This section is designed to help with any questions you may have regarding placing orders with Spectrum. Our small team on our reception are adept at handling complicated enquiries and if your order is large or complicated in any way it may be advisable to call us directly for a consultation over the phone. If, however your order is simple and straight forward, the simple guidelines below may be of help.

Placing Orders

Please send us orders in writing, it is possible to send digital files using our online order form.

With all orders please remember to include:

Name
Address
Contact Telephone Number
Email Address

Your method of payment - Account, cheque or request Spectrum to call you and take payment over the phone. If your order is over £100 you will need to pay a deposit. Please do not enclose cash

Please specify how you would like your work returned - post, courier or collection.

Please specify the service you require as well as sizes, quantities and any additional information we may need to complete your order.

There are four ways you can send us your materials:

In Person

Come and drop off it in person and take a look at some of the great samples of printing and mounting we have on the walls! Directions can be found here

By Post

For film processing and contacting or printing we suggest using the Royal Mail Special Delivery services. We like to receive a written order with films, so please send details with your job. Remember to pack it well!

By Email

For Digital files to be printed we accept emails up to 10MB at prints@spectrumphoto.co.uk.

Via FTP

For Digital files larger than 10MB, why not try our FTP uploading service? If you have broadband, it is free and fast!

FTP

Spectrum can now offer the facility to upload or download customer’s files via File transfer protocol to our secure server. FTP (file transfer protocol) is a standardised system for transferring files from one computer to another over the internet. FTP is a manual service as it requires you to drag and drop the files into a directory on our server and email us notification of your order.

Using FTP is simple, fast and free! Follow the steps below to send us your files via FTP.

1. Using the Contact page send us a request for access to our FTP secure server. Please allow at least 24 hours for a reply.
2. Download a free trial of our recommended Client software here
3. Upload your images by moving files from your local browser to our server using the software you have downloaded.
4. Email us to let us know you have sent an order

Test your file transfer speeds

Below is a rough guide to what speeds you should expect when sending files via FTP. Download speeds are as follows:

For a 512Kbps connection, the download speed will be 57KBs. With a 1Mbps connection this is increased to approximately 115KBs, and 2Mbps will be 230KBs. When uploading files to our server your ISP will give you a lesser speed connection which commonly is 27-30KBs regardless of connection speed.

Recommended Client Software
PC: smartftp.com | MAC: fetchsoftworks.com

Terminology:

Mbps – Mega bits per second
Kbps - Kilo bits per second
KBs - Kilo Bytes per second
Test your connection
UK Based Broadband Speed test: adslguide.org.uk

Turnaround Times

Please add an extra day for postage. Where some orders are received by post, turnaround times are slightly longer due to the arrival time at the lab and production workflows.

Please note all times quoted are Working Days (weekends do not count).
If you require your work faster than our scheduled times, this is often possible, but may be charged at RUSH (+100%) if other work needs to be delayed. Please call to confirm.

If work is to be delivered nationally, please allow an additional 2 working days.
All turnaround times are subject to change.

Film Processing

Processing only: 2 Hours (mornings only)
Process only received by post: 24 hours
Process and Contact: 24 hours
Processing and contacts received by post: 48 hours
Process and Print: 48 hours
Process and Scanning: 48 hours

Film Printing

Machine Prints: 48 hours
Hand Prints: 48 hours
Master Hand Prints: 5 days
Edition Hand Prints: 48 hours (must be ordered at time of printing master)

Scanning

Drum Scanning: 48- 72 hours
Flatbed scanning: 48 hours
Single Frame Machine Scanning: 48 hours

Digital C-Type Printing

Master Digital C-Type: 7 working days (including 2 tests)
Standard Digital C-Type: 3 working days
Edition Digital C-Types: 48 hours
Digi-pix: 48 hours
Giclée Printing
Master Digital C-Type: 10 working days (including 2 tests)
Standard Digital C-Type: 5 working days
Edition Digital C-Types: 3 working days

Mounting

Card: 3 days
PVC: 3 days
MDF: 7 days
Aluminium; 7 days
Dibond: 7 days
Perspex: 10 days

Exhibition printing

Using the turnaround times above we have illustrated the turnaround for an exhibition of twelve 20 x 30 Master Lightjet prints, mounted to aluminium. We advise an extra 1 week lead time for exhibitions to allow for any possible problems incurred with delivery or hanging.
12 x Drum scans: 5 days
12 x Master Lightjets: 10 days
12 x Mounting to Aluminium: 5 days
Delivery: 2 days
Extra lead time: 1 week
Total: 5.5 weeks

Despatch

Please make sure you give us all relevant delivery addresses when you place your order. If you do not intend to collect your work, we will need to know which service you would prefer to use from the following:

UK Post

We can send first class, recorded or Special delivery. For film, we use Special Delivery exclusively as Royal Mail will insure valuables for consequential loss up to £2500.

The minimum charge is £6.50 which includes the minimum Special delivery charge of £4.05, £1.20 postage charge for a package and packaging. There is an additional charge of £2.00 for Saturday deliveries. All postal charges may increase with extra weight. Please call for further information.

UK Overnight Courier

We are able to send work by courier on a next day service to anywhere in the country for a minimum of £10.00. This service is an all day delivery, scheduled to arrive before 5.30pm. We can also arrange for a before noon delivery for min. £17.50 or a before 10.00am for £27.50. This service is especially suited to small prints (e.g. contacts) or small mounted work which may be too large for post. We do not recommend this service for large (over 20 x 16) mounted work which may be vulnerable to damage, or for sending film as it does not include consequential loss or adequate insurance.

UK Dedicated courier

Spectrum has a dedicated courier service for same-day deliveries anywhere in the country. This service is designed for large exhibitions and mounted work which is too large, too valuable or too fragile to be sent by overnight courier. In the UK we use a reliable local company who offer insurance on all consignments at a cost of only 1% of the value. Please let us know if this is required. Prices for a dedicated courier service depend upon the size, quantity and destination. Please call us for a custom quote for your order.

Overseas by air

We provide an overseas service for customers abroad through Fedex or UPS. This service is suitable for unmounted prints going abroad and is next day for the USA. We have a surcharge of £5.00 handling fee to cover the administration of all Fedex orders. Fedex collections must be ready by 1.20pm and need to be booked in advance by Spectrum staff. Large rolled prints to be sent via Fedex or UPS must be rolled and double packed for safe travel. We charge £25.00 for international packaging. For consignments for the USA and Canada, we will need information for a commercial invoice. Please call us for a free quotation for air courier.

Overseas by road

For mounted work, we can quote for transportation by van to anywhere in Europe.
Mounted work to be shipped overseas will be subject to an additional packing fee of £25.00. Please call us for a custom quote.

Payment

All orders at Spectrum must be paid for on collection. We maintain the right to withhold goods for which we have not been paid. Any goods left on our premises for over three months will be destroyed.

Accounts

Please ask at reception for a form if you would like to open an account. To qualify for an account we expect a monthly turnover of £250 or more, along with two positive trade references. If you have an account with us we will set you with a credit limit and send you monthly statements. We greatly appreciate prompt payment for work. All accounts are 30 day terms: if your account is inactive, operating below the required monthly turnover, over the credit limit or outstanding for more than 90 dqys we reserve the right to remove your credit.

Deposits

All orders over £100 are subject to a 50% deposit. This must be paid in advance. If your job involves mounting we may order materials in advance to your specific sizes: please understand that if you change your mind after ordering specific sizes, the unused material will be deducted from your deposit.

How to Pay

We accept all major credit and debit cards with the exception of American Express. We are happy to accept personal cheques accompanied by a cheque guarantee card up to the amount stated on the card. We also accept cash and bank transfers. Details of our bank details can be found at the bottom of our invoices.

Postal orders

If you are sending us work by post, you can use the order form and we will call to take your deposit/take payment over the phone.

Payment by your customer

We are happy for you to have your customer pay for your work on the understanding that the above conditions still apply. Please notify us at the beginning of your project if you will not be paying for it as we will need to put all invoices in your customer’s name. We will also need contact details and a telephone number of all relevant parties.