Online Printing of Panoramas

I've combined some panoramas into a 20x24 image and had it printed at mpix.com. That worked well for panos that turned out to be about 6x24 but not for wider panoramas. Does anyone have a place that prints panoramas well at a reasonable cost?

I read the title of the thread and thought I knew just what to say but you figured out "my" trick... :) Actually I haven't done any panos but to get a true 2:3 proportion in a 10" wide print that fits my image I do something similar, which is to stretch the canvas to 8" wide and leave the borders black. That way it fits in my portfolio.

As far as a longer print, you might try looking for a local lab. I've dealt with a place that uses big Epson inkjets. They've printed 24x36 for me before and you could use the same technique. West Coast Imaging in CA should be able to do this too.

http://www.whcc.com

Any pro lab should be able to print any size you want up to about 50 inches wide, depending on the equipment they have. At some labs you'll save money if you stick to standard sizes like 20x24 and then trim them yourself. Other labs will charge you by the square inch. Right now I think that pro inkjet technology is ahead of optical printing like the LightJet. I've used Calypso Imaging for LightJets, in the past. The digital manager at Calypso left to start his own business, Picture Element. West Coast Imaging is also good. Right now I think I'd get serious stuff done at Picture Element. The owner, Mike, really knows his stuff. And he's using the latest Epson printers and inks, which deliver the best archival quality and a wider gamut than any optical printer, right now.

http://www.westcoastimaging.com/
http://www.calypsoinc.com/
http://www.pictureelement.com/

For high quality, non-gallery work, I use Printroom. I've been using them for years. Print quality is great, they support color management, and they can print up to 40x60 inches.

http://www.printroom.com/

Hope that helps.

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Originally Posted by Chunk

I've combined some panoramas into a 20x24 image and had it printed at mpix.com. That worked well for panos that turned out to be about 6x24 but not for wider panoramas. Does anyone have a place that prints panoramas well at a reasonable cost?

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First I've print many panoramas, at home. I will not lie and say it's cheap, no it's costly. I've have gotten the best results using MAT papers. Roll paper can be purchase from Epson or GrayTex of the web. Unluckily the one paper supplier I real liked closed it's doors. The paper cost can go from $20 up.

The printer I've used 1) Espon C80 series, Windows XP driver limited to 44 inchs long by 8.5 inch max. 2) Espon R2400, this printer will print 13 inches by 10 feet. This Epson will directory take roll paper.

With the C80 getting the cut roll paper started was a pain, and it didn't like glossy paper. This is not a problem with the R2400

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Right now I think that pro inkjet technology is ahead of optical printing like the LightJet.

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I think that's true, especially for large prints, but I ordered some print samples from West Coast and preferred the LightJet in every case. Subtle differences, but enough to pick all of them out of the group (trying to ignore names until I picked a favorite). I'll have to check out Picture Elements, thanks for the tip.

Thanks for all the great replies to this thread, I appreciate the time you took. Right now it looks like I'll have to wait before having any panorama of any size printed. I've bookmarked this thread so I'll have those resouces when needed. Some of those places offer other printing service that I will be using sooner.