A: The image proportion of a 35 mm camera file is 66.4 %. This means that the short side is 66.4% short of the long side. The opposite way to look at it is that the longer side is 150 % longer than the short side. Now compare this with the standard 5x7 photograph. The shorter side of a 5 x 7 photograph is 71.4 % of the longer side. This means that when you make a 5x7 print (also wallet and 3 1/2 x 5--as they have the same proportion as a 5x7) ) you will need to crop from the file the difference betwen the 35 mm camera proportion and the 5x7 proportion--or about 5% of the image. This 5% will be cropped from the sides. For a 4x6 print the proportion is much closer to the image proportion of 66.4%. It is 66.6% -- and therefore you do not lose any of the image. Something to keep in mind.

A: It is a good comparison. A photograph will look "grainy" as you try to make a bigger and bigger print. The "graininess" is similar to pixels. The larger you make a print from a photo file, the more you will see pixels -- or "grain."To carry this comparison further, film use to come in "grains." It was called a film's ASA. A 100 ASA film (such as PLUS-X) was much less grainy than a 400 ASA film (Tri-X). A 100 ASA film could print say a 5x7 print -- but if you tried to make an 8x10 print from it, it would become "grainy."

A: YES, we will crop the image for image enhancement, as well as correct for density and color. Do bear in mind that the amount of editing we do depends on what you order.

1) The photo files include very minimal, basic editing. You will need to have skill in photo editing to manipulate thse images successfully to acheive a quality print.

2) The archival prints you order from us are custom cropped, fully color corrected and fully corrected for density.

3) Much more effort is devoted to the prints from your "First Class" PLEBE PORTRAIT. They are "burned" (darkening of background corners ) and "dodged"(lightening of areas) as well as retouched. Unwanted objects in the background areas are elminated. Click on links to see examples.

A: Yes and no. The size of the file determine how big a print you can make. The file size for a 5x7 is big enough to make a 5x7 print at 200 DPI (Dots Per Inch). Most printers are set up to print at a maximum of 200 DPI. This is because most papers can only print up to 200 DPI. The two (paper and printer) need to compatible in terms of DPI. If the printer can print at 400 DPI, it would be wasted on photo paper that can only print 200 DPI. You would not see any difference.

Depending on your tolerance for sharp photographs, you can take a 5x7 file and make an 8x10 print. But, there will be pixellation (jagged edges) along some of the contour lines. This is more pronounced when you have more than two people in a photograph --such as a group photograph. It will b even more pronounced as you are making an 8x10 from a 5x7. In making a 8x 10 print, you will automatically lose some of the file (and therefore sharpened) because the proportion of the sides are not the same.

In the other direction, you can make a 3 1/2 x 5 print from a 5 x 7 photo file and the print will be fine. It may even seem sharper.