Getting the Most Out of Processing 9¢ Print

Okay, you’ve decided to search for the the cheapest 4x6 prints in your neighborhood. COSTCO’s got a sale. Their normal 13 ¢ prints are on sale for 9 ¢. How can you go wrong?
 

Still, if you’re like me, you’d like the best print you can get for that 9 ¢. Change from a dime! Can you get improved prints from their standard processing? Yes there is.
 

Whenever I’m after cost, rather than pure quality, as my primary objective, it means I go to my COSTCO. The only question this blog answers is how to get the most out of a 9¢ Print (sale prices!).
If you just send in the prints, using sRGB or Adobe 1998 Color-spaced jpegs, you’ll most likely receive mediocre prints that lack color vibrance and contrast. The way to get more out of the 9¢ you’re spending is to use COSTCO’s printer profiles. You need Lightroom 3 (LR3) for most convenient results. This software can streamline your workflow by batch processing all of prints. You can use Adobe Photoshop, but that means doing prints one by one, unless you create an action for this process. I haven’t tried using Adobe Elements, but there might be some gems for using printer profiles.  In any case I focus this article on LR3, due to its batch processing of printer profiles..

First, make sure your monitor is calibrated, so What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get. I use Spyder 3 Pro system. If you don’t have a calibrated monitor, all what I’m saying below may go for naught.
Second, you need the most recent profile of the printers in your local COSTCO. I need to warn you that not all COSTCOs profile their printers. When they do, they profile their Noritsu or Fujitsu printers. To make sure, you need to visit the COSTCO website and look for the “Get Printer Profiles” in the lower right-hand side of the screen when you upload your images.
 

There’s a ton of information from their processors and Dry Creek Photo, but I’m concentrating on the quick and easy way--Hey, we’re doing 9 cent prints, right? If this is your focus, don’t bother about the other material--unless you’re interested in color calibration and theory.

 

To shortcut the process, here’s the URL you need to get the printer profiles for your local COSTCO: Use the following site to select the your profile(s):

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/

For example I first selected my state, California, and then I found my local Concord on Monument Blvd:

 

If you don’t find a COSTCO with profiled printers, select another that does profile their printers. Have that local COSTCO send the prints to you (rather than pick them up, unless you’re close by).

Notice that this COSTCO uses two type of printers, Noritsu and Epson 7880. Since all prints smaller than 16x20 are done on the Noritsu, I will concentrate on that for my 4x6’s.

In bold red, this COSTCO mentions that the 4x6 profiled prints only on the Noritsu 3111 #4. There is no way to request this through the COSTCO order website. You can, like I did, go to the COSTCO and ask them about the profiled printer. They told me that all prints from COSTCO.com go through the Noritsu 3111, #4.

Of course, I tested this difference by processing both a non-profiled print and a profiled print and comparing them side-by-side. The difference is readily apparent.  The cost: 18¢ for both, 26¢ when not on sale. Make sure you do this before submitting a large order. If there’s no difference, speak to the COSTCO Lab technician, about how to specify using your profiled prints on their profiled printer.

Obviously, you can do this for any size print--and for prints larger than what the Noritsu can handle (16”x20”), just use the paper profiles for the Poster printer, Photo Satin or Semi-Gloss Poster.  Should your COSTCO Photo Lab have different printers, use the same process, with the different printers.

There are two profiles for 4x6 prints, one for glossy paper, the other for Lustre paper. Both profiles specify a creation date, and the profiles are updated about every 6 months later (in this case sometime near July 2011). Download both profiles to your computer. Make sure you understand the abbreviations used. In this case, I figured out that the “Gls: meant glossy, and “lus” meant lustre:

 

Now that you have them on your computer, how do you make sure LR3 can find the printer profiles? Place both profiles in the iMac directory LIBRARY\COLORSYNC\PROFILES. A similar directory can be found for Window.

Tweak your images to your heart’s content. When you’re ready to export them to a jpeg for upload to COSTCO.com, go to the LR3’s Develop module and call up the EXPORT function by pressing FILE\EXPORT.

You will be presented with the Export menu:

 

The first time you profile the printer, you need to populate Color Space (circled in red, above) with the printer profiles you obtained from Dry Creek Photo. To do that press the Color Space option and select Other. Here’s the screen you’re presented with:

Note, I checked both the Lus and the Photo Satin options. By doing this, both printer profiles will appear at the previous screen. Now, since I wanted Lustre prints, I would select the Costco-CA-Concord-Lus (Noritsu 3111 #4) 24-Jan-2011 profile in the Color Space. Lustre appears there, because I selected it in the screen above with a check mark.

Any selection of prints you make with the Export command will embed the printer profile of you choice into each jpeg.

Note, I want lustre prints, so I need to make sure the lustre profile is selected here, and on the COSTCO website.

This seems like lots of work. But you can make life easier from now on by making sure this profile is easy to select the next time. Just like me, you can create a preset, on the left-hand side of the Export Screen:

 

Press Export on the lower right-hand side of the Export screen (shown 2 pictures above), and then use the COSTCO.com upload to find the jpeg with the Costco printer profile. This jpeg looks like any other jpeg. I mark my profiled jpegs with a “p” (for profiled) appended to the original file name. You can use any name that reminds you that this jpeg is profiled.

When you select this profiled image for printing at COSTCO.com, there are 2 critical items you need to select:

1. Select the print surface type, knowing that “glossy” is the default. I always seem to forget this fact. I want “lustre”, which is the second option.

2. In the selection screen, just before ordering the prints, you need to select the Print Options button and deselect the Autocorrect option. In the screen below, Autocorrect is selected by default:

 

When you select the edit options to the upper right of the print options menu, you get this screen, in which to select checkbox Do not AutoCorrect my prints:

As the words in red state, you can select a “preset” from the default settings in your account preferences.

That’s all there is to it. Just press the order button and pick up your prints at COSTCO.

Oh, the results. Much better than non-profiled prints at COSTCO. The prints are quite good for 9 ¢ on sale.

Now for some truth. First, I know that my inkjet printer is better (but most expensive for 4x6 prints). Second, I feel SmugMug is better than COSTCO prints in the 4x6 size. I use SmugMug, unless my clients have cost as their overriding factor. Third, for the cost-conscious, you’ll be surprised at what little work on exporting your images with the correct profiled printer can make. And pocket the change.

It's Been a While

Yes, I've neglected this mini-blog for the past year. To make up for it, I will post 2, rather large blogs. 

The first is about making the most of a 9 cents COSTCO 4x6 print (on sale!). This is one response to David Ziser's problem of making a good, cheap print from COSTCO. He did everything but use COSTCO profiled printers. So here's a solution that can be placed in a preset for his (and my) favorite image software, LightRoom 3.

The second focuses on non-Nikon (but Nikon compatible) flashes that work with RadioPopper JrX wireless flash.

Starting later tonight I'll post the first INSIGHTS for 2012.

Wei Chong

Matron of Char Hung Sut - October 2010

No need to know that Char Hung Sut's owner kept track of her booming business in Honolulu's Chinatown. A constant stream of customers entered the dingy entrance. Orders were quickly filled, and no sooner than a minute or two, the server would fetch the char siu bau and other delicacies, ready to be packed in the ubiquitous square boxes. This is not a place for the meek. You had to know what you wanted, although her son was helpful and courteous.

All customers seemed to be old-timers. Or at least long-time clients who knew the drill. The matron filled large, phone-in orders, and made sure suppliers kept their delivery times in order.

I found that I had no time or place for flash photography. All was available light, with the camera pointed in the general direction of the action. Just like the old days, shooting black and white Tri-X film, pushed a stop. That's what made this digital shot come out well as a portrait. Just for a moment she lifted her keen eyes up, and that was what I captured.

Photographing Pets - July 2010

I planned and practiced for the shoot of these adorable pets. Two were Maltise, and one Pekinese. The Maltise realizing they were white and Maltise very light yellow. I didn't expect they would stay in place for very long, so I decided to use 1 umbrella on a stand. The purpose of the shoot was to gather many poses of Gin-Gin, Jett & Angel for composites the owner (an artist) would later paint; it was not necessarily to get pictures of the trio together.

D200 on manual ~f5.0 @ 1/250 (to kill ambient) ISO 250, flash on manual with “Hobby meter” & Minolta. They calibrated! I was pleased with the pictures. I could even adjust when we went outdoors with the dogs & their owners.

The next time I need to include more shadow (like 3:1 or 4:1) lighting ratio. This means I should take multiple types of pictures. Don’t rest on short successes; go after upping to the next notch. Some sure (umbrella) and other different (grid or snoot or diffuser-covered).

Outdoor Family Portraits - June 2010

I found the background for pictures in the backyard. Problematic were light spots in the background and the sunlight coming through the leaves. Problems that could not be fixed with flash, but the best compromise. The front yard was too complicated for the young children & older people.
 
I found the time and the help to move the bench in position for the sitting. I tested the exposure & used 2 flashes (camera right) for faster recyling, at ~¼ power, 35mm spread. D200 on Aperture Priority (didn’t have time for Manual, as I was arranging the group) f7.1 @ 1/60 ISO 200. 
 
The flashes were in the sun, and after a while they started to fire randomly, as they must have overheated. I should use more care on flash placement, or have a Plan B for covering the flashes' backsides with a white cloth. 
 
If I had to do it over again, I would use a huge background cloth to cover the sun-speckled background. That would have reduce post-processing work. Or move to to camera left (but the owner didn’t like that background, so that might not be a good area). I would also aim the second flash to the back row, which is darker than the front row. 

The 4-generation B/W portrait below is my favorite:
 

 

Going to Work - June 2010

He didn’t want to have the picture taken, even though I asked him in advance. After all, he was  rushing to work. I should be more cognizant about not forcing a picture.

I first setup the picture with the D200 on Manual, f10.0 @ 1/250 ISO 100. Flash was probably on ¼ or ⅛ power. First shot was too dark, so I merely opened the aperture ⅔ stop to f8.0. I did not have the room to increase the shutter speed, as it was already at the max for flash, so the only option would have been to increase the flash power by 1 stop, decrease the aperture to f11.0 and decrease the speed to 1/125. I wasn’t fast enough to do that, as my subject had to leave. I could have thought it through beforehand, because I was on CLS on Manual, so that would have been easy to do. Something to walkthru in my head the next time.

After Tacoma Graduation Ceremony - May 2010

Celebrations after the formal graduation ceremonies would always be chaotic. I knew 2 things going down onto the field for the celebration afterwards.

1. The sky was mostly partly cloudy and 

2. Pictures would have to be taken quickly, one after the other. 

No time for Manual settings. So Aperture Priority, CLS and TTL would just be fine. I used my standard formula D200 CLS settings at about -.3 and the SB800 at +.66. Exposures turned out mostly perfectly, with a tweak of +.25 in LR3. The duckbills/head garlands were a problem, but the light on the track reflected up nicely to partly offset the shadow.

This is when my formula A/CLS/TTL works, making sure the background, especially the Memorial Fieldhouse was exposed nicely (1 stop less than foreground).

Family Picture, Fremont - April 2010

Background was dictated by the group size. I first exposed for the background at f10.0, 1/200 @ ASA 200 on Manual. I knew about the impending crop, so I wanted ASA 100, but it wasn’t sensitive enough. Flash was on stand, camera left. Wanted to test flash power, but whatever I set it to wasn’t enough to light the group. Don’t know what the flash power was, but near ½ or full. Then I had to manage the crowd. Gotta allocate and make time to get and manage crowd together. Net-Net was an underexposure of 1.5-2.0 stops. Thank God for RAW Processing.

If I had to do it over again, I would

• move flash nearer and wider,
• open aperture to f7.1 or f6.3
• and test the new aperture. If background were too bright, set speed to 1/250.

Trudy & Pauline - January 2010

I found the perfect background for them, with the circular silver opening, dark center and muted green. I knew what I wanted, to light the people & reduce the background exposure, even though they were close to the wall. I also knew I would have near-specular reflections from the flash on the silver, because I couldn’t place the flash far enough from my camera, as I had to hold the flash.
 
D200 on Manual, flash on Remote & Manual (1/4power?).

New Beginnings

I have not posted on this blog for the past year. During this past year I used many of the techniques that I talked about previously in this blog. 

Going forward I will show you how I implemented the approach and techniques in images, supplemented with diagrams.