Product Specifications

Modified on 2012/03/06 16:34 by mwilley — Categorized as: Uncategorized

Product Specifications

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Product Specs Guide

EZP product specifications are contained in a separate PDF document, referred to as the Product Specifications Guide. This document provides details about correct order XML (per product), product dimensions and materials, SKUs, image dimensions, image bleed, and print DPI, among other details. To receive the product specs, email the Partner Management team.

Index Prints

Items that include an index print will come with a separate print that looks similar to the image below. This contains information used in the production process as well as your company name and logo, order number, and customer Name. "ezprints" does not appear on the index print when the order is submitted through your account. Please note that the format and inclusion of the index print is subject to change as is deemed necessary to support our production processes.

Work Order and Customer Comments

The work order is a packing slip that lists all of the products that were ordered. Products that come with a work order will include a document that looks similar to the image below. As with the Index print, this will include your company name and logo or the company name and logo submitted in the vendor node of the XML order you submit to us. This document also provides you with the ability to include messaging to your customers.

Your logo is automatically printed on the Work Order in a pre-kiss-cut location that is 3.5" wide x 2" high. This sticker is placed on the outside packaging when the item is packaged for shipment. This process takes place for all products that come with a work order. Your logo will also appear on the index prints, which comes with prints and framed prints, but there is no sticker on the packaging for those products. Note: The format and inclusion of the work order is subject to change as is deemed necessary to support our production processes.

A Message of 500 Characters may be included on a Work Order. This will appear in the Personal Message section of the Work Order with top left justification. Note that this feature is only available on the work order. It is not available on index prints. This feature is not available for partners using the ezp ecommerce module. If you wish to use this feature you include the comment element inside the orders 
/ordersession/
order element in the order XML:



    ...
    
        ...
    
    <comment>Thank you for shopping at ezprints.com! If you are not satisfied with your order please 
      contact customer service at 1-800-xxx-xxxx</comment>


Back Printing

On the back of most RA4 products ezprints will include two lines of text. One line is reserved for use by ezprints for production and Quality Assurance workflow information. The second line is available to you, allowing you to include custom branding or messaging up to 40 characters. If you wish to provide custom back print text then include the Title element in the Images node of your XML submission. If no Title is supplied, ezprints will use a combination of the file name and the domain name the image is retrieved from. The process for including back-printing when using the ezp Builder is slightly different. See the ezp Builder section for more details. Example of a title attribute:



   http://www.ezprints.com/images/color.jpg


All lowercase letters are transformed to capital letters. Only alpha-numeric characters, parenthesis, underscore, and dash are supported. All other characters are transformed into underscores. Supported characters in backprinting:

	ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
	

	abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789
	

	()_-

Backprinting is done by dot matrix printers in machine font that is 10 characters per inch.

Watermarks

A watermark is a design or text inserted or imprinted on documents to prove authenticity or reduce fraud/forgery. Most small format prints include a watermark on the paper used. Wherever possible we use paper with the manufacturers' watermark. The watermark is not present on many large format prints as the manufacturer has removed that option on commercial size Matte paper. This was due to an increasing demand to remove the watermark due to its visibility in commercial backlighting situations. The following matte print sizes are printed without a watermark: 8x12, 8x24, 9x12, 10x10, 10x12, 10x15, 12x12, 12x18, 13x22, 16x20, 16x24, 18x24, 20x20, 20x24, 20x30, 24x30, 24x36, 30x40, 36x48, 48x96.

Image Resolution Considerations

ezprints uses a variety of printers and each line of printers has its own specifications. We preprocess your images to fit the product and printer where it will be produced. Each different product has a specific PPI suggestion. However, you can submit all images for all products at 300 PPI if that is easiest. Refer to the Product Specifications Guide for information about the PPI suggestion for each product. To receive the product specs, email the Partner Management team.

Paper Finishes

ezprints provides professional quality prints in Matte, Gloss, Metallic, and Lustre finishes. A description of each finish is below. Because the different paper types we offer each have a different SKU, you can order different paper types within each order.

Glossy

Glossy photos are printed on coated paper with a very smooth, shiny reflective surface. Glossy finishes have a high-contrast appearance and look slick to the touch when not under glass. This finish has an excellent dynamic range and color; slightly more "pop" than the matte paper, though less noticeable once framed. Descriptors:

Lustre

Lustre paper is the premier paper most preferred by portrait and wedding photographers and is considered a professional-grade paper. Lustre is often considered the finish "between" matte and glossy, and has a slight gloss with a subtle, often pearl-like texture. Lustre paper has a deeper color-saturization than matte as well as a higher contrast and is thicker than consumer paper. Lustre includes copyright and professional watermarking.

Descriptors:

Matte

Matte finishes have a very smooth, non-glare finish. Matte finishes have a lower-contrast when printed and are often used to enhance the texture of a print.

Descriptors:

Metallic

Metallic paper has a glossy finish and metallic appearance that creates images with exceptional visual interest and depth.

Descriptors:

Image Manipulation Functionality

For partners who are not using the ezp Builder, ezprints provides cropping and image manipulation through the XML API. We recommend that you size your images and display the appropriate previews of your images to your customers prior to submitting your order, however we do offer the functionality listed below to assist you as necessary. See the Product Specifications Guide for the recommended image sizes for each product. If you use the suggested image dimensions, your image will be processed for production without our systems altering the size of the image. We recommend that you default to "Crop" unless your order requires you to choose another option. If you don't specify "Crop" or "Fit" the default will be "Fit". Again, none of this needs to be specified in the order XML if you are using the ezp Builder. Partners using the ezp Builder can ignore the rest of this section.

Crop Settings

There are seven total settings that may be used based the position of the primary subject in the image or the amount of image lost due to cropping. These are typically used if the aspect ratio of the image submitted is different from the print size ordered. With the exception of 'fit', these settings are based on where the starting point for printing the image (anchor) begins. If a specific crop setting is not specified in the XML, then a default setting of 'fit' will be used.

Crop settings include:

Crop

The anchor for the image is placed at the center of the image. The print range is then expanded to fit the size of the print that was ordered. For example, if the image size is 4x6, then the printed area will be a 4x6 rectangle (for portrait images) or a 6x4 rectangle (for landscape images) centered on the image provided. Whatever is not included within the rectangular region is cropped off.

Sample XML:



   5x7 glossy print
   50.00
   2
   Crop

TopLeft

The anchor for the image is placed at the upper most left corner of the image. For example, if the image size is 4x6, the print range is then expanded to 4 inches to the right and 6 inches down for a portrait image, 6 inches to the right and 4 inches down for a landscape image. Whatever is not included at this point is cropped off.

Sample XML:



   5x7 glossy print
   50.00
   2
   TopLeft

TopRight

The anchor for the image is placed at the upper most right corner of the image. For example, if the image size is 4x6, the print range is then expanded to 4 inches to the left and 6 inches down for a portrait image, 6 inches to the left and 4 inches down for a landscape image. Whatever is not included at this point is cropped off.

Sample XML:



   5x7 glossy print
   50.00
   2
   TopRight

BottomLeft

The anchor for the image is placed at the bottom left corner of the image. For example, if the image size is 4x6, the print range is then expanded to 4 inches to the right and 6 inches up for a portrait image, 6 inches to the right and 4 inches up for a landscape image. Whatever is not included at this point is cropped off.

Sample XML:



   5x7 glossy print
   50.00
   2
   BottomLeft

BottomRight

The anchor for the image is placed at the bottom right corner of the image. For example, if the image size is 4x6, the print range is then expanded to 4 inches to the left and 6 inches up for a portrait image, 6 inches to the left and 4 inches up for a landscape image. Whatever is not included at this point is cropped off.

Sample XML:



   5x7 glossy print
   50.00
   2
   BottomRight

HEADSHOT

The headshot crop setting is ideal for images in a portrait orientation that are of a single person. This crop position ensures that the top of a person's head is not cropped. This setting uses a center crop and then moves the anchor position by a percentage you identify in the cropDisplacement attribute. If cropDisplacement is omitted, a default value of 50 percent will be used.

Sample XML:



   1
   CROP
   <comment>50% Headshot Crop</comment>


Fit

This setting is used if the aspect ratio of the image submitted is different from the print size ordered and it is important to print the entire image without cropping. This is accomplished by reducing the image to fit the size print that was ordered. For this reason, there is no anchor position for this setting. When reducing an image, all sides of the image are reduced proportionally. For example, if your image size is 4"x7" and the desired print size is 4" by 6", then the 7" part of your image will be reduced by one inch in order to FIT it onto the 6" paper size. The 4" side of the image will also be reduced by 4/7" as the entire image is reduced proportionally. This will result in a 2/7" white border on each side for portrait images or top and bottom for landscape images.

Note that the Fit setting will always work for prints, canvas, and Indigo (press) products. However, the Fit option is not available for all gift items. Images for some gift items will be cropped or fit based on the product selected, based on ezprints' determination of what looks best on the product. For example, all keepsake boxes are set to Crop instead of Fit, because the white borders added to an image tht has been set to Fit is unappealing. For questions about whether the Fit setting will work for a specific gift product, please ask your Integration Manager.

Sample XML:



   5x7 glossy print
   50.00
   2
   Fit

Auto Enhance

Auto Enhance is essentially a set of filters that allows you to adjust the appearance (i.e. color, contrast, etc.) of an image on a per orderline basis. ezprints uses I2E to perform these enhancements.

To turn off color correction/auto-enhance, simply remove the tag from your XML. If the tag is there, then our auto-enhance/color correction takes place. If the tag is missing, the default value is not to Auto Enhance.



   5 x 7 (Gloss)
   0.79
   1
   crop

For detailed information regarding the Auto Enhance settings ezprints uses, please contact your account manager or customer service representative.

Sublimation

Sublimation is the process of phase transition from a solid to a vapor. For example, images are transferred from a transfer sheet and onto a mouse pad via sublimation using a heating process that causes the ink on the transfer sheet to vaporize and bond with the material. Sublimation processes tend to produce highly durable products.

Image Orientation

The following image is provided to illustrate Portrait and Landscape image orientations for those less familiar with the terms.

Product Shots

Product marketing shots are available for you to use in your application/website if you would like. Produt shots are available at prodshots.ezprints.com. Check back regularly for updates.