Printing/sizing/online HELP!

[Leopard Lupus]

Hello there!
I posted last week, the topic of printing. I decided to go over to Mpix.com and order a few prints.
When I uploaded the images I wanted printed, they offered some sizes and not others, so I chose a size I thought would be best.
I received them in the mail today, with an issue. The IQ was not even close to what it is on my computer, and more importantly the images were not scaled to fit. A large portion of almost every photo is chopped off the bottom, including a square photo which was blown up and cut in half. Did I miss something while ordering?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm new to printing, and would really like to avoid a $20 mishap again.

 

[handsomerob]

Check the aspect ratio of your photos (after cropping) and see if they match the ratio of the ordered size.
If you crop without locking the aspect ratio, or if you choose a non 3:2 print, they won't match, that's why your photos might have been chopped.

For instance, you had to choose a square print size for your square photo.

What about the brightness and colors? Are you looking at them on a calibrated screen?

 

[justsomedude]

Hello there!
I posted last week, the topic of printing. I decided to go over to Mpix.com and order a few prints.
When I uploaded the images I wanted printed, they offered some sizes and not others, so I chose a size I thought would be best.
I received them in the mail today, with an issue. The IQ was not even close to what it is on my computer, and more importantly the images were not scaled to fit. A large portion of almost every photo is chopped off the bottom, including a square photo which was blown up and cut in half. Did I miss something while ordering?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm new to printing, and would really like to avoid a $20 mishap again.

Leopard,

Check my reply to your other thread here... http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,2557.msg54712.html#msg54712

I touch on some items regarding image size, resolution, and sharpening that you might find useful.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Mpix has a FAQ, be sure to check it. In lightroom, select the aspect ratio you want, say 8 X 10. The image will be cropped, so be sure to only cutoff what you do not want. This is no different than printing it on a home printer, you can shrink to fit a aspect ratio, or crop to fit.

Be careful with color adjustments and color space. Lightroom does not have soft proofing like photoshop, so you cannot see how the print will come out color wise. If you can soft proof it to match their printer, you are ok, otherwise, let them adjust the color.

Do not reduce or resize the image, cropping to the aspect ratio is ok.

Its really worth the small cost to get one of the many good books on lightroom, you cannot learn all the features by discovering them.