Photo Pass... Help! (with getting 4x6 prints printed)

[lauris87]

So I have my photopass CD (with tons of photos which I added borders to).
I uploaded the photos to walgreens.com, and ordered prints.
When I picked them up.... about 1/3 of the border is cut off of each picture!
They looked just fine on the screen when I viewed them.
The website also asks if I want 4x6 prints... or "true digital" prints (which are 4x5.3")... I definitly picked the 4x6.

I showed the Walgreens lady and she said to come back with the photopass Cd and she'd see what see can do. Has anyone had this problem? I'm going to be very disappointed if I can't fix the problem!

 

[lauris87]

I don't have much luck with getting people to view my thread

Maybe I should have wrote.... "Yeti is working again at Everest" or something like that... lol

 

[Alesia]

There really isn't anything that can be done now. You would have need to save them as a 4x6 before you ordered the CD.

Sorry.

 

[lauris87]

I'm confused... I thought I already did that?

 

[kathyell]

Yeah, I think I know what happened. When you go to add borders, the site defaults you to looking at the picture in 5x7 format. Then you add the border and save it, and unless you change the dimensions to 4x6, it will remain in 5x7 dimensions. I went through and added borders to every pic in my Photopass account only to notice they were all 5x7's and now have had to go through and reapply the borders to the 4x6 version of the photo. (The place where you change dimensions of the photo you're working on is in the upper right hand corner. It's a pull down menu and it lists all of the available dimensions to work with.)

I'm assuming this means that you've already ordered and received your CD, which puts you at a big disadvantage as far as getting the same versions of your edited photos in 4x6 instead. It's a bit of a long shot, but maybe you could contact customer support at Photopass, explain that you meant to apply borders to the 4x6 versions and not the 5x7 versions, they might, MIGHT, offer to help you out somehow. My only other thought is to have all of your photos printed at 5x7, find a photo album that will display them, and marvel at your slightly larger than normal memories of your Disney trip.

Sorry I didn't have better news, but hopefully this was the issue you've encountered and you can find some way to fix it.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

The same thing JUST happened to me!! I wish I would have known about saving it in 4x6 format before ordering the cd! Who would know to do that?? Why don't they make it more obvious? That's not right! I bet that happens to almost everyone!

 

[kathyell]

And just to clarify, because I'm not sure I explained it very well. This wasn't Walgreen's mistake, and it makes sense that the pictures looked fine when you viewed them on-screen. The disconnect between what you're seeing on your computer screen and what shows up in your prints comes because the dimensions of the photo files that Disney sent you on your CD are all an inch larger in height and width than a standard 4x6 print (but exactly the right size for a 5x7 print) so Walgreens had to crop your images 1/2 inch on each side to fit them inside a 4x6 area. If you have one printed at 5x7 you'll see immediately that the cropped portion from your 4x6's is there a 5x7 print is the same dimensions as your digital file.

Unfortunately there's no easy way to fix what you have on your CD to fit within a 4x6 area because Photopass custom-resizes the borders to fit whatever dimension print you're working on when you are editing your pictures on their site. The only good way to fix it would be to re-edit your files on the Photopass site, making sure to change the dimensions to 4x6 from 5x7 on EVERY SINGLE ONE you are adding borders to, and then get a second copy of the CD. I'm crossing my fingers for you that if you contact Photopass CS that they will help you do this somehow without having to pay for a second copy of the CD at their usual prices.

 

[lauris87]

Wow... I am so upset I'm about to cry.
I can't tell you how many hours my sister and I spent adding borders to those pictures... and we were so excited to get the CD that I expedited the shipping... .and I made copies for my entire family (11) of us.... and they may have ALL already ordered photos from walgreens... only to find out what I am finding out.....

WOW.... this is such a disappointment..... why do they not have the "default" at 4x6? obviously, it's to make more money... but 4x6 is the universal size... come on now... how was I supposed to know? There needs to be a better system for this to make it more obvious to CD purchases... people who are not purchasing prints... i didn't even look at the "prints" thing because I wans't purchasing them.... I am so disappointed...

And... to further the disappiontment.... the photo pass people are only in the office till 1pm.... that's a crock.
I really hope they will work with me on this....

I'm going to go bury my head in a pillow now....

 

[momsavealot]

wow, I didn't even realize this and I just ordered my CD (haven't yet printed the pics from last week's trip or last year's). Wow, I guess I'm going to have a lot of 5x7's! It really stinks tho and they should have a big bold disclaimer to warn you!

 

[lauris87]

oh yeah, and thanks kathyell for taking the time to explain this to me...it wasn't confusing, your explanation was good...
but i'm still no less disappointed

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

They really should warn you, it's not fair at all. I did mine at CVS and blamed them. They actually gave me a refund. Then I ordered them through Shutterfly and they came out better but still a little cut off.

I think I might try to print them on photo paper from my printer and see if I can make them any better.

 

[lauris87]

Nikki- how long ago was your vacation? You should call photo pass and complain... that's exactly what I'm going to do on Monday. I do not feel that this is my fault.... I have ordered photo cd's from other places professionaly... and I have never had to "save" each individual image before purchase....
And.... since this is the case with disney's photopass.... there definitly needs to be some kind of disclaimer letting the buyer know this.
I don't let down..... if they won't send me another CD with fixed images... then I'll call them every day until they at least give me a refund!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Nikki- how long ago was your vacation? You should call photo pass and complain... that's exactly what I'm going to do on Monday. I do not feel that this is my fault.... I have ordered photo cd's from other places professionaly... and I have never had to "save" each individual image before purchase....
And.... since this is the case with disney's photopass.... there definitly needs to be some kind of disclaimer letting the buyer know this.
I don't let down..... if they won't send me another CD with fixed images... then I'll call them every day until they at least give me a refund!

Good for you! My vacation was the end of July. Ya know what? I think I might call too! You are absolutely right! They should let you know this in advance and it isn't fair! I didn't pay for cut-off 4x6 pictures!

 

[TwoRoos]

I've bought a Photopass CD three times. Each time I've spent hours and hours doing the edits and adding the borders. It wasn't until I was editing my pics from the third trip that I discovered you had to change the size on EACH individual picture. Ugh. So now I have CDs from two trips that will only print the edited pics correctly in 5x7 format. Not what I wanted. I did notice the last time when I was placing my order that the Photopass website said something about the originals being automatically saved in 4x6 formats but not the edits. I don't remember the exact wording, but it was in small print on the ordering screen.

 

[mlittig]

I am so sorry that so many of you are having such trouble with printing your PhotoPass pictures I was most of the way through editing my photos (ended up with over 1,800!) when for some reason I was looking at the description for all the different CD's that are available. Only then did I notice, in very small print, that all edited photos are saved in 5" x 7" format. I even called PhotoPass and spoke with a CM to confirm that I needed to go back and save all the edited pictures again in 4" x 6" size. He did confirm this and I spent hours saving. I had some printed at CVS and they printed out with the borders the right way.

Here is how to change the size:
You have to make all the changes to the original 5" x 7" photo before you order the CD. If you want to change the picture size you need to:
1. go up to Product Type and use the pull down menu to get the size you want
2. then you can resize and add the signatures/borders
3. you MUST then hit "Save as Copy"
4. you need to do this every time you make any changes.

The original 5" x 7" size is always kept and any changes add another picture to that pose. This way you will have the option to print out your pictures in the size you want and still keep the borders. So if there are any shots you might want in another size, say 8" x 10", it must be saved in that size using the above steps.


FYI ~ PhotoPass call center is open 7 days a week so you do not have to wait until Monday. Wish I could do more to help.

 

[snykymom]

If you've saved the pictures incorrectly, can you use Photoshop to change the dimensions, even with the Disney borders?

 

[kathyell]

If you've saved the pictures incorrectly, can you use Photoshop to change the dimensions, even with the Disney borders?

The proportions don't match up. If you resize a 5x7 to a 4x6 the whole picture will look squished. Here are a couple of images I threw together to illustrate the problem better.

Here is a rather goofy image I created at 5x7 proportions.

Here is what happened with I resized it, disproportionally along height and width, to force it into 4x6 proportions:

Note how the circle from the 5x7 is now a squished oval in the 4x6. You might think that it's not noticeable here, but the human eye is very forgiving with shapes. It is NOT forgiving on faces, or on images of things we're very familiar with. (Like, say, Cinderella Castle.)

I can also tell you why I think the images start out at 5x7, not that it will make anyone feel better who is caught in this situation. If you have an image file that is sized proportionally to print out without cropping at 5x7 and you re-crop it to print a 4x6, you generally get better results (don't have to crop out as much of the image, so you will probably get a better composed picture) than if you start with an image file that is sized to be printed at 4x6 that you then re-crop to print out at 5x7.

I think their intentions are good, though they haven't made it very obvious. (I usually leave my own personal digital image files in the same proportion they came off the camera in, leaving as much image information as possible. That can be easily edited to a lot of different size prints and if I save an image file in a certain proportion for a certain size print, I change the filename to reflect what proportions that image file has been saved in so I don't get it mixed up with the original later if I am editing it to get a print at a different proportion.) So leaving the default at a 5x7 proportion enables you to, most of the time, get a much better crop at both 5x7 and 4x6...you'll have more options of what part of the image to keep when sizing down to 4x6 that way.

The trick is, you kind of have to make it glaringly obvious when you are defaulting to a different size than most people make their regular prints as a keepsake for a vacation, and I think they've fallen down a bit there. I mean, I've jockeyed images both as a web professional (before I was a SAHM) and then as an obsessed, take-too-many-pictures mom and I almost missed the photo size pull-down menu on the Photopass website. I might have missed it altogether if I hadn't intentionally taken my time during my purchase window to see if a better special offer came up.

 

[Justsyd2]

Here's another helpful tip -- when you order the prints -- if you choose to order (4x6) instead of TRUE DIGITAL they will not come out right if they were taken with a digital camera. TD prints are 4x5.3 (instead of 4x6) and 8x12 (instead of 8x10). I just went through this with my digital prints from Disney. I suggest that you order one or two in True Digital (NOT 4x6) to see if this will fix the problem. When I edited my Photopass prints I DID NOT save them as 4x6, and when I ordered them, I ordered them as True Digital Prints. They all were printed perfectly. It doesn't really matter what size you save them as, but it does matter what size you ORDER them as. When you choose to order 4x6 photos taken with a Digital Camera they are not going to come out right.

 

[mrstomrice]

Okay, another confused person here! I have all of my photos in and saved with borders, but did not change the dimensions. WHen I am going back now to change the dsimensions to the edited photos, I simply choose 2 4 x 6 prints and save as a copy? My picture count is not increasing when I do this. Will 4 x 6 now be my only print option for those photos? Thanks!

 

[mrstomrice]

Okay, another confused person here! I have all of my photos in and saved with borders, but did not change the dimensions. WHen I am going back now to change the dsimensions to the edited photos, I simply choose 2 4 x 6 prints and save as a copy? My picture count is not increasing when I do this. Will 4 x 6 now be my only print option for those photos? Also, does this apply only to those with borders or ANY photo I want to print in 4 x 6? Thanks!