printer/paper/ink combination for you to Convert to.

 

Joseph Holmes best practice is to Convert if you have to [as in your case with out-of-house printing]. But for in-house printing where your printer is accessing the Colour Space Profiles stored on your computer; don't Convert - let the Print Driver handle the Conversion instead. His point being that Photoshop Conversions are clumsy compared to the file's colour handling by the Print Driver. Joseph Holmes' Colour Spaces are larger than Adobe 98.

 

............... Chris

[buckhorn_cortez]

Epson inkjets, for example, have a Colour Space close to Adobe 98. A............... Chris

 

One must keep in mind that gamut reproduction depends upon the inkset plus paper. For example, the Epson K3M (matte black ink), while making a higher Dmax than the K3P ink (photo), does not lend itself to printing on glossy materials without showing gloss differential - giving a rather odd look to the final print unless the print is overcoated with a glossy spray or laminated.

 

So, it is difficult to take advantage of the higher Dmax plus greater gamut available with glossy paper + K3M ink combination. The use of the K3P ink increases the gamut on glossy paper but decreases the Dmax so fine gradations in dark areas are not separated as well.

 

The largest gamut I've found to date using K3M inks is with Crane Silver Rag paper with a custom profile. That gamut is easily 50% larger than Epson Enhanced Matte with K3M, but both are far smaller than Adobe RGB. The K3P inks have a larger gamut on glossy papers - but they still don't approach Adobe RGB.

 

The Joseph Holmes color spaces are larger than Adobe 1998. I use the Joseph Holmes Chrome Space 100 profile on my scanner to have a larger gamut for color adjustment and to allow for future printer/paper improvements in color rendering. But, in reality both colorspaces get compacted when printing.

 

With the Epson inksets plus the paper available today, you're still not close to Adobe RGB from my tests. I have no experience with the Canon pro printers or HP pro printers, so I cannot comment on their gamut reproduction capabilities.

 

However, what you have to remember is this is really no different than working with film and photo paper. In B&W, a scene may have a contrast ratio of 10,000:1. Film can reproduce about 1,000:1 - and the final print 100:1. Color film and paper don't approach that, and the gamuts available don't match real life - so, it always comes down to your personal technique in making a the best representation of your subject.

 

No free lunches no matter what workflow you choose - there are always losses in the process.

[ChrisC]

.....gamut reproduction depends upon the inkset plus paper......

 

Buckhorn - Thanks for the correction. Sloppy writing on my part, made worse by repeating the ideal circumstance claims of Epson.

 

............. Chris