File Size Questions

What is the best file size to send to the lab for an 8x10 or 11 x14.

I like to use adorama and they have a 30meg file up-load limit per picture either jpeg or tiff. Some of my shots are way over 30 meg. However, I have had 10x13 (largest so far) prints made from 4 meg jpegs from them and they look just fine from the D200.

Will I see a difference if I sqeeze my 30+meg TIFF files down to fit?

Has anyone used the Zip TIFF format? I tried and it compresses a 40 meg tiff down to a 20 meg tiff.

Any ideas or comments?

thanks,
Wes

I just printed out some 11x14s from Costco the other day. They were about 2.2 meg Jpegs from a Nikon D70 (6 Meg camera) and one from a Nikon D1h (2.74 megs) and they came out great.

Why are the images so big? Photoshop (psd) format can get that big and so can tiff files especially if you save the layer information in them. But a jpg should never be that big unless it's a hi-res scan from film (drum scan or what have you).

The file size on disk is not as important as the print size. A 3MB 3000x2000 jpg at 300dpi will print 6x10 but you can go up to 13x20 @150dpi depending on the print quality you want.

Tim

That does seem like an awfully large file size. When I convert from raw straight to tiff the files are only 23 megs. Are you saving layers? If you are flatten them before you upload and that will reduce your file size quite a bit.

You should be fine with converting your image to a jpeg (save as a copy) at the size you need and a resolution of 300dpi. File size will be a fraction of that and I'm sure you'll be very happy with the print quality. Actually you can probably get by with less than 300dpi, but as a jpeg the file will still be a manageable size.

It's important to size the file before sending it to them - this way you're in control of what the final image looks like instead of the lab.

I upload to mpix.com at 20x24 inch, 720 dpi in jpg format, and occasionally at 30x20, 720 dpi in jpg format. average file size is 11 to 16 MB in jpg. In TIFF format they're about 75 MB, and in PSD format they're about 150 MB. My two bits of advice is the same as the others-send it in jpg format.

Thanks everyone - looks like Jpeg it is.

BTW, the large files I was talking about were 11x14 tiffs at 300 dpi - not Jpegs

Always good to bounce the questions off others who are doing the same thing and get some good information back!