Glossary

Our list of commonly used terms

Full Frame: Your entire image. (When your image size does not match your paper size this means your print will have a border if you need it printed "full frame" to retain the entire image.)

Borderless or Full Bleed: No border on paper. (If your image size does not match your paper size your image will be cropped to fill the paper.)

Resolution: The resolution of a digital image is defined as the number of pixels it contains.

Compression: reduces space a file takes up but causes a loss of information. We suggest using minimum compression when setting your cameras

JPG: The most common type of file that is compressed to take up less space while generally only losing a minimal amount of quality. Usually, if a high-quality, low-compression JPEG setting is chosen on a digital camera, the loss of quality is not detectable to the eye. These files upload the quickest!

TIFF: TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a universal image format that is compatible with most image editing and viewing programs. It can be compressed in a lossless way, internally with LZW or Zip compression, or externally with programs like WinZip.

RAW: Unlike JPEG and TIFF, RAW is not an abbreviation but literally means "raw" as in "unprocessed". A RAW file contains the original image information as it comes off the sensor before in-camera processing so you can do that processing afterwards on your PC with special software

Aspect ratio:This is the relationship between the length and width of your image. For example: a 35mm negative has a ration of 1 : 1.5 so a 4x6 or an 8x12 is the correct shape. An 8x10 would crop because it is more "square."

DPI or PPI: dots or pixels per inch. DPI - Dots per inch: A measurement of the resolution of a digital photo or digital device, including digital cameras and printers. The higher the number, the greater the resolution.

This refers to the amount of pixels at the size you want. ie 250 dpi at a 4x6. With our state of the art equipment we can make quality prints at about 200 dpi. Please note, more is not better. Anything above 300 dpi results in your file being compressed. This is not advisable.

White balance: Normally our eyes compensate for lighting conditions with different color temperatures. A digital camera needs to find a reference point which represents white. It will then calculate all the other colors based on this white point. You must set this properly on your camera. Check your manual.

ICC Profile: A format developed by the ICC (International Colour Consortium) for a data file used to describe the colour behavior and characteristics of an input, display, or output device. We use the profile sRGB IEC61966-2.1. For Giclée prints we use the AdobeRGB 98 color profile.

Color Space: A three-dimensional representation of colors that can be contained within a specific color model. A color space is built upon the Hue, Saturation & Lightness values.

RGB: Red, Green and Blue. This is used for photo printing.

CMYK : Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black. The four colors in the inksets of many inkjet printers.