Lightroom Prints from Nations. How to?

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nickt

Senior Member
Hi all. I pretty much never make prints. My experience is limited to uploading to Walmart. I want to try Nations Photo Lab. My end of the year goal is to get some nice prints on the walls. Near-term I need some 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 in a few weeks. Walmart would be fine for this upcoming need, but is a good opportunity to learn how to use a real lab.

I have no idea where to start with Lightroom in preparing for Nations or any quality shop. I was thinking crop pictures to appropriate print size and export full quality jpg. Do I need to do this for each size print or will there be a tool for that as I go through the ordering process? Or should I be learning how to use the Lightroom print module rather than exporting? Again, I have no clue.

Any tips or links to get me started is appreciated. I have some adobe print module tutorials lined up to watch, but if you guys could point me toward a work process, I could concentrate my learning in that direction. Thanks.
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
nickt said:
Hi all. I pretty much never make prints. My experience is limited to uploading to Walmart. I want to try Nations Photo Lab. My end of the year goal is to get some nice prints on the walls. Near-term I need some 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 in a few weeks. Walmart would be fine for this upcoming need, but is a good opportunity to learn how to use a real lab.

I have no idea where to start with Lightroom in preparing for Nations or any quality shop. I was thinking crop pictures to appropriate print size and export full quality jpg. Do I need to do this for each size print or will there be a tool for that as I go through the ordering process? Or should I be learning how to use the Lightroom print module rather than exporting? Again, I have no clue.

Any tips or links to get me started is appreciated. I have some adobe print module tutorials lined up to watch, but if you guys could point me toward a work process, I could concentrate my learning in that direction. Thanks.
Click to expand...

My experience (though limited) has been that I have my final image in lightroom... I export a Full Size jpg (no additional crop) and then view it full screen to look for any little bits I may have missed in prior edits. (I had a couple dust spots/flaws that I did not notice until a large print was received because I did not look close enough) If I find anything, I return and edit, if not, I then use the services online tool for final crop and composition when I submit my order....

Regards,

Pat in GA
 
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sonicbuffalo_RIP

Senior Member
@nickt....using Nations is easy. I just edit in Lightroom, then save to my desktop and then go to Nations and upload to them. I haven't printed but a few times, but it's so easy even I can do it! Happy shooting and printing!
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Echoing the ease of Nations... I pixel peep in LR at 100% zoom, then crop to the format I want in LR, export at 100% quality JPEG, and upload to Nations. They give ya a preview, but haven't had any photo quality issues from them at all. I did have one pic come back slightly off kilter (not level), but a quick chat with customer service and I had a replacement print in 2 days.
 
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nickt

Senior Member
Thanks guys! I was over-thinking it as usual. I just uploaded some full size images and went with the flow and it was very straight forward and simple to crop. Even a final screen to check my images and options. I didn't actually order yet, but feeling more ready.
@Pretzel , is there an advantage to cropping in LR rather than using the Nations tools? That's what led me down the path of confusion. Somewhere I got the impression that I must crop in LR. Then I read cautions that you better do the LR crop right or you might get white around your print. (wouldn't the final preview show that?) The solution to that was to use the print module rather than export. I got totally confused.

How about last minute output sharpening on the LR export screen? Do I want that?
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
nickt said:
Thanks guys! I was over-thinking it as usual. I just uploaded some full size images and went with the flow and it was very straight forward and simple to crop. Even a final screen to check my images and options. I didn't actually order yet, but feeling more ready.
@Pretzel , is there an advantage to cropping in LR rather than using the Nations tools? That's what led me down the path of confusion. Somewhere I got the impression that I must crop in LR. Then I read cautions that you better do the LR crop right or you might get white around your print. (wouldn't the final preview show that?) The solution to that was to use the print module rather than export. I got totally confused.

How about last minute output sharpening on the LR export screen? Do I want that?
Click to expand...

I recommend you always do a final output sharpening for prints... as far as cropping in LR, I like to see the area of my pic in full size, and align it properly, before exporting. I just use the built in standards (4x6, 5x7, 8x10), and have never had an issue with white edges around my print. Nations gives you a preview before ordering, so I'm sure you should be able to spot it right away if it were ever to become an issue.
 
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Blacktop

Senior Member
What about color space? RGB, Photo RGB? This is why I shoot in aRGB in camera and process in aRGB until the very end. Then if I was to use the image for the web I would save it in sRGB, for prints I would save it in aRGB. Have not tried it with photoRGB yet.
 
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nickt

Senior Member
Pretzel said:
I recommend you always do a final output sharpening for prints... as far as cropping in LR, I like to see the area of my pic in full size, and align it properly, before exporting. I just use the built in standards (4x6, 5x7, 8x10), and have never had an issue with white edges around my print. Nations gives you a preview before ordering, so I'm sure you should be able to spot it right away if it were ever to become an issue.
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Thank you. This makes sense. I could see myself going either way with cropping in LR or at the lab. Most of my shots are either uncropped or cropped using one of the standard sizes.
 
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nickt

Senior Member
Blacktop said:
What about color space? RGB, Photo RGB? This is why I shoot in aRGB in camera and process in aRGB until the very end. Then if I was to use the image for the web I would save it in sRGB, for prints I would save it in aRGB. Have not tried it with photoRGB yet.
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Do I need to think about this or can I just keep everything in sRGB? No critical pictures involved at this time. I thought I read that Nations recommends sRGB. After some initial confusion years back I set my cameras to sRGB and never thought about it again. So much to learn about color.
 
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Krs_2007

Senior Member
nickt said:
Do I need to think about this or can I just keep everything in sRGB? No critical pictures involved at this time. I thought I read that Nations recommends sRGB. After some initial confusion years back I set my cameras to sRGB and never thought about it again. So much to learn about color.
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Requirements from Nations.

What file format do you accept?
Your files must be:



  • .jpg and flattened .tiff files
  • 300 dpi resolution recommend
  • 8-bit color depth
  • sRGB color space
  • 25 character filename limit


*NO special characters, excluding hyphen (-) and underscore (_)*​



​


 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Blacktop said:
What about color space? RGB, Photo RGB? This is why I shoot in aRGB in camera and process in aRGB until the very end. Then if I was to use the image for the web I would save it in sRGB, for prints I would save it in aRGB. Have not tried it with photoRGB yet.
Click to expand...

Default settings when exporting from me, ever since I started with LR. Works like a champ... why change? :)
 
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nickt

Senior Member
Thanks guys. Order sent. I cropped some in LR and some using the Nations tools. I threw in a few extras, including a couple shots on metallic paper and some people pictures to check the skin tones. Now I feel like the old film days waiting for the prints. Thanks for the tips.
 
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nickt

Senior Member
sonicbuffalo said:
You will love Nations! You'll be visiting them again I'm sure!
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Yes, maybe it will inspire me. I haven't been shooting much lately. We went to a craft show last week. My wife really wanted to buy some of the local photogs' prints. Ahhhgh!! Nothing against them, truly beautiful work of familiar local scenes. I have to give it a try.
 
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Krs_2007

Senior Member
nickt said:
Yes, maybe it will inspire me. I haven't been shooting much lately. We went to a craft show last week. My wife really wanted to buy some of the local photogs' prints. Ahhhgh!! Nothing against them, truly beautiful work of familiar local scenes. I have to give it a try.
Click to expand...


If you go into their support feature, help section and really want to use the Lightroom print module they will send you ICC profiles. I did that a while back, they are loaded but I haven't used them since. I calibrate both monitors and all of my prints have been spot on since, even without using the ICC profiles.

They are a great company to work with, they have called or emailed me about questions on previous orders before printing and such. Really had great luck with them. Also make sure you sign up for the email list, I get 50% off deals all the time, which equates to a couple extra emails a week.

Also, I think I read where someone uses the online tool for uploading. They have a java package that puts that tool on your desktop, which I find easier to use. It called ROES.

Nations Photo Lab Online Ordering- Order Prints Online vs ROES
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
Krs_2007 said:
They are a great company to work with, they have called or emailed me about questions on previous orders before printing and such. Really had great luck with them. Also make sure you sign up for the email list, I get 50% off deals all the time, which equates to a couple extra emails a week.
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DITTO on signing up for the emails. Although I didn't order any, they recently ran a 16x20 sale starting at $6.75 per print! If you can hold on to the pics you want to actually print (BTW, my photo instructor says a photograph can't be GREAT until it's printed), you'll see the size you want on sale at least 1-2x a month, but even the normal prices aren't bad.
 
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nickt

Senior Member
Krs_2007 said:
If you go into their support feature, help section and really want to use the Lightroom print module they will send you ICC profiles. I did that a while back, they are loaded but I haven't used them since. I calibrate both monitors and all of my prints have been spot on since, even without using the ICC profiles.

They are a great company to work with, they have called or emailed me about questions on previous orders before printing and such. Really had great luck with them. Also make sure you sign up for the email list, I get 50% off deals all the time, which equates to a couple extra emails a week.

Also, I think I read where someone uses the online tool for uploading. They have a java package that puts that tool on your desktop, which I find easier to use. It called ROES.

Nations Photo Lab Online Ordering- Order Prints Online vs ROES
Click to expand...

Thanks, calibration is another thing on my list to learn. I'm only using a laptop, so it may never truly be calibrated. A small change in hinge angle makes a big change in images. I did go through the Windows calibration. That seemed a little hokey, it was just q&a on how the screen looked. Better than nothing, I guess.

I am getting tempted with the emails already. @Pretzel , good to know the sales come around frequently.

I downloaded ROES and played with it. I'll try it next time. The separate orders for each catalog paper worried me at first so I went with web ordering. Then I read that for ROES I would need to message them to request they combine shipping if process times were the same.
 
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nickt

Senior Member
Just a quick followup. Got my prints this morning. Wow. Perfect. Great packing too. Bagged, taped, sleeved in cardboard, boxed. I didn't get anything larger than 8x10, but they look impressive. Colors, brightness all as expected. I got a few small prints done with and without Nations color correction. No difference that I can see. I guess that's good because they look fine. Thanks for the guidance!
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
I keep reading these "printing" threads and think that one day I will be lucky enough to get an image worth printing. Ha!
@nickt Glad to hear it worked out for you. I really know what you mean about the laptop. I am in the same boat. Ha!
 
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nickt

Senior Member
cwgrizz said:
I keep reading these "printing" threads and think that one day I will be lucky enough to get an image worth printing. Ha!
@nickt Glad to hear it worked out for you. I really know what you mean about the laptop. I am in the same boat. Ha!
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Just go for it! We are our own worst critics. Something magic happens at 8x10. I think I need to force myself to make some prints every few months, it gave me a little boost in enthusiasm.
 
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