Print up your best snaps

Austrian photographer and Beijing resident Lukas Birk tells Time Out how to take your best snaps from laptop to wall in two easy steps

Step 1 Printing

If you just have several small 10cm x 15cm digital photos you want printed, you can pretty much go to any local photo developers. For a reasonably priced but reliable place (1RMB per print), try the Fuji Colour store on Nan Sanlitun Lu, just south of Q Bar.

Three tips, though: check with the shop assistant that the photos will come back in the right proportions, not carelessly cropped; use matte paper, as it’s more natural looking; and, unless you’re looking for that airbrushed look, tell the assistant not to retouch photos, as they often either remove freckles and pimples or change colours that have been Photoshopped.

If you want to print something a little more ambitious, large-scale prints and posters can also be produced quite cheaply at most photo developers.

Each print should cost about 200RMB per square metre – this is cheap given that the same sized print in Europe would cost more than 400RMB. The best place for developing big prints foryour home is Today Photo by Beijing West Railway Station.

They charge just 120RMB per square metre and do a great job – it’s where all the pros go. To print on special art paper, canvas, structured paper or plastic, go to Photo Chance on Meishuguan, east of the National Art Museum (NAMOC).

They’ll print film as well as digital images. If you’re going for arty black and white images or developing black and white film, go to Wanda, next door to Photo Chance, also on Meishuguan.

Step 2 Mounting and Framing

Where you go for this and the amount of money you spend totally depends on what you’re going to do with the photo. Is it just for right now? Are you living in Beijing for a few months only and want something cheap? Do you want it to last? Or do you want a specific look? You can find cheap wooden frames for 30RMB-40RMB at local photo printers.

Wusi Dajie, opposite NAMOC, is crammed with frame and art supply stores. These shops have the greatest selection of frames in the city, but the work can be sloppy if you’re not specific and pernickety about it.

At Quanshunhang Commercial Trading Co., again on Wusi Dajie, a standard, inch-thick black frame will cost 20RMB per square metre. For longer-lasting results, it’s worth investing in getting your photos mounted.

Due to the extreme change in humidity between winter and summer,photos wrinkle if they are not mounted, especially if they’re big. Aluminium (about 300RMB per square metre) and PVC (about 200RMB per square) are the best materials to use. It’s quite common to see wood used too, but though stable, it’s not ideal.

Wood is a living thing and if the store uses cheap wood, the humidity will cause the photo to warp.

My recommendation is Today Photo for a variety of materials and frames. For something very special for your home, I’ve recently invested in a place called Viva Now, which offers a complete modern framing service.

They offer aluminum mounts fitted in various ways into what’s called an American box; a solid, deep wooden box, or a light box, and the entire consulting, printing, mounting and unique framing service costs just 2,000RMB (depending on the style of frame).

Again, this may sound like a lot, but the same in Europe would cost 1,000 euros plus. They can also print your images onto glass, marble and mirror, and you can guarantee the quality of the material used.

A common problem with other places is that they use watery glue. So despite looking perfect when the photo is first mounted, after six months it may start to peel. Interview by Annabel Greene

Directory

Fuji Colour 28 Sanlitun Nan Lu, Chaoyang district (6507 2722). Open 10am-8pm daily. 朝阳区三里屯南路 28 号

Marie’s 8 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district (6513 3384). Open 10am-8pm daily. 东城区五四大街8 号

Photo Chance 22 Meishuguan Dongjie, Dongcheng district (8403 4205). Open 10am-7pm daily. 东城区 美术馆东街22 号

Quanshunhang Commercial Trading Co. 8 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district (6513 1997). Open 9am-7pm daily. 东城区五四大街8 号

Today Photo 20 Yangfangdian Xi Lu, Haidian district (6395 4876). Open 8.30am-6.30pm daily. 海淀区羊坊店 西路20 号

Viva Now 43A Shunhuang Lu, Sun He Village, Shunyi district (8459 0258; www.vivanow.cn). By appointment only. 顺义区顺黄路甲43 号

Wanda 20 Meishuguan Dongjie, Dongcheng district (no tel). Open 10am-7pm daily. 东城区美术馆东街 20 号