Submitting a Digital Capture Job

When submitting a digital job for production, please be sure that all CDs or DVDs are clearly marked with your customer number, job number and job name and that the appropriate production forms are provided. All production forms necessary for digital capture jobs are the same as for film capture. If you are uncertain as to which forms to use, please see pages 14-22 in the Underclass section or pages 38-43 in the Youth Sports and Special Events section of this catalog. Job Summaries for Youth Sports and Special Events can be preprinted at no charge based on your order envelope. Please contact Customer Service for more information regarding this service.

Submitting Images

Images may be submitted on CD or DVD.

File size

A properly exposed image with correct White Balance (color temperature) only needs about a 2MB JPG file to make an acceptable 8x10 print. However, if we have to make large adjustments to the image, higher resolution files may improve the final look of your prints. Fine JPG at large file size on some cameras is now approaching a 5MB file. While this is way more image resolution than you need, better to miss with too much resolution than not enough.

Image Transfer

Many image organizing/transfer softwares convert your original image file. It may just auto rotate, but it may also rename and/or resample your images. We strongly advise that you transfer images from your card directly into a folder on your computer without the aid of any third party software (Windows Explorer only). If you are doing your own image/data matching using software like Camlynx, please disable all file renaming. The most accurate way to ensure data image integrity is to retain the original file name. If you absolutely MUST rename your images, retain the original image file# in the BEGINNING of the new file name. This ensures that Windows still sorts your images in the order photographed.

Image Adjustments

We request that images come to us in their native state. No sharpening, cropping, color or levels adjustments etc. Every change made to a JPG image is removing data from the image. If you go too far in any adjustment we will not have enough data to “back up” and make the corrections that will provide you with the highest quality product possible. We have found that there is an optimum order to make image adjustments and find that the best results are achieved when we can make all of the adjustments in that order. If you have specific cropping requests, provide a folder on your CD or DVD entitled ‘Cropping Example’ and include a copy of one image from your job that shows us how you would like the images cropped. Remember, that even though we’re printing digitally, we’re still making ‘machine prints’. Should your crop sample fall outside of the normal range, custom cropping charges may apply.

Folder organization

Each job needs its own CD or DVD. They are inexpensive and there is no good reason to invite confusion by putting more than one job on a CD or DVD. The CD or DVD should have an ‘Images’ folder. If there was more than one camera at the job, those images need to be separated into folders inside the ‘Images’ folder. If images from a given camera are on more than one card and you use continuous numbering (recommended), you can copy all images from that camera into a single ‘Images’ folder. If your image number resets when you put in a new card then you will need to create subfolders inside the camera folder. If you are supplying data with your job, it needs to be in a folder named ‘Data’. If you are supplying cropping examples they should go in a folder named ‘Cropping Example’. If you provide your paperwork electronically (PDF production forms are available), it should be in a folder named ‘Forms’. See example below.