Printing Sizes never seem to work out

[dan_catinella]

<p>Hey guys. I'm very new to printing prints for frames and matted frames. I have a few questions that I'm hoping some more experienced photographers may be able to help with. </p>

<p>I shot the picture with a D7000 Raw at 4928x3264. I have a a frame that is 16x20 matted down to 11.5x15.25.<br>

I'm trying to print a shot at adorama just outside the margin of the matting so I can mount it without cropping the photo but Adorama doesn't seem to offer any sizes that come close.<br>

They have 11x14 prints and 16x20 prints. If I print at 16x20 to fit the frame I obviously have to cut out a big part of the composition. If I print at 11x14 than I have gaps around the photo after mounting.......... What am I missing?</p>

 

[Matt Laur]

<p>Send them an 11x14 or 16x20 image with the white space you want already built into the file.</p>

[dan_catinella]

<p>Ha. Thanks Matt. Nothing like a simple answer to make me feel like an idiot. </p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Hey, I remember going through exactly the same thing, with the same sort of hit-or-miss, frustrating results. Now I just and the actual image I want in a larger field of white and either trim the excess, or just let it make it easier to drop it right into a frame. Every print-making vendor is going to be a little different, but the include-the-white-space strategy really seems to work well in most cases. Regardless, this is one of the reasons I do most my own printing these days - I like having control down to the millimeter. </p>

[dan_catinella]

<p>Not quite at that point. Right now I'm working on monitor calibration and dealing with color profiles and all that junk. It's a slow process when it's only a part time hobby. </p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>In your case you will have to have them make a 16x20 image with white border. The image area should be a bit larger than 11.5 x15.25 as they do crop the file you send them a little bit. </p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>A commercial processor will always crop negatives or images when printing, with or without borders. If the proportions don't match those of the print, they will crop so that the frame is filled. Even if the proportions are the same, they will always crop a few millimeters from each dimension.</p>

<p>If it is important that then entire image is visible, add a border in photoshop. That way you may lose part of the border, but the image itself is whole.</p>