HOW TO PREPARE YOUR FILES FOR B&W PRINTING

HOW TO CONVERT COLOR FILES TO BLACK & WHITE

You can submit color files to us, and we will produce True Black and White prints. However, there are many methods to convert a color image to black and white yourself, and they offer a wide range of control over the look of the final image.

To produce a quality B&W print from a digital file that meets your expectations, the black and white image file should be submitted in the following specifications:

• Convert grayscale files to RGB mode (preferably sRGB colorspace)
• 8 bit JPEG file type
• Resolution of 300 ppi at your print size
• Correctly sized (aspect ratio) to avoid cropping



If you convert the file to grayscale in the process, please convert it back to RGB before submitting the file.

EASY B&W CONVERSION METHODS

These only offer limited control over the tonal range of the final image.

• In Photoshop: Change to grayscale, adjust contrast and density,and convert back to RGB.
• Use any other simple image editing program that offers B&W image adjustments, then convert back to RGB.
• Set your digital camera setting to black and white (no control options)
  

ADVANCED B&W CONVERSION METHODS

These offer nearly unlimited control over your image. You can search the web for additional options under “Black & White Conversion” or “Black and White plugins”, etc.

• Purchasing a stand alone B&W Conversion program like Power Retouche.
• By adding a B&W Conversion Plugin to your existing Photoshop program. Some free ones are available at www.photo-plugins.com.
• Another excellent educational article and demo by Cambridge in Colour, U.K.: “Converting a color photo into black and white”.
• Using Photoshop. Various advanced methods include using the Channel Mixer, LabColor, Gradient Map or Desaturation. All of these are explained free online at the Digital Photography School: “How to convert color digital images into black and white”.