So you’re using Presto to share your photographic memories with your loved ones. Now it’s time to consider some tips and tricks to get the most out of this slick setup. If you’re wondering what you can do to make your Presto prints look their absolute best, then this article's for you. We’ll reveal some easy tips and tricks to improve your photography and make your Presto prints shine.

File Suggestions

Before we dive into photography tips, let’s review a few rules about the files you can print with Presto. Presto supports JPEG, GIF, TIFF, and BMP image files, so make sure your pictures are saved in one of these formats. If you use the RAW mode on your digital camera (good for you!), you’ll need to convert the RAW files before you send them.

What about resolution? We ran a number of tests using images at different resolutions and studied the output. We found that at around 1800 x 1200 (roughly two megapixels), prints were completely smooth and were indistinguishable from higher resolution images. The prints were passable at lower resolutions, but they definitely started to show some pixilation. For example, diagonal lines took on a jagged stair-step look at low resolutions (see the pixilated example below).

Our recommendation is to keep images at 1800x1200 or better. Since most modern digital cameras are 5 megapixels or higher, you should be able to crop pictures pretty heavily and still get the desired resolution.

On a related note, what about file size? Size will most likely be limited by your email provider. Presto supports emails with a total size (i.e. the sum of all attachments) of 100 megabytes. Most email providers will stop emails at a fraction of that size, so be sure to check your provider’s outbound size limits before sending an entire photo album in a single email. You can always send multiple emails with fewer pictures in each.

Finally, what about the aspect ratio (i.e. the shape) of the pictures? Our tests show that Presto prints the shape as is and doesn’t force the picture into any predefined aspect ratio. If you have a long panoramic or a picture that doesn’t quite fit the 4x6 ratio (e.g. a 5x7 or 8x10 image), don’t worry. Presto will scale it down to fit roughly half a page, but the ratio will stay unchanged and uncropped. Send any shape you desire!

Shooting Tips

Let’s move on to some specific tips to aid you while you’re actually taking your shots. Here are some thoughts on not only how to take the shot, but also what to shoot.

Subject
Generally, you should be able to shoot any subject you want and it'll look fine on a Presto print. However, a couple of subject characteristics can lead to poor Presto prints if you’re not careful.

The first problematic area is a subject that's overly busy. For example, a close-up on a tree makes for lots of tiny details with crisscrossing branches and leaves all over the image. This level of detail doesn’t render very well when it's printed on Presto's ink jet printer. Simple, clean subjects tend to look much better when they’re printed on a Presto.

Second, you’ll want to avoid subjects that are particularly dark. Presto renders the color black by overlaying multiple colors from its cartridge. Unfortunately, the overlay isn’t always 100% perfect. If you have large areas of black, very dark blue, very dark green, etc, you may actually see bands of color stretching across those areas where the color overlay didn’t match up perfectly. Keep it light to avoid this type of color banding. Continued on Page 2 >>