Guide to submitting your artwork or photos

With submission from digital cameras there is very little to worry about: the quality of modern cameras is almost always good enough to be used. Just check the file size if you are in any doubt. Anything under 100kb means we may have a concern, but even then we can stake make some wonderful products - anything is possible! Some old digital cameras  pictures at about 300k and they work just fine and many new cameras are 8 megapixel which is brilliant for super size canvas prints and wall paper! You can always contact us and we will be happy to appraise your photograph for you. Bear in mind the size of the file required is related to the size of the final printed item - so a make up bag doesn't need as big a file as a 2m x 1m canvas print. Original prints can be accepted at any size and we always return once we have scanned your photo (we hold digital copy on back up for 4 months too).

Subject first
To get the most out of any of our products we rely on you to choose a great photo. It's got to have a great central subject and clear striking features. We will make a great quality product for you - but if you supply an astonishing picture the the results will be not just very good but outstanding. It's worth taking extra care when thinking about the image you want. Please also bear in mind the shape of your photo and the shape of the item you want. A handbag is landscape - so a landscape shot is a good start unless you want specific cropping. A diary is portrait so choose the shape to fit.

Downloading from the web
Typically web images are of deliberately low resolution and too low quality to print, not to mention potential copyright issues. Mind you, you can get good resolution royalty free images if you search hard enough.

FaceBook Images - About Small File Sizes
With the advent of photo sharing sites and the wide usage of photo emailing, the providers of these services often make quite drastic changes to the size of your files. Typically a modern digital camera on standard settings will take a photo and make a file of say 1 to 2mb. If you join a photo sharing web site or use email service such as Hotmail to store or send photos you will find the file is reduced in size to suit web and monitor display purposes. This is not ideal for making good print use of your photo as they reduce the files typically to 40-60kb.

If in doubt
Don't worry! there are lots of things we can do in our studio, and we want you to be thrilled by your personalised item. If there is any problem we can foresee with your order, we will contact you to try to work it out.

Greyscale - Converting to Black and White
We can make any image greyscale for you, and on some photographs it can really bring out the best in the subject. We can make an image greyscale, sepia, or any other monotone or duotone free of charge. Simply specify it on the order notes when you upload your picture.

Red-eye and other blemishes
We also reduce red-eye, remove date-stamps and do small bits of retouching free of charge on most items. If there is an area of concern, all you have to do is highlight it on the notes when you upload. Mostly it is common sense though, and our studio will try to pick up anything that may spoil the look of your product.

Practical thinking
Bear in mind that our products generally bleed the image over the edge. That means bags have some of the image sewn into the seams, canvas prints are gallery wrapped and photo books have images bled off the page. Bleed means taking the image beyond the edge of the visible area and makes for a very neat and contemporary finish. Please read our pages product by product to get specific details. You will notice bags also have handle holes to consider and as always common sense will get you a long way.

Read more about photos to canvas