Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

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• File format
• File size
• Data
• Will my image file be processed?
• Colour space
• Colour management for professionals: ICC profiles

WhiteWall accepts the file formats JPG und TIF.
Uploaded files should ideally be 300 DPI, 8-bit or 16-bit, and have an embedded sRGB colour profile. If you don’t know what any of that means, then just leave it to us! Your image files will, of course, be automatically checked as to whether or not they are suitable for what you’re ordering, and then they will be produced in the highest quality.

Your file must be at least 0.4 megapixels (for example, 700x700 pixels), but can be no more than 625 megapixels. Depending on your photo’s aspect ratio, the maximum sizes are as follows:

Square - 25,000x25,000 pixels
3:2 - 30,600x20,400 pixels
4:3 – 28,850x21,650 pixels
19:6 – 33,300x18,750 pixels
4:1 Panorama – 50,000 x 12,500 pixels

The largest possible print size will be calculated based on the pixel size. The larger you would like to have your work produced, the greater the number of pixels must be.
Want to know what your image resolution allows? Let our overview help you! The sizes below are general estimations; our system will show you the maximum size of your image once the file has been uploaded. You can have your image produced to the exact centimetre, with the correct proportions, up to this size.

The file size cannot exceed 1 GB.

Only digital data can be used on WhiteWall, which means that your images were either taken using a digital camera or are analog works that have been scanned. Please note that due to the production process, the signature and text in the existing white border should be at least 1 cm from the picture frame.
If you would like to make pictures available on the WhiteWall Art Market, please do not put titles or signatures in any white or black borders your picture may have: This devalues the image in the eyes of the customer. Works that infringe on personal or intellectual property rights are, as a general principle, not allowed.

WhiteWall only adjusts your image file if you want us to. You can find this option in the shopping cart under “Automatic Image Optimization.” When it is selected, we will run an automatic brightness and contrast optimization tailored to your particular image. Monitor displays are often very bright, meaning photo prints can often appear darker or less colorful in comparison. At your request, we will automatically adjust for this. We recommend activating this option if you have not already made your own adjustments for printing or exposure.

Your files may be uploaded in RGB or in CMYK. CMYK files will be converted into RGB in the production process. If a colour profile is not attached to the file, we will assume that your file has an sRGB profile. For greyscale files, we use GrayGamma2.2 as a basis.

The goal of a consistently deployed colour management system is to ensure the most authentic reproduction of an image possible, using any printing device. For every technique WhiteWall uses to produce prints and copies, there is an ICC profile available for you to download.

It is often the case that previews on a monitor and the print results do not match exactly. This may be caused by the monitor being too bright, not having the correct calibration or profile, or insufficient hardware.
To ensure the best possible likeness between the monitor's representation and the resulting print, it is necessary to calibrate the monitor correctly. This is best done using a monitor calibration tool (colorimeter or spectral photometer) or with the help of a reference picture.
The settings that are chosen during the measurement process are decisive in ensuring functional colour management and will focus on issues such as the brightness and colour temperature of the sample and the preferred colour space to be used.
In most cases, the following settings should be used:

• Colour temperature 6500° Kelvin
• Brightness 60-120 Candela/m²
• Gamma 2.2

If the monitor is set up correctly, it is possible to preview a simulation of the print results prior to ordering. This simulation is referred to as a "soft proof" in colour management programs.
A soft proof is understood as a colourimetric display of digital print data on a calibrated and/or profiled monitor. This procedure requires ICC display profiles, which describe the substrate to be printed in accordance with the material and colour representation properties, and therefore allow a simulation on the monitor.
Optional activation of the paper-white simulation allows the colour tone of the unprinted paper to be factored into the representation. This representation requires adaptation to the brightness and reference white on the simulated paper-white, which is best achieved in full screen mode with all menus hidden.
A soft proof not only allows a preview of the expected print results, but also, if necessary, the alteration of colours for the print medium.
Soft proofing in Adobe Photoshop works as follows:

1. Download ICC profile
2. Install the profile in the operating system (in Windows – right click > profile install; in OS X – manual adjustment)
   
   

   operating system	path
   Mac OS 9	MacintoshHD:/System Folder/ColorSync Folder
   Mac OS X	MacintoshHD:/Library/ColorSync/Profiles
   Win 95, 98, 98se, ME	C:/Windows/System/Color
   Windows NT4	C:/winnt/system32/color
   Windows 2000	C:/winnt/system32/spool/drivers/color
   Windows XP, Vista, 7	C:/windows/system32/spool/drivers/color



3. Start Adobe Photoshop
4. Open the file to be simulated
5. Menu > View > Proof Setup > Custom...
6. Select the profile under "Device to Simulate"
7. Don't select "Preserve RGB Numbers"
8. Render priority "Relative Colourmetric" with "Black Point Compensation"
9. Optionally you can choose "Simulate Paper Color"
10. Confirm the process with OK
11. Always judge your colors in fullscreen mode on a solid grey background

The soft proof is now active for the picture. The key combination ctrl + y turns this on and off.
It may also be helpful to show the colour range warning (SHIFT + CTRL + Y). This highlights tones that are outside of the paper’s print range. This makes it possible to optimise larger colour ranges to the colour range of the particular printing device.