Mpix Quality

[jermaine_scott]

<p>I just received my prints back from Mpix. I uploaded them to the website blah blah. I made the mistake of clicking color correct. I am not happy with a few. I did all of my corrections in LR 3 and should have left well enough alone. I looked at a few of the prints and they just don't look sharp even at 4x6. I checked them 1:1 on my monitor and they look sharp. Is something lost on Mpix's end? Has anyone else noticed this? I must admit, these are the e-surface prints.</p>

[Brad_]

I've had great results with Mpix.

 

With respect to sharpening, what level of *Output Sharpening* (type and amount in the Export dialog box) did you select when you exported your files from

Lightroom?

 

Also, what were the pixel dimensions of your exported files and the size of your prints in inches?

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>LR3 requires you judge sharpness at 100% view. All other smaller views are compressed and displayed through a combination of LR3's anti-aliasing and one's own OS video graphics drawing algorithm.</p>

<p>You should be judging sharpness for how it's going to appear in print in Photoshop at even multiples smaller zoom levels such as 25%/50%. If it looks sharp at those zoom levels but doesn't on an MPIX print, it means MPIX's is down or upsampling or maybe even re-compressing upon upload your jpegs. Not sure, never used MPIX or any other online printer.</p>

<p>Also make sure upon saving to jpeg you use high quality compression level jpeg settings like say around 8-10 in Photoshop as a precaution.</p>

[jermaine_scott]

<p>@Brad - The export quality is set to 100. I did not compress them. I shot most with my Nikon D700 and did not compress them for upload other than making them jpeg's instead of RAW. Mpix listed that they could be printed up to 20x30 I believe in the little dialogue box. I got 4x6 for a photo album instead of friends standing around the computer monitor. I have a pic from Istanbul. They faces in the crowd are smeared. On my monitor I can make out the face clearly without going to 1:1. What gives?<br>

@Tim - I do not actually have Photoshop. I used to use a local lab. I worked up my photos in LR and exported to a folder for upload. No problem. I did the same thing for Mpix. What I got and what I sent do not look the same. Just wondering if its something on my end. By the way, I have contacted Mpix Customer Service.</p>

[Brad_]

>>> LR3 requires you judge sharpness at 100% view.<P>

 

Tim, you can't judge <b>Output Sharpening</b> in LR. That's something you set in the Export dialog at the time of exporting your image for printing. The OP

mentioned that regular sharpening at 100% looked good.

[Brad_]

>>> @Brad - The export quality is set to 100.<P>

 

No, not quality, "Output Sharpening"<P>

 

<img src= "http://citysnaps.net/2011%20photos/Sharpening.jpg"><P>

[allenahale]

<p>Have you contacted Mpix? They most likely can help you more than we can.</p>

[jermaine_scott]

<p>@Brad - Thank you for pointing this out to me. I have not used this feature. I did however export a few for to look at. Matte Paper with Standard and High Sharpening and the way I originally exported them. Yes, they are sharper. But it still should not have received prints where the faces in the crowd are smears with no distinct features. All is well though. They are reprinting for me. The customer service is excellent as far as I can tell.<br>

@Allen - I just wanted to see if it was just me. I have contacted customer service and actually Brad did help me with a feature in LR.</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<blockquote>

<p>The OP mentioned that regular sharpening at 100% looked good.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Brad, if you got that from this remark in the OP's OT...<br>

</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I checked them 1:1 on my monitor and they look sharp.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>...as to mean 100% view, I didn't interpret it as that.</p>

<p>Nonetheless, the OP could see sharpness of the final jpegs viewing in an image viewer on his OS which shouldn't truncate the preview the way Adobe has to do in LR3 at smaller (actual 4x6 print size on display) zoom view. I view my images this way using Apple's Preview app just to check what a 4x6's sharpness level looks like on a 4x6 print. But I don't have to because I have Photoshop.</p>

<p>The real issue is he shouldn't be seeing sharpness issues from MPIX unless MPIX is doing something to his files on the other end they're not telling him. I get my 4x6 prints from a Walgreen's Noritsu minilab and don't have this issue.</p>

 

 

[tom_mann1]

<p><em>"...should not have received prints where the faces in the crowd are smears with no distinct features ..."</em></p>

<p>It would help enormously if we could see what you are talking about. Please scan one of these and post it as an example.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

 

[john_shriver]

<p>I always scale my output to 250 dots/inch before uploading to mpix.com, since that is the resolution they print at. Sharpening at that resolution is what you want to do. They may resample them a little bit, but I don't think that would blunt the sharpening.</p>