Colour Correction Services
Queensberry's colour correction service
Colour correction, retouching etc. Do you want to do the work yourself? Or let us do it for you, so you can get back to shooting pictures and selling them.
Batch, Basic and Premium Colour Correction
As a specialised portrait and wedding lab we colour-correct so as to optimise natural skin-tones and, where appropriate, optimise consistency across all the images in a product.
Batch density/brightness control (for wholesale print orders only, up to 13.3x10)
You can request our affordable batch density/brightness control service when ordering loose silver halide or fine art prints up to size 13.3x10in, but not larger prints, or books and albums. We review your files before printing and adjust density/brightness
Basic Colour Correction (Books and Albums only)
Basic colour correction is a free service for most Queensberry albums, but a small charge applies to Studio Albums and Q-Book orders. Simply request basic colour correction when you place your book or album order. (If you don't want us to colour correct please select the "Don't Touch" option when placing orders or setting up price lists.)
We INDIVIDUALLY CORRECT each file, adjusting RGB colour values, density (exposure, brightness) and contrast across the ENTIRE IMAGE, aiming for consistency across each layout. We can colour correct albums that you've designed yourself, but if you're uploading ready-made page layouts containing multiple images, layered PSDs are ESSENTIAL — so that we can colour correct each image independently.
For a small extra charge, you can upgrade to Premium colour correction.
Premium colour correction (for all Queensberry products and prints)
Premium colour correction offers even higher consistency and quality across all our prints and products, including books and albums. In addition to adjusting colour and contrast etc, we optimise skin tones, shadow and highlight detail as much as the file allows, paying particular attention to key points such as bridal dresses. This is not an artwork service, although we may remove minor file imperfections if we notice them. In books, albums and boxes we aim for consistency across all images in the product. If you are ordering other products (eg frames and canvases) that will be displayed together please order them at the SAME TIME and ask us to correct them together.
Artwork
At times, photographs need extra editing in order to remove
Archiving your corrected files
Once your images have been satisfactorily corrected, they are saved with the changes. You can request a DVD burn of your images so that we can return the corrected layout files to you for archiving. We retain images on our own servers for three months after your order is completed.
Proofing
On request, we will send you soft proofs so you can preview on screen the images as they will appear after printing. In certain circumstances, we may ask you to confirm that you are happy to proceed with printing on the basis of these soft proofs. We can also send you actual prints for approval (normal prices apply).
Benefits of QBY Colour Correction
Our Colour Correction services offer two main benefits other than freeing up your
First, it will be our team's job to produce the best possible print for you (always dependent of the quality of the file, of course!). Just as important, their expert eyes review each layout to ensure that every aspect of album is the best it can be. (It helps that real human beings do the work, not an algorithm!)
Here's a partial list of the problems that we check for and can resolve before we do your printing:
- Are the images ICC-profiled? Are there any obvious colour management problems?
- Are the images correctly exposed? White balance OK etc?
- Are the images soft or pixelated?
- Are the image files big enough/good enough to print?
- Are there opacity issues (we recommend no less than 60%)?
- Are there alignment problems in the page layouts?
- Are image borders too close to the page edge in the layouts?
- Are there rotational problems or scaling problems in the layouts?
- Are all the images present in the layouts?
- Are the panorama pages split in appropriate positions?
- Are there problems that require artwork?
We do not guarantee that we will discover any or all problems that you or your client might notice. In the end, this is your responsibility and a matter of judgment. Always check your files carefully before sending them to us and complete any remedial artwork YOU feel is necessary, or arrange for us to do it for you.
If we do pick up on a problem with your files, we can refer the job back for you to resolve, or we can fix many of these issues for you (check your price list for details of our charges).
As a specialised portrait and wedding lab, we colour-correct so as to optimise natural skin-tones and achieve consistency across the images in a product. if you are after specific visual effects it is generally more practical to do the work yourself.
Before you place your order...
Before you place your order please double-check your files and page layouts (spreads) against our "benefits of colour correction check list" (above).
Also…
- Are your special requests, comments or instructions clear?
- Do you require copy albums or other companion products?
- Have you included all image files (including the album cover image)?
- If you require custom embossing, have you included the print-ready artwork?
- Are your file specifications correct (especially resolution (DPI) and filenames)?
- Are you supplying the appropriate file type? (eg PSDs are required for Premium Colour Service).
- Is any artwork required? Do you want Queensberry to do it? Are your instructions clear?
