Ordering Prints from Your Wedding Gallery: A UK Guide

Your digital gallery is only one form of your wedding photographs. The other is physical — prints that exist independently of any screen, device, or digital service. Ordering prints is one of the most satisfying post-wedding decisions, and one that many couples delay indefinitely. This guide covers how to choose sizes, paper types, and the best services for ordering from your gallery files in the UK.

What file do you need for printing?

Always print from your full-resolution files — the largest versions your photographer delivered. A full-resolution wedding photograph is typically 4,000–8,000 pixels on its longest edge and 5–20 MB in file size. This gives you more than enough data for sharp, detailed prints at large sizes.

A rough guide to maximum print sizes from typical wedding photography files: a 24 MP camera file will produce excellent prints up to around 60×90 cm (24×36 inches), and acceptable prints up to 80×120 cm (32×48 inches) when viewed at a normal distance. Going significantly larger than this requires either exceptional original resolution or printing techniques designed for large format output.

Never print from screenshots, social media downloads, or images forwarded via WhatsApp — these have been compressed and the resulting print quality will be visibly poor at any size larger than a greeting card.

Standard print sizes

Paper types explained

• ◆Lustre (satin): The most popular all-round finish — subtle sheen, minimal reflections, good colour depth. The default choice for most wedding prints and an excellent starting point if you're unsure.
• ◆Gloss: High-shine surface; vivid colours and strong blacks. More prone to reflections and fingerprints than lustre. Works best for bold, high-contrast images with strong colour.
• ◆Matte: No sheen; soft, painterly appearance. Handles blacks and shadows more softly; fingerprints don't show. Particularly well-suited to black and white prints.
• ◆Fine art / baryta paper: A premium option used by art photographers — thick, textured paper with a slightly warm base and exceptional tonal range. Archival grade; prints on baryta paper last 80–100+ years under normal conditions. The finest option for permanent wall art.
• ◆Canvas: Not paper — a textured woven surface. Adds a painterly quality that suits some images very well; not suitable for all photographs. Usually mounted and stretched for frameless display.

Recommended print services in the UK

• ◆Digitalab (Newcastle): Professional-grade lab; excellent colour accuracy; used by many UK photographers. Fine art paper options available. Recommended if you want professional results.
• ◆DSCL (London): High-quality professional lab with fine art and baryta options. Particularly strong for large format prints.
• ◆Photobox: Consumer-grade; excellent value for 6×4 to A4 prints; not suitable for professional fine art output but perfectly good for family sharing and everyday prints.
• ◆Saal Digital: Premium consumer service with lay-flat books, canvas, and fine art prints. Noticeably better than average consumer services.
• ◆Snapfish / Bob Books: Budget-friendly; suitable for quantity orders of smaller prints; output is adequate at standard sizes up to A4.