How to Copy Large Prints

If you have large prints of photographs whose negatives you’ve misplaced, it might seem impossible to make more copies. Or, if you want to make prints of a digital image but you have no color printer at home, you might never get around to making prints at all. Fortunately, standard copy centers provide a variety of equipment that will allow you to make multiple copies of these prints for friends and family.

Take your prints to a copy center. Many copy centers now allow you to use color copiers yourself, and you can pay by inserting your credit card into a reader connected to the machine. You will want to use a color copier even if you are making copies of black and white photographs; you will get richer prints this way.

Select the appropriate paper size for your copies.

Select the appropriate weight and surface for the paper. Ask a customer service assistant to help you load heavier paper or glossy photo paper into the copier for better prints.

Adjust the saturation or darkness settings on the copier if the images come out too dark or too light.

Scan your print if you do not have a corresponding original negative or digital file. You will want to set the image resolution to at least 300 dpi for a large print.

Email the digital file you want to print (if you have one) to your own e-mail address so you can access it at a copy center.

Open the scanned file or the file from your email, and print it on the copy center’s color copier.

Use heavy card-stock or glossy photo-paper for better results. Ask a customer service assistant to help you load it into the printer if it is not already there.