A great Australian printing co?

March 13, 2015 12:04 PM

I'm an NYC-based photographer who has been asked to send a print to Australia. My regular printer doesn't offer this option, so I was thinking that I might find a good lab there and send along my digital file, hopefully saving myself a boatload of cash in the process? I'm looking for a good lab that offers C-Prints, (specifically 11x14 and larger for now) located in Australia. Can it be that hard? Thanks!
posted by nevercalm to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

Response by poster: Or alternately, I guess, what it might cost me to ship from NYC to Australia, and whether I can expect it to get there sometime this year and for what price?
posted by nevercalm at 12:07 PM on March 13, 2015

Best answer: I can't help you with a printer rec, butt I ship parcels from the US to Australia via USPS reasonably often and they've generally gotten there within two weeks.
USPS is generally cheaper than UPS or FedEx. Pricing is a combination of weight and dimensions - just to get an idea, I used their postage calculator to see costs for a 6lb package measuring 24' by 15' by 4' (trying to approximate a large framed print) and got options from $80 to $150. Even factoring in that goods and services tend to be more expensive in Australia than the US, I think you're right that it will be cheaper to print it there. An unframed print will of course be much lighter and therefore cheaper to send (off the top of my head, maybe $30?), which might make it closer to break-even to print it here or there.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 12:46 PM on March 13, 2015

Best answer: A friend of mine is a photographic producer/agent here in Sydney. I'll ask her who her photographers use if it would be the same type. She represents fashion (mostly) and art photographers, but I also know someone who printed massive nature photographs (birds). Are the requirements different? My gut says no but I know nothing about professional photography.

So ideally they'd print and post it locally for you? Or your client would pick up? Sydney is where my friend works but has photographers all over, I think.
posted by taff at 1:41 PM on March 13, 2015

Response by poster: Ah, great!

I don't think the requirements would be too different. I'm looking for C-Prints, which are lab photos as opposed to inkjets or "giclee." I typically print on Kodak Endura Metallic paper, but this is a nice start!

Yes, I'm hoping for the production to be in Australia and for them to send it to the client. I'm not sure where they're located, I just figured I'd even see if it were possible to start.

Thanks!
posted by nevercalm at 2:29 PM on March 13, 2015

Best answer: Whereabouts in Australia? I can vouch for good quality from Digital Works, a lot of pros use them, and they currently Have a very good special on endura prints right now!.
posted by smoke at 6:33 PM on March 13, 2015

Best answer: The Colour Factory in Melbourne is very good. (the website seems to be down right now). I know several professionals and artists that use their services. I've also used them in the past when I needed gallery-quality prints made. They have glicee and c-type facilities and can pretty much handle any size output (my largest was 1.5 x 4 meters)
posted by michswiss at 6:48 PM on March 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also check out Pixel Perfect ProLab in Sydney.
posted by valetta at 9:15 PM on March 14, 2015

I happen to know the dude who manages the Colour Factory, I can certainly vouch for them. And can act as an intermediary.
posted by wilful at 4:00 AM on March 15, 2015