What you need to know

 

eCards

The sending of an eCard is a free service. You can select any image and send it to as many of your friends as your wish. You will have an opportunity to include a personal message with the eCard. It is a nice way to use Lightscrapes.com images to make your messages more meaningful and interesting for your friends. Use it for birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, or for just saying hello. As mentioned, the eCard is free, that is no charge, gratis, on the house, and etc.

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Prints

The photographs displayed on the site are lower resolution and have a watermark on them. When you order a print they are made from high-resolution files and do not contain a watermark. Prints will have a thin white border for framing and handling purposes. These borders do not show up on the images on the site or on the order overlay.
Note that there are suggested print sizes which are selected so that the print will not be cropped and the white border will be available. There are larger or smaller sizes that you may choose by clicking on the “More Sizes” button on the order panel. These other sizes are also selected to ensure that the image will be properly sized and will not be cropped.

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Print Types

There are three types of prints available: “Photographic”, “Fine Art”, and “Metal”.
The Photographic prints are just what they say they are, prints on color photo paper. They are high-quality prints made by projecting the image on a color photosensitive material. They have the advantage of being less expensive but they are not as archival as the Fine Art or Metal type prints. Depending on display and storage conditions a photographic print should last about 10 to 20 years before visible degradation becomes apparent.
The Fine Art prints are produced using archival ink print technologies. These are produced with special printers which use high quality, long lasting inks. They are sometimes called Giclee prints or by other names. Although a bit more expensive they have excellent longevity, are printed on heavier stock, and have a somewhat greater dynamic range than Photographic type prints. If these qualities are of prime importance to you then select the Fine Art print option, otherwise the Photographic print option provides excellent results at a lower cost.
Metal prints use an archival ink print technology to print the photograph on a specially treated piece of aluminum. These prints exhibit a high degree of longevity as the substrate (aluminum) is very resistant to aging and the inks are archival. They display similar dynamic range to the Fine Art prints. There are three mounting options for the prints. The “Float Mount” option affixes a mount to the back of the print allowing it to be attached to a wall with a one-half inch float. The “Easel Mount” option has a stand affixed to the back of the print for display on desks or tables. Easel mounts are only available for smaller print sizes. The “No Mount” option is just the metal print without any type of mounting at all.

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Displaying Your Prints

Prints should not be displayed in direct sunlight as the UV in the light will fade the prints over time. Prints should also not be displayed next to a heat source such as a radiator or over. Heat will also degrade the image.
If you would like to frame your “Photographic” or “Fine Art” type prints they can be dry mounted or placed in a window mat. These services are readily available from your local framing shop. In either case, it is recommended to use archival board and materials to increase the longevity of the print. These are usually indicated as “acid-free” or museum materials.
Metal prints can be framed as well but it is not necessary unless the “No Mount” option is desired. If you would like your metal prints framed make sure you find a high-end frame shop to perform the service.
If you live in a very high humidity area (like on the beach in a tropical region) we recommend using a board like Dibond, Sintra, Plexiglas, or the like for mounting or framing. These are rigid boards that are resistant to humidity and archival. Plexiglas can be used for front mounting if desired. It is important to review proper cleaning of Plexiglas with your framer if this option is selected.
The above discussion is for maximizing the longevity of your prints. If this is not of significant importance to you then other options can be used for mounting and framing your prints.
In any case, it is not recommended to use Foam-Core, Gator Board, or similar products as they have a tendency to warp over time. These are excellent and inexpensive products for temporary display, which is what they are designed for. They are not designed for long term usage, however.

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Cards

Cards have the selected image printed on card stock paper with an optional message printed on the card. These are great for custom greeting, birthday, anniversary, or personalized cards. They are a number of different types of cards available. The Greeting Card and Square Card options include an envelope and are folded. The other types do not include an envelope and are flat. You can add a personal message for all of the card types by clicking on the “Add a personal message” or “Edit Message” button on the order panel. You can select from a number of fonts and font sizes for your message. Folded cards will have the message on the inside while others will have the message on the back of the card.

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Order Process

Orders are processed using encrypted streams and are secure. The credit card processing is performed by “Stripe”, a well know and reputable credit card processing service. If you would like more information, see: https://stripe.com/ . Lightscrapes.com will not have access to, will not be able to view, and will not be able to store your credit card information. All of this is managed by Stripe. It is similar to using PayPal, Square, or other credit card processing services.
On completing an order, you will receive a confirmation email. The emails will be from Fotomoto, which is owned by Bay Photo. For most of North America, the printing will be performed by Bay Photo, one of the largest photo processing services in the United States. Prints ordered from outside North America will be printed by labs affiliated with Bay Photo that are geographically closer to you.
When the order has been shipped you will receive an email from Fotomoto informing you of this status. Once the order has been picked up by the carrier you will receive another email with shipment tracking information.
Prints are sold as is. If there is a problem with shipping, or damage occurring during shipping, you will need to contact the shipping company directly. If there is a problem with the order, please contact Fotomoto using the email addresses on the correspondence sent as part of the fulfillment process.
Note that there is a lot of difference between computer monitors. Most people will not really notice the difference but some may. Images are processed on monitors calibrated at CIE Illuminant D65, 120 cs/meter squared, with a gamma of 2.2. Prints are balanced to be displayed under tungsten or similar illumination of approximately 3200 degrees Kelvin. If this is of importance to you, it is recommended for the greatest fidelity, that these conditions be followed for comparing prints to your monitor. Even if a calibrated process is used there will be differences between the monitor and print as the monitor is displayed backlit while the print is displayed from reflected light.

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