<p>I am planning to print a portfolio and want nothing less than high quality. Where would you recommend? Opinions are preferred from those who have tried their hand at a variety of printing centers in NYC and know their cards.</p>
<p>What are your originals? Large/small original black and white sketches? Large vellums or mylars? Digital photos? And what types of prints do you want? Photos, digital scans, black-and-white prints, xerox?</p>
<p>Hey, what a coincidence, I also live in NYC and am looking to print something.</p>
<p>I have a bit of everything in there, all color, mainly photos of my work.</p>
<p>I don’t want black-and-white prints, obviously. I am looking to print a book (i.e. an actual book that you would find in a bookstore). I want glossy pages, images in perfect quality, and a soft cover (not a hardback).</p>
<p>Try Duggal, on 23rd St. between 5th and 6th Aves. They did a beautiful job on my daughter’s portfolio, which included b+w digital scans and color scans. They even photographed several models and sculptures.</p>
<p>There are also many other professional photo labs in the Chelsea neighborhood, all on the side streets between 5th and 6th Aves., between 23rd St. and 16th St. Since they all cater to the professional graphics/architecture crowd, they are open late and on Sats, some even Sundays. Wander around and talk to them and ask for samples of their work.</p>
<p>Be prepared, though. What you are proposing to do is not cheap.</p>
<p>archmom, how much did your daughter’s portfolio cost you? I printed mine at home using my canon inkjet, which came out well but used up a ton of ink… so i’d rather avoid that if i could.</p>
<p>Arctic92…you don’t want to know what it cost. Far, far, far more than the cost of the ink for your Canon inkjet. But my daughter needed model photography, sculpture photography, b+w digital scans of large originals, color digital scans of large originals. And they were printing half-a-dozen glossy prints of each.</p>
<p>She did the title pages, binding and portfolio “assembly” by-hand herself, including a custom cover.</p>
<p>Apparently it can cost into the hundreds for a 30-page book.</p>
<p>archmom, what was your D’s ptf for?</p>
<p>She was applying to 5-year BArch programs and 4+2 BA/MArch programs. Three were “portfolio-required”, two were “portfolio-optional”, two were “don’t send a portfolio”. It worked…she wound up with a great variety of choices, she got in at her first choice, and is loving it.</p>
<p>Thanks archmom, I will give your suggestions a try. I need to do a test print (or a few test prints) with them first.</p>
<p>Which method of printing will present the best quality, all else equal:
- printing the original page images (which were created on Photoshop)
- printing from InDesign (where the Photoshop pages are imported to and, I believe, have the same quality as they do when opened on Photoshop)
- printing from PDF (I export the pages to PDF from InDesign. The problem here is that the PDF seems to have reduced quality)
- other</p>
<p>My daughter printed hers at the costco photo center. All of them are 8x10 images. If you know how to use Photoshop, that is the best route. For 5 set of portfolios, we spent less than $100 and the images were really nice. But then most of them are black and white drawings.</p>
<p>Wow, 5 sets of portfolios for less than $100. Phenomenal. Unfortunately, I have mostly color images and am planning to create a bound book, so printing it myself doesn’t seem the best way to go since I’m not an “expert printer” or book binder.</p>
<p>Watch out for the bound book, hankddd. Unless it can lie flat when it is opened, it can be a very, very annoying format for the reader. Unless you hold it open with your hand, the pages keep flipping closed.</p>
<p>One of the most important things in a portfolio is to make it easy for the reader…“no hands”, lie-flat format, titles on the opposite page to the image so they can be read at the same time and a large enough font size that older readers can read the titles without their glasses. Remember that your audience is not 18 years old.</p>
<p>An annoying overly-“designy” format can be a real negative. Portfolio reviewers have to look at dozens of these, so you want to make it a simple experience for them.</p>
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<p>I don’t think this typically occurs with spiral-bound books. Also, if it’s in landscape orientation, it won’t be inclined to close as much.</p>
<p>Spiral bound or any other ring binding is perfect, and what most people use. When you said “bound book”, I was envisioning a standard book-type binding, either sewn or glued without rings.</p>
<p>Hankddd, ok we did ordered some really nice portfolio folders, those that are used by the pros. BTW, be careful, read the requirements from the school about binded books.</p>
<p>I disagree about using Duggal. They are a complete rip-off and have lousy service.</p>
<p>blurb.com makes very good books.</p>