1. What do I do to get started?

We ask that all our digital customers start by applying for an FTP account on our Create FTP page.  If you are interested in the photo printing, where we print without color correction, please send us a file for us to produce an 8x10 test print on one of our Fuji Crystal Archive papers before placing your first order. Tests are provided at no charge. This will help you avoid colorspace and workflow issues with our system.

For traditional film and flat art customers you can bring in your originals to be scanned or printed.  We will analyze and image your original to it fullest potential whether the final product is a scan or an enlargement.

2. How does my FTP account work?

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and has been around a long time, longer then web browsers. It is a widely used method of transferring files over the Internet. It has no limitations on file size like attaching files to email, and most importantly allows us to setup every client with a secure and separate folder on our server.  You will have two folders in your account: Give to Mighty and Get from Mighty.  Upload files into the Give to Mighty folder with each new order.  To let us know you have uploaded an order please either email orders@mightyimaging.com or go to the FTP Order Form page and fill out the quick and easy form.  To avoid any delays please include in transmission file names, quantities, type or printing and substrate desired for each image uploaded.  Orders will not be processed unless an email order form is sent to us.  The Get from Mighty folder is reserved for any scanned images you wish us to upload to your FTP account in the place of a CD.

3. Do you require any software to use your lab?

No lab specific software is needed to do work with Mighty Imaging. Most of our clients simply use Photoshop for color correction/retouching/cropping and their computers operating system to create folders for print sizes. FTP software is needed to send your files over the Internet. We recommend CuteFTP or WS_FTP for Windows, and Fetch for Macintosh; although there are many free sharewares available for download out there and you can use whatever FTP software you want.

4. What software packages can you work with?

Photoshop, Illustrator, Quarkxpress, PageMaker, Freehand & CorelDraw.  For ease in ordering and the fastest turn around possible, please save your files in a format that can be read in Photoshop (tif, jpg, eps, pdf).   Please refer to file formatting guidelines on the Service page of the product desired for the proper way to submit your files.

5. Why should I send test prints first?

Many professionals spend long hours color correcting their files and want to retain the integrity of their images. You may even find after seeing some prints that they get remarkably good color right out of the camera. Test prints will also reveal any color space issues.

6. How much do you charge for shipping?

All shipping is done via UPS. All orders received after 5 PM Arizona Standard time will be processed as received the following business morning. All orders are shipped UPS Ground.  Shipments are eligible to be shipped via UPS 2 Day Air Blue label or 1 Day Air Red label per your request for an additional fee.  There is a charge of $5.00 per tube or box shipped.  Mounted prints above a 16x20 is considered Oversize by UPS and additional fees will apply.   Please be aware that mounted prints over 24x36 will need to have a special box constructed for shipping at additional cost.  Depending on the volume and size of your order UPS Freight shipment may be required. 

7. What are your forms of payment?  Do you accept credit cards?

We accept all major credit cards or company check as our only method of payment.  Any orders being shipped must be paid in full before they will be released.  No C.O.D. customers.  An 8.3% sales tax applies to all residents of Arizona, unless a tax exempt number is provided. We can keep your preferred credit card on file in your account and charge that card on the completion of your order. You will be notified by email when the order is shipped.

8. Are you strictly digital or do you do some film work?

Although our output is 100% digital we can also work from film or flat artwork as the original.

9. What equipment do you use to create digital files from my film or artwork?

We have three superior scanning systems depending on the level of scan you desire.  The first is a flatbed Creo IQ3 Smart scanner, this system creates files at a 3.9 dynamic range up to 5,500 DPI and can scan originals up to 12x18. 

The second is the Heidelberg Tango XL drum scanner.  This offers the finest possible scan available anywhere in the world.  The Tango can accept transmissive and reflective originals up to 20" x 24", save files in RGB, CMYK, or LAB color settings with a dynamic range of 4.2. and can create clean sharp files as large as 11,000 DPI in 8 bit, 16 bit or 24 bit settings. 

The third scanning option is designed to handle large pieces of flat artwork, our Cruse scanner.  This scanner can scan your original flat artwork at resolutions from 75 to 500 ppi, and sizes up to 48"x72" and up to 3" thick.

10. What kind of printers and material do you use?

All of our continuous tone photo printing is produced on a CSI LightJet 5000. That machine produces work on Fuji Crystal Archive Professional Super C PD II lustre, Super C matte, or Super C glossy, and FujiFlex papers.  Kodak Metallic paper and Duratrans media for backlit displays is also available. All of these materials are exposed to the photo media with a laser and run through RA4 chemistry.

Our vinyl banner, wallpaper, fabric, and direct to board printing is done on our Roll to Roll / hybrid wide format U/V InkJet.  This machine uses U/V curable environmentally friendly ink to produce bright colorful waterproof and fade resistant displays.

Our canvas and watercolor printing up to 42"x96" is produced on an Epson 9600.  All prints receive a protective U/V finish.

11. As a digital customer, how do I calibrate to your printers?

You don't calibrate directly to our printer. You calibrate your monitor to a standard and neutral state, and we balance every size and paper surface daily. We recommend all clients perform hardware monitor calibration. This is a relatively straightforward and simple procedure. We recommend Colorvision Spyder 2 Pro or Gretag MacBeth Eye One Display 2. After reviewing your test prints from us, you can then make adjustments based on the results. 

12. What profile should I apply to my files?

If you are using our photo printing service use the Adobe RGB (1998) colorspace.  It is the closest to those of our photographic printer and color photographic paper. Although we can image files saved in other color spaces, to receive the best results that are the closest to what you are expecting your files should be saved in Adobe RGB (1998).

For orders being processed through our Roll to Roll / hybrid wide format U/V InkJet or Epson 9600 please save your files in CMYK color mode.

13. Do you supply any profiles?

Many think that applying a number profile in Photoshop is a cure all for their color correcting problems.  It is not.  The profile for each printer and paper type and surface can hold slight variances. The most important thing is to make sure your system is ICC neutral and your files are saved in the appropriate color space. If you are a new customer a test print is recommended before placing your first order. We will also provide a test print for approval before any large quantity runs.

14. Can I send you zipped files?

Yes.  You can send zipped files or files prepared with Suffit to your FTP folder. 

15. How do I crop my files to the exact print size?

We recommend you use the Crop tool in Photoshop. It allows you to simply type in the height, width and resolution you want the final size to be. Exact print size means you crop to the exact size you are expecting to get back, such as 11 inches by 14 inches at 200 DPI. An example of something not to the exact print size would be 11x17 at 200 when you want an 11x14 print. If images need additional cropping or set up, Digital Restoration fees of $1.50 per minute will apply.

16. If I have an odd sized print do I need to put it onto a standard size canvas?

Not necessarily.  If you wish to have your image printed with borders to fill out the paper for a standard print or frame size it is recommended that you set up your file with the border.  We can print odd sized images.  If you have an odd sized print it will be charged by the square footage of the material ordered, a 20% premium will be applied to panoramic sizes.

17. How do I indicate print size for my order?

Uploading files are as simple as dragging and dropping in your FTP client software.  Upon completion of file transfer, either send an order email to orders@mightyimaging.com or sign on to our FTP Order Form page and submit the quick and easy form.  Please include all necessary information needed to process your order.

18. For large prints should I really leave the resolution blank?

We recommend not changing the image resolution, unless you are working with a layered Photoshop file to begin with. Our equipment will resample the image for printing. A good analogy to this is a balloon, when you resample the file at your end you are blowing up a balloon, making it larger and harder to deal with as it gets transferred to us. Leave the balloon flat and let us blow it up. On the other hand, if your image has text, is a multi-image panel print, or you want to sharpen and perform extra work on the image, please resample the image to the final size to insure sharp text and the best results.

19. Do you sharpen my files?

No, we do not sharpen any files. You be the judge of when to sharpen files and are welcome to sharpen them yourself at anytime. This gives total control to the artist to do what they want with their files.

20. Can you print files saved in 16 or 24 bit?

No.  We can scan your images, and you can work on your images in 16 bit or 24 bit, but when you save your image for us to print it must be saved in 8 bit.  Our equipment can not run a file that is saved any larger than 8 bit. 

21. What is the best way to create a black and white print?

There are several ways in Photoshop to create black and white. While the different ways can create different levels of contrast, the end result is still a file without any color information. It is important to make sure even black and whites are setup as RGB or CMYK files (depending on your output), not grayscale. Our equipment will not read files saved in grayscale mode.

22. What is the largest size you can print and mount?

For photo printing we can print 48" wide by whatever length you choose. We commonly make prints to as long as 96" in one panel.  We can produce multiple paneled images if necessary.  For vinyl banner, wallpaper, fabric and direct to board printing the largest print we can produce in one panel is 10 foot wide by as long as needed for your project.  If you are local, and are able to pick up at our store we can mount prints as large as your vehicle will carry. If ordering out of state, please be aware that mounted prints over 24x36 will need to have a special box constructed for shipping at an additional fee.  Depending on the volume and size of your order UPS Freight shipment may be required. 

23. What is a corrupt or bad file?

A "bad file" is generally created when your FTP upload gets interrupted in the middle of a file transfer, causing only part of the image to be received. The transfer of the image generally does not create a "corrupt" file. You get this when you open the image in Photoshop and get "Invalid JPEG marker" or something similar. Generally opening the original JPEG, TIFF or PSD file in Photoshop and re-naming, re-saving and/or re-uploading the files will fix this problem.