How do I print A4-sized images?

March 23, 2017 8:36 AM

I have a number of pieces of art that I would like to print as either a photo album (a la Shutterfly) or a self-published book (a la Lulu.com).

They are scans of paintings that are mostly (but not all - some are slightly different sized, irregular shape or larger) A4.

8.5x11 would be the closest size with a service like Shutterfly, which would make the images a bit smaller, from 11.7" to 11". I suspect doing a print at that size would change the art significantly - is that intuition correct? If so, what is a website or service I could use to print the images as an A4 sized photo album or book?

posted by zenja72 to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

This might be a case of taking the scanned files on a usb stick to your local office supply store (OfficeDepot, OfficeMax, Staples) and having them print it on glossy card stock. They're more likely to have the different sizes of paper needed.
posted by INFJ at 8:43 AM on March 23, 2017

If they are scans, then it shouldn't matter what size you output them in a book. You can insert/import the images onto an 8-1/2 x 11 page, but keep the aspect ratio of the originals intact, so you are not "stretching out" one of the sides. Sure, you'll have some of the page background showing, but it will preserve the proper sizing of the image.

If you really wanted the image to bleed off the page, then you would be cropping off one of the sides of the scan, depending on the page size.
posted by sarajane at 9:11 AM on March 23, 2017

I make books on Shutterfly often and I think you can get an actual 8.3 x 11.7 size print if you use a 12 x 12 book. When you lay out a book, you can edit the preset layouts to adjust the size of each photo. You can also have a solid color background if you want one. For the larger ones, if the ratio is the same, the book will auto scale it down. For the ones with irregular dimensions, you'll want to figure out the ratio first and then adjust the photo size on the page to eliminate stretching. I think you can start from scratch on layouts if you want.
posted by soelo at 10:05 AM on March 23, 2017 [1 favorite]