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General Craft Discussion => Other Crafts => Full range of crafts covered here => Scrapbooking => Topic started by: Dylan on May 12, 2006, 10:54:41 PM
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Has anyone had occasion to have old coloured photos printed yet, I am scanning them into my computer but see that Tesco, Asda and that do prints for you, Anyone had experience of doing this?
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Have a lot of experience in having photos printed at stores.
It is practically IMPOSSIBLE to match the price of ASDA photoprints by doing it yourself on an inkjet printer if you ellect to use top branded quality photo paper and oem ink cartridges
So scan them in to your PC and save as .jpg file format
Experience dictates the following
1 Scan at 300dpi
2 save in a designated folder
3 once you have scanned all you want to do you must decide what size your prints are required to be.
4 ASDA offer
6x4
7x5
9x6
10x8
12x10
If you have a suitable program it is better to CROP your images to one of the above sizes BEFORE you go to the store, otherwise there program will crop your image to fit. This can sometimes result in funny things happening , like decapitation of your mother in law etc!
Once you have amassed a considerable number of photos ready for printing, try to burn all of a size to a CD, separate Cds for separate sizes.
This will save you time in store
You can edit etc at the counter instore, but I wouldnt recommend as this is TEDIOUSLY SLOW compared to doing it at home on a PC.
UNLESS YOU WANT AN EVER INCREASING AUDIENCE OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR THE TERMINAL. The grumbling can be entertaining!!
Important that all your prints of the same size are on the same CD as ASDA charge different prices for the same size of print depending on total quantity processed from ONE source
For example (prices should be checked and updated)
1 6 x 4 print 15p
50 6x4 £5 (10p)
150 6 x 4 £7.50 (5p) on same CD
BUT BE CAREFUL, say 40 on disc + 50 on separate disk + 60 on 3rd disc
Charged as follows 40 at 15p £6
50 at 10p £5
60 at 10p £6
150 £17.00
THey change the prices from time to time
Special quantity prices on 7 x 5 at present
Larger sizes no special quantity reduction
Asked A and B some months ago and it could be that cards for mounting your photos in and crafty decoration may be available from alan and barrys crafts some time later
It is more cost effective to print the larger sizes at home providing you have a good printer. Good quality photo paper and ink
Pointless using elcheapocrapo paper as this will disapoint you and could FADE very quickly if displayed where the son can bleach the prints
So unless your going to put your photos where the sun doesn't shine, go for a quality paper and ink.
Hope this helps if you want more info please PM me
Andy
fotofool
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Gosh thanks for all the information, better than asking in the shop. I did realise some time ago when I started putting my photos on computer it would be an expensive business to print them out myself and although I do get good quality prints, the amount of ink used, well.
Putting this on here for others who may have the same question, have you uploaded any photos to their web to be printed for you without going in to the store? Have been on their site and see that they do this. Couldn't find the prices though, not until you actually do it. Reason I am asking this is my Asda store is a long way away. But if I do have to travel to the store, on reading your posting do you do it yourself and get them instantly then. or do you just give in the CD(s) and then go back for them?
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Hi Dylan
The procedure at both ASDA stores in Rotherham and Sheffield is as follows. You would need to check your own local arrangements before commiting.
You take your CD to the counter tell the assistant what you wish to do.
He/she will help you to navigate round there terminal, but you will usually be expected to upload them into their system yourself (with help if required when you hit challenges)
The terminal prints out a "till roll" which you take to the assistant and prepay for your order.
Depending upon ASDA workload they will tell you the earliest you should return to collect.
A good smile might make this just a little negotiable, but all orders appear to be processed in customer attendance order.
Early morning, around 8.30 am usually gets your prints done in about an hour. Busy times has sometimes required a return later or next day.
Be aware, to get best (lowest price) on 6 by 4 prints of 5p each you will need 150 ON THE SAME DATA SOURCE (CD or memmory card)
As posted earlier downloading from different discs can cause Asda to charge each lot into a higher price band. Different assistants seem to interprit this rule differently. Worth phoning and asking before you go.
UPLOADING VIA INTERNET
Yes this can be done. But irrespective of your DOWNLOAD speed from your service provider the more important consideration is the UPLOAD speed.
Can take a minute or two for EACH photo to upload, even on broadband. So 150 photos at only a minute can take 2 1/2 hours!!!!
We usually allow 2 to 2 1/2 hours to go by car process instore and drive home. A good time to do your shopping or whatever rather than just wait.
Occasionally in quiet times, once you know an assistant, some can acheive better turn around times for you. Most appreciate a thank you. A box of grapes isn't fattening!
Larger prints are cheaper through the lab at 7dayshop.com, but please allow quite a while as post has to come back to you from Guernsey. Whilst they can send them back on the day they get them in before around noon, the postal service can cause frustrating delays. Experience of print quality is EXCELLENT
foto.com ? or foto.co.uk ? trades worldwide, I think processing in Belgium. Not tried them yet, but very large quantities of 6 by 4 prints can be as low as 1p (Yes 1 new pence) but postage is 1.8p per print ie. totalling 2.8p when you buy plenty.
There is a common denominator throughout the game.
Most internet printers take a lot of time to upload to.
Most of these and stores use Fuji Crystal Archive photo paper. This gives excellent prints
Most are much cheaper than home printing
Time comparrison. The time to upload via broadband and the time to print yourself are not too dissimilar, both requiring plenty of patience and endurance!!!!
The time to print yourself versus a trip to town. Will on lots of prints I suspect a trip to the store may in total take less time. You must allow for travelling costs.
Andy
fotofool
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Thanks for all that information Andy. I emailed Asda last year to ask if they had any intention of offering this sort of web based service and was told "no" !! Glad to see they are doing it now. It will be much cheaper to get my digital scrapbook pages printed out by them than doing it myself I think.
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Hi,
I put my photos on the computer and use truprint to print them online. Not sure of prices. They do offers for new customers.
The photos don`t take long to arrive and it seems to save me money on ink.
Although we have a digital camers I still enjoy showing people our snaps. Of course I can also use them for scrapbooking!!
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Thanks everyone for the information especially fotofool I am sure the info will be helpful to a lot on the forum. Glad I posed the question now. I am busy getting my photos on to computer and will probably travel to the shop, takes me about 2 hours and three different buses but will be worth it. All our large stores where I live are for car drivers and I do not have a car. I will ring there first of course to make sure they do it at that branch. I do actually have my shopping delivered from Asda via the internet, have always had very good service. We have had some new houses gone up on a large piece of wasteland near where I live and Asda have been trying to get permission from council to put a new store there, I for one hope they get it, we badly need a shop of sorts where I live. May just be able to pop down the road to have my photos printed if they do. Thanks again
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Hi Dylan
Just popped on for a couple of minutes.
If you have any branches nearer to you it would be worth a phone call to see whats available at
Max Spielman
Klik photopoint
Snappies
and Boots the Chemist
The first three are I think same group of companies.
Have used Klik in a Morrison supermarket branch where they downloaded quite quickly to a CD which they then sent by their courrier service to the lab. Next day back again to branch.
Have used Klik on the high street where they offered 20 min service or 24 hrs (cheaper)
They do 8 by 6 as opposed to 9x6 in ASDA
Internet Blueyonder alied to Photobox.com or .co.uk
Had good service and sensible prices
But ASDA seems to be lowest priced on quantities of smaller print sizes. (One irritation with Asda is their name is printed on the back (once) and this cheapens the product when considering resale ., as we do in the studio.
Have tried Jessops in Meadowhall Sheffieild, next day is reasonable 1 hour is dearer. But they print up to 10" by 15" excellent quality
Andy
fotofool
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Thanks again Andy you have really helped, I have to travel for any shops and nearest 1/2 hour away are all small, but will finish putting photos on computer put on disc and make a day of it, Chelmsford is only about 1 hour away and has plenty of large shops.
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As a hardened scrapbooker I take a lot of photos and to be honest most of them are not ideal for printing and then you have to store them all if you don't scrapbook them all. What scrapbooker scraps all their photos? I've been doing this for 5 years and I still have draw loads of photos I will never get to scrap. Even professional photographers only get up to 4/5 fab shots from a reel of film. I think the ones I choose to scrapbook I might as well print myself because by the time you go to the shop and then go back to collect the fuel etc used you might as well do yourself. Also the main thing for printing myself is that I can choose the size, I can put several photos all next to each other and print and then put straight onto the page. I use an Epson printer and would never use anything else, I also use true paper and ink which I get from the Epson site as they often have good deals on.
I think you have to weigh up the time factor in all this too as for most of us time is money and an impromptu feeling of "must do a page" can't cope with going down to get photos printed - takes long enough just to choose a photo whether they are already printed or not!! LOL!! Well, it does me anyway.
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All the photos I want in my scrapbook/album are already in old albums, but am doing 2 new ones for my daughters of old photos of our family and them as little children, I am not going to give them the originals out of my albums and they wish to have some photos of themselves when young. Not digital in those days, you were very careful how you took the photos as expensive to buy film. In those days I did weddings myself and had a very good camera. Anything that wasn't up to scratch were thrown out years ago and my grandmother and greatgrandmother well over 100 years old etc cannot be repeated.
I have had the photos done now at Asda they have come out superb considering some were quite small photos and square and they have enlarged them to 4x6 which is what I wanted. Really pleased with the way they have turned out. I also have a lot of black and white photos,(all there was when my girls were small) which I have printed out myself.
I must agree with you that taking digital photos is different just point and shoot I do it all the time and a lot of them are not too good, but for anything special I still prefer my old Seagull camera and light meter.
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Do you know what - I didn't even look at the title of this thread - or if I did it didn't sink in!!! DOH! Yes of course old photos are best scanned and reprinted in bulk. I must admit I generally don't use many of the orginals anymore as they are either too small or discoloured and need attention in paintshoppro, shame really as I have a huge amount of orginals. Just startyed tracing my family tree and now have old old photos which I never had before - you can imagine how wonderful that was, had a little flurry on scrapping heritage only for a while!!
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My mother is now 96 years old and I have 1 photo of her grandmother and grandfather, quite a few of her mother and father sisters and brother, really interesting to my family, too precious to just leave in an old envelope, so that is what started me off, my scrapbooks/albums will not be too glamorous just a few embellishments, but a good keepsake for my girls and grandchildren.
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I know what a fab hobby it is!! I love the fact it's all for me until I'm gone and then the kids can have it and pass it down. I'm just in the middle of writing and designing for my third book on the subject. I'm trying to convince the publishers to do a heritage one as I've never seen a decent heritage book!!
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Hi l found all the info very informative,l have a bag full of old photos waiting
Annie xxx
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Oh you must get scrapbooking then Annie!! Where abouts are you as there are a load of scrapbooking clubs everywhere these days.
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l live in a place called Atherton near Wigan lancashire.
Annie xxx
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Have a look at the Scrapaholic.co.uk website as they have loads of clubs around the country and fab retreats too.
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Good to see this thread developing
Pleased that Dylan had a successful experience getting photos printed at ASDA.
Now here's a thought, if you are going to copy your old photos for inclusion in your scrap book, do you copy and remain true to the original photo, no matter how damaged it is. Or do you restore the photo to its former glory before copying and adding into your scrap book?
For example:
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j278/fotofooling/comparisonofrestoredphoto.jpg)[/img]
CLICK ON THUMBNAIL TO ENLARGE
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j278/fotofooling/th_comparisonofrestoredphoto.jpg)][url=http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j278/fotofooling/comparisonofrestoredphoto.jpg](http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j278/fotofooling/th_comparisonofrestoredphoto.jpg) (http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j278/fotofooling/comparisonofrestoredphoto.jpg)
[/url]
Andy
the fotofool
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Personal I restore only because I like to have a play in PSP9 and I have the Epson colour and scratch restoration scanner which does a fine job and then I touch up. I sent one off to Total Papercrafts who do it and it was well worth the money as it was so badly damaged. I would add an image here but not sure how too!!!
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Hi Sarah M
Was wondering what you had done through papercrafts and what the cost was?
Also what scanner are you refering to?
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Total Papercrafts has this thing that it sends your photo off (I just emailed it) and then after about 5 days it came back and was fantastic. I have done a scrapbook page with it ans it will go in my next book it is that good. I think it cost £40 but the results are amazing and it was worth every penny especially as I can get around a bit in photo software. The scanner I have is the Epson 4870 and it repairs small scratches and restores colour - especially those sort of 60's and 70's prints that have gone yellow. If I knew how to attach I would put it on here but I can't figure it out!!
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Photo restoration is an interesting and sometimes complex operation. With experience you can do a reasonable job yourself in PSP or Photoshop.
However if you find the subject daunting then professional assistance is available over the internet from Lazypics.com Photo Studio
The young chap there is a master when it comes to restoration. He should be, he teaches the subject at College!
You can upload your photo for a FREE assessment and quotation via his website or simply email an attachment as a .jpg file to info@lazypics.com
His prices are very reasonable, based on the time it will take to do the job, he starts at only £15. for this type of work and he will return your restored file by email within 5/7 working days
He can also if required print and post you a copy of the picy.
visit www.lazypics.com
for more info
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Hi Fotofool, Just thought I would update my having photos printed. In the end I uploaded 50 to the Asda website, very easy my scanner is very quick then I "made them good again" most were small square photos taken with a half frame camera from middle 60s. I had them all printed twice making 100 cost me £7.50p of which £1.50p was postage so very good was pleased with that. They came back beautifully packed 2 days later. Had them all done at 4 x 6. When I was doing them I was sure they would not be too good as square and small but they are beautiful, better than they were when new.
Incidentally I am in favour of enhancing old photos, why not we have the facilities. I mostly use Microsoft Digital Image 10 I also have Adobe photoshop but can't get along with that. I have made people slimmer, got rid of marks, red eye, blur etc
Hey this has been more about photos than scrapbooking.
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Hi Dylan, so pleased that your experience with having photos printed at ASDA by internet service was successful.
Sorry that you can't get on with Adobe Photoshop so well. I am lucky in that in 2002 after my stroke I enrolled onto a night school course in digital imagery and the program they were using just happened to be Adobe Photoshop V6.
I have since attended classes for some 3 years or so, at 2 different colleges of further education. Progressively the versions of Photoshop have been upgraded, V7, then Photoshop CS (ie V8) and more recently CS2 (ieV9). Each version upgrade has included enhanced features. I currently invariably use CS1 (V9) for work at home. I have acheived passes from the National Open College Network (NOCN). at Levls 1, 2 and 3. At level 3 I have been awarded 6 separate certificates, One for each unit passed.
The local colleges, for some reason best known to their beaurocracy, have changed their accreditation body to NCFE???.
Sorry for the CV, but I have no other trumpet to blow.
Reading postings on the forum from many of the members it is obvious that lots of us have a wealth of experience, but in the use of DIFFERENT progams. This is good, there are many individual "quirks" to a progam that helps a user to get to grips with it.
The great thing about Microsoft Digital Image, I would guess as I haven't got it on my PC, is that it has the familiarity of layout that comes with all Microsoft programs.
As Adobe Photoshop is the undoubted INDUSTRY LEADER, and in particular when used as part of their Creative Suite (CS1 or 2) it links with a "common language" to other Adobe programs. Because of this the support by way of tutorials on the internet and in magazines is prolific.
A much easier version to use for photo manipulation is the scaled down version, Photoshop Elements (currently published as V4) but version 3 is available quite cheaply from a popular internet auction site.
With PS Elements I am sure most folk could quickly acquire the skills to sort out their old photos. The interface however is different to the full blown Photoshop, but after a while you start to spot the similarities.
One other "quirk" in Photoshop
Up to version 6 or 7 you could scan a UK £20 note. ;D ;D ;D
From later versions CS onwards, Photoshop wont allow this. >:( >:( >:(
Shucks, are we destined to stay poor forever ;) ;) ;) ;)
Happy scrapping
Andy
the fotofool
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Why can't you scan a £20 note. Will try it myself tomorrow. I suppose for obvious reasons but what happens when you try? I used to use Picture it and Microsoft Digital 10 is just the later version, But I still like the earlier one, can do just about everything with it. Also use Majix very good for putting photos on a disc with a storyline.
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Have successfully managed to scan a £20 note using earlier versions of Photoshop, but version CS1 (V8) and CS2 (V9) dont seem to want to do it. Dont know why, Adobe pops up a drop down message to say it cant be done.
Spoilsports everywhere these days!!!!
However, I saved the earlier scans, manipulated them in V7 and allowing for inflation, I now only print £22 notes for fun.
Somehow Tesco and the local pubs are still only accepting £20 notes ;) ;) :D ;D ;D
Have a similar problem filing the corners off 50p pieces to make 10ps for the local car park ::) ::) ::)
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Very funny, but I like it
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From a technical point of view.
Once you have scanned both sides of a bank note, to print both sides is relatively easy. Ensure that both image dimmensions are identical.
On an Epson printer go to print preview and then allow the software to centre the image and print.
Turn the paper over and do exactly the same on the other side, remembering to ensure that the image is self centred on the page. Use maybe a slightly thicker paper, say 100 or 120 gsm. Better to allow first side to dry a while first.
In Photoshop the register is spot on.
Cut out carefully with scissors. When really hard dry, crumple the new note and stack in piles of say 50.
Be generous, give them away to people you cant stand. Once they spend them they won't be around for long to annoy you.
(IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE THEY DONT KNOW YOUR NAME OR WHERE YOU LIVE!!!!)
::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
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Oh fotofool, think stop is in order now, you'll get thrown off the site.
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Seems a fair observation, does take more skill to put the flats onto 10 p pieces so that they fit 20 p Parking metres.
Have a good afternoon, must get back to the ID card production line.
I watched THE GREAT ESCAPE again last weekend, really admired Donald Pleasance and James (Rockford) Garners characters.
Just imagine what they could have achieved with image manipulation software!!!!!!!and a pile of usefull stuff off Alan and Barrys Crafts site
Bye for now
Andy
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Bye Andy, I also loved the great escape but mainly cause of Steve McQueen!!!!
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I have just uploaded a lot of my friends photos to my Kodak site and used them to get Kodak to make me a lovely calendar for her (july 2006 to June 2007) I was very impressed.
I also got my hubby a picture mousemat for fathers day - the service was great.
The reprints of your own photos uploaded are great too and the price compares with other high street prices.
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Had an email regarding larger print sizes from www.7dayshop.com.
I have sent this photo (not old photo, but taken recently by our Adam at lazypics) of my grandchildren Peter and Sean for printing scrap book size, ie 12" by12"
They print 6 by 6 up to 30 by 20.
We have used them before and quality is good, despatched back same day but Guernsey and then our Royal Mail tend to take about 5/7 days
(http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j278/fotofooling/PeterSean12by12IMG_6229.jpg)
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Oh fotofool what a lovely picture of your grandchildren, they look angels (probably not) and the picture is so clear, you should put that one on general discussion, there would be a lot of ooohhhing and aaarrring
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Dylan, thank you for your pm today on ASDA printing
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Just an update on having photos printed, Don't know if all the stores do this but a friend of mine uploaded some old black and white photos from years ago to the Asda photo printing site and they have come back absolutely like new and bigger than they were, really not worth printing them yourself as the ink would be more costly than the cost of having them done and obviously the more you upload the cheaper it is.
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Hi Dylan. Yes you should be able to get the old black and white photos printed in store. Naturally they would have to be put onto a CD from your computer to get them there or if you have a card reader/writer you could transport them on one of your camera memory card. Remember to save them as .jpg files.
Preparation makes sense and it helps if you use your graphics package to crop the photo to the correct aspect ratio.
This prevents the automated cropping of your image in store, so That its you who decides what is cropped away, if any,, rather than tha ASDA computer if you see what i mean A lot of the old b and w photos used to be a different aspect ratio to modern ones.
Another way to maintain shape integrity would be to create a new background in any colour other than white. This new background should be in the correct aspect ratio as ASDAs capability eg 6x4, 7x5, 9x6 etc Then scan your photo and place it onto the background.
If you wish you could make the background into a printed frame in any design to suit you project
Smaller photos could be put 2 or more into the same background area side by side if you don't particularly want enlargements.
This will create a copy of your photo with some form of border, which after ASDA processing can be cut off with scissors if appropriate.
This is one of the techniques my son adopts at the www.lazypics.com photo studio
Andy, the fotofool
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I upload my photos to Asda site, as I can't get to the store myself, very very easy and doesn't cost more than taking them in yourself. I did enhance the photos I had done as a lot were a bit faded very easy in a graphics programme but I didn't resize any of them, (a lot were square) and they all came back perfect.
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Pleased that you got good results
It could be that you have a choice
to crop or not to crop, that is the question
where does Romeo and Juliet fit into all this? ;) ;) ;)
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Hi, Tesco also do online printing as do Asda. Easy to upload any photos. arrive in post 4-5 days later. As i live 20 minutes from shops, this is easier than waiting around for an hour or overnight. Hope this helps