Purchasing an Image

A standard print is a print made from an image as shown on this site.  The maximum size of these prints is 3 feet (34 inches, actually) in height.  Images are normally scaled so that the paper height is filled -- however, an image can be cropped at top and bottom to produce a longer print.  Titling, including GPS coordinates, can be added at the bottom.  Obviously there are size tradeoffs between titling, length and height, so be sure to discuss how you big you want your print to be, and how it should look.

These prints are made in-house with a large format inkjet printer, using four-color (CMYK) dye-based inks.  Prints on glossy paper are $US $8.00 per square foot of printed area; prints on bond paper are $US $6.00 per square foot.  The center of the image can optionally be shifted as desired for an additional charge of $US $25.00.

Turn-around time on standard prints is usually one week.  The table below gives an idea of standard print costs.

For the ultimate color saturation and print quality, an image can be printed using the seven-color process.  These prints are made on the medium of your choice, including canvas for a painted appearance or transparency film for rear-lighted presentation.

This process requires sending the image to a commercial large format print shop, and the cost ranges from two to six times as expensive as a standard print.  Turn-around time depends on the printer, but is usually a minimum of two weeks.

Contact us for a quotation if you are interested in a custom print.

E-mail is most convenient for an initial contact due to a constantly irregular work schedule.  I try to read and respond to e-mail every day.

• A non-refundable deposit of $50 is required for standard prints larger than ten square feet.  This deposit is applied to the cost of the print at delivery time.
• A non-refundable deposit of 50 percent is required for all custom prints.  This deposit is applied to the cost of the print at delivery time.
• Payment is due on delivery and may be made in US currency, local check, money order or cash PayPal transfer.  At this time I cannot accept credit cards or non-cash PayPal transfers.

Bigger is better is the rule when viewing a panoramic print, and nothing smaller than 3 feet in length really does justice to the format.  Ideally, the print should be as long as possible without overflowing the width of the paper, as shown in the 3' x 25' below of the Oakwood Mall area.

There has been, and continues to be, much discussion about the permanence of inkjet printing.  Our opinion, after researching the topic, is that the permanence of the print depends more on the environment than on the color chemistry of the ink.

A print hanging in a home, behind Lexan^® sheeting, protected from ultraviolet light and atmospheric ozone can be expected to last up to twenty years.  The same print if hung unprotected in an office with fluorescent lighting, copy machines and commercial air cleaners may show signs of fading within months.

Treat your prints well and they should last as long as a color photograph in the same environment.

Plastic lamination produces a very shiny print that resists water, ultraviolet and ozone.  Unfortunately, the heat and chemical adhesives of the lamination process often damage the dyes, particularly the red dyes.  This severely limits the life of a laminated print.

Lamination is also a fairly expensive process when applied to the scale of a panoramic print.

Finally, there is the issue that any flaw in lamination (bubbles, wrinkles, crooked edges, etc.) cannot be fixed by peeling off the misplaced laminate and trying again.  Plastic lamination must be done absolutely perfectly on the first try or the print is ruined.

I advise against plastic lamination, and don't offer it as a service.  If you have a print laminated elsewhere and it turns out well, good for you!  On the other hand, if your $500 print was ruined by lamination ... I warned you!