Ordering professional prints

Besides printing at home, you can get ready to order professional prints. You pick a size, crop the photo to fit it, see the price, and add the print to your print cart. Checkout isn’t open yet: the cart keeps your choices until it is.

When you’ll see it

This appears only where professional prints are offered. If you don’t see Order a print in the viewer, or the Print cart link on the print queue, prints aren’t switched on for you yet. Any member of a library can order prints of its photos. Videos, and photos that are still processing, can’t be printed.

Order a print from the viewer

1. Open a photo in the viewer. See /help/photos/viewer/.
2. Choose Order a print.
3. Under Print size, pick a size.
4. Move the frame to choose what gets printed. Drag it to move it, drag a corner to resize it, or use the arrow keys. Turn to landscape and Turn to portrait turn the frame to suit your photo.
5. Check the price. It already includes your plan’s print discount. Plans are described on /help/plans-billing/plans/.
6. Choose Add to cart. You’ll see “Added to your print cart.” Choose View cart to open it.

The crop is its own choice for this print. It doesn’t change the photo or its edits.

Sharp enough?

The dialog shows how sharp the print will be, for example “Prints at 240 DPI”.

• Below 200 DPI you’ll see a warning that the photo may look soft at this size. You can still add it. A smaller size, or a larger crop, prints sharper.
• Below 100 DPI the crop is too small to print well, and Add to cart is turned off. Choose a smaller size or a larger crop.

Order several photos at once

1. Open the print queue from Prints in the menu. See /help/prints/print-queue/.
2. Tick the box on each card you want. A count such as “3 photos selected” shows above the board.
3. Choose Order prints.

The dialog takes the photos one at a time, in the order you picked them (“Order prints: photo 1 of 3”). Choose Add to cart and then Next photo, or Skip this photo to leave one out. After the last, choose Done.

Only people who can use the print queue see the boxes on the board. The viewer button is open to every member.

The print cart

Open it with Print cart on the print queue board, or View cart after adding a print. Each line shows the photo at the shape of your crop, the size, and the price.

• Copies sets how many you want, from 1 to 20.
• Remove takes the print out of the cart.
• A note tells you if a print may look soft, or if it can’t be ordered as it is. Remove it and choose a smaller size or a larger crop.
• Subtotal adds it all up, with your plan’s discount included.

If you edit a photo after adding it, the cart uses the new version. If you move a photo to the trash, or lose access to its library, its print leaves the cart.

If prices are being updated you may see “Print prices are being updated. Try again later.” Wait a little and try again.