When will my order arrive?

From the time of proof approval, your job will be in your hands after the production time required to print (indicated above) plus the time required for shipping. More details..

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Product Options Explained
What Paper or Film Should I Choose?
There are three categories of media available for the digital c process;
Opaque, translucent and transparent.
Photographic paper falls into the category of opaque media, as it is not meant for backlighting and it features a non-transparent backing and a matte or reflective image surface.
Paper Options:
We offer two kinds of photographic papers for digital c printing, matte or metallic finish papers.
Matte paper is a solid all around choice when reproducing digital images for display or presentation, as glossier finishes tend to create highlights or reflections that can make image viewing difficult. Matte paper is your best option when you don’t know what the lighting will be like at the event or location where your photo will be displayed.
For a glossy finish to your print, we offer both luster and glossy lamination as finishing options and they will not only add a gloss but they will protect your image surfaces from fingerprints or spills as well.
Metallic Paper:
If you’re digital images contain metallic subject matter, such as a product shot of a car, silverware, hardware, manufacturing equipment, etc., you will be truly amazed at how incredibly faithful the highly reflective aspects of the image reproduce with our metallic paper (chrome actually looks like chrome!). As well as making metal look like metal, the entire image is imbued with a pearlescent luster that contributes an especially fine and elegant feel to the entire photo that is sure to make your image stand out among others 9e,g, a tradeshow setting)
Film Options:
We offer both translucent and transparent films (duratrans and duraclear).
Both Duratrans and Duraclear are designed to be viewed via backlighting, however there is a major difference in the opacity of the film; Duratrans features a milky translucent backing and Duraclear, is indeed clear.
Duratrans: is designed for use with a very bright and exposed rear light source coming (e,g, a lightbox), where the milky backing serves to obscure everything but the desired image area.
Duraclear: is perfect for display applications such as window graphics, where the transparent visual is meant to be viewed from both sides of the glass (e.g. in-store display). Pleae remember that this trick doesn’t work well with text, as it will appear to be backwards from the rear view.
Mounting:
We offer a variety options that cover pretty much any relevant application for mounted digital c prints, whether they’re printed opaque, transparent or translucent.
Do I need to mount my poster?
It depends upon how you will use your poster. If you’re printing a long thin flow chart that you will be using once and pinning to a bulletin board, a raw unfinished print is fine.
You need to mount a poster when it needs to be rigid (e.g. a lobby easel or table top).
If your working with duratrans or duraclear film for lightboxes, backlit tradeshow display systems or custom installations, you may need to mount your film on plexiglass.
Plexiglass comes in both 1/8” and 1/4” thicknesses and your duratrans or duraclear can be mounted from behind as with opaque paper or from the front (face mounted). Make sure you get the exact size and thickness specifications when preparing film to be installed into a lightbox or tradeshow display system so that you get it right the first time and not have to re-print.
What mounting material should I choose for my posters?
The type of mounting substrate you select depends upon three inter-related factors; size, usage and of course, budget.
Illustration Board (basically heavy duty smooth cardboard) can be used for
posters up to 30” x 40” Illustration board is the thinnest and least expensive mounting option. It is a good choice if you’re producing an image that needs to be framed, but it is also the least durable and can damage easily in shipping or if dropped on a corner.
1/4” Foam Core is the best compromise between all three factors, but it is not recommended for posters larger than 30” x 40”, as it tends to bow like a giant corn chip (not desirable, unless of course you’re doing a sales pitch to Frito-Lay) and your corners will still dent if dropped.
3/16” Gator Board is the least expensive, yet most durable, choice for mounting posters larger than 30” x 40”. Gator board is rigid and durable and good for situations where you will use your poster multiple times.
1/2” gator board or 3mm Sintra are the most durable and elegant choices when you start getting really big (we mount up to 60” x 96”). However, they do add weight to shipping and the budget.
Lamination:
We offer two kinds of lamination: 1-Sided (overlamination) and 2-Sided (encapsulation) and they are available in three finishes; Matte, luster or glossy.
Should I laminate my poster?
If you are only going to use your posters once or twice, you probably don’t need to laminate your posters. Remember, however, that ink jet prints are not waterproof, so if Bill from accounting trips while carrying a Diet Coke, your poster will quickly become an attractive watercolor abstract, more akin to a Kandinsky than the comparative productivity bar chart it was intended to be.
1-sided lamination is available only in addition to mounting when you need to protect the poster’s surface.
2-sided lamination is used as an alternative to mounting when you need your poster to be both rollable and durable.
What kind of proof do I need?
PDF Soft Proofs are good for ensuring that all the required content (fonts, logos, images, etc.) is present and that the relative positioning of all the elements in the poster is correct. However, PDF proofs cannot completely accurately predict a color match. If your project is not color critical, you should be ok with a PDF proof.
A 25% Swatch Proof section of the full size image works well for color critical situations, such as corporate/product ID, flesh tones, or fine-art reproduction. A swatch section is an accurate predictor of color and shows how crisp your images will look at full-size, because is it is indeed a piece of a full-sized reproduction. This is a good way to proof in most situations.
A Full-Size Raw Proof is best when you’re going to be reproducing many multiples of the same image (e.g. 50 sets of 1 poster). In this case, nothing beats a raw (unfinished) full-sized proof. This gives you an actual sample of the complete image at 100% blow-up size, the large-format equivalent to a press proof.
Process:
Digital C Prints (up to 50” wide or high) are actual photographs which are exposed digitally via computer-controlled RGB lasers. The exposed film or paper is then processed in rolls exactly like traditional photo enlargements are.
Digital C Prints (Up to 72” wide or high) are produced using a two-step hybrid process that involves creating a digitally film recorded negative that is than processed and used to make an optical enlargement of your image onto C film or paper.
Both processes yield extremely high-quality results that have become the established professional standard for commercial digital photographic reproduction.
Whether you’re itching to make a poster from your new digital camera for fun or you need to produce serious visual media for advertising and retail applications, Digital C Prints will definitely do the job.
Still have questions? Call and ask for Dan our large format expert.