Queensberry Lab Direct
An alternative to Workspace
You can offer print products (silver halide prints, fine art inkjet prints, canvases etc) for sale to your customers using Workspace. Workspace print orders can be fulfilled by Queensberry, third party service providers, or you can fulfil the orders yourself.
Queensberry lab Direct is a desktop alternative to Workspace, which enables you to order print products at wholesale prices from Queensberry.
Queensberry Lab Direct sends a copy of the original high-res file to Queensberry.
There's no need to crop or size the original file yourself, or to send multiple copies if you want to order more than one print. All that is handled at the lab end.
Right now, this service is available to Australian and New Zealand clients only.
Download Queensberry Lab Direct
How Lab Direct works
Not only is the software simple to use, you'll save time with every order. Lab Direct ensures that Queensberry knows exactly what you want done when your upload arrives. It also checks to ensure that your files comply with the lab's specifications and warns if any of them fail to do so.
You upload your orders to Queensberry from within Lab Direct itself. Uploading is very robust. The "Resume" function means you don't need to start again if your upload link fails - even if your power or network goes down. And Lab Direct keeps a complete history of your upload history.
Important: You will need an active Queensberry account to use the software and to place orders. If you see a message asking you to activate your account please contact Queensberry Customer Service by calling 0800 905 905 or emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Colour Correction: We offer three standards of colour correction in Lab Direct:
Batch Colour Correction is a proof quality adjustment for an overall uniform result. Individual Colour Correction adjusts colour values, density and contrast in individual images for precise matching. Custom Colour Correction involves detailed Photoshop work to bring out the very best in your files. Click here for more in our Knowledgebase.
Step 1: Open LAB DIRECT
When you start Lab Direct you're taken to the main Order History window, where you'll find a list detailing all your previous sent and unsent orders. Obviously this will be empty the first time you use the software.
After downloading and registering the software, and before you use Queensberry Lab Direct for the first time, you'll need to complete your User Preferences, which are accessible from the Edit menu (Windows) or Queensberry Lab Direct menu (Mac).
Step 2: Start a new Print Order
Click the Order Prints From Queensberry button at the bottom centre of the Order History window to open the Print Order window.
You'll be asked to answer a few questions:
- Lab (Queensberry)
- Service (Print-Ready, Batch Colour Correction, Individual Colour Correction, or Custom Colour Correction)
- Studio reference
- Priority (Standard or Rush)
- Paper stock (Lustre or Metallic)
- Trim all non-standard prints (Yes or No)
- Protective coating on prints (Yes or No)
- Burn corrected files to DVD (Yes or No)
- Order for pre-sized images only (Yes or No)
If you're not sure what these services or options entail, please see our Lab Direct
price list or contact your Account Manager.
Note, these selections apply to the entire order. If you want some of your prints to be on metallic paper, for example, you'll need to create a separate order for them.
As you work on your order, these "Order Details" will appear in the bottom left corner of the screen. You can edit them at any time, but don't forget any changes will apply to the entire order.
Step 3: Import the images
Now you're ready to import the images you want to order. To do this...
1. Drag the images, or a folder of images, on to the "grid" area of the Print Order window; or
2. Click the More button, select Import More Images and browse to the images you want to upload; or
3. Click the More button and load images from a Photojunction Event. More about this below.
You'll be asked to specify a default print size and quantity for the images you're importing. You can also specify default laminating and mounting options if available.
You can change these details later (image by image) but one way to make things simpler is to organise your images ahead of time, and import your 7x5s, 14x11s or whatever in separate groups. As you'll see this can be done in Photojunction.
Another reason to use Photojunction as a front-end for Lab Direct is that Lab Direct is great for ordering prints, not for selling them. In Photojunction you can build Collections (eg "Grandma's Order") and import directly into Lab Direct, as per Import option 3 above. If you're ordering lots of prints you could also build Collections based on print size.
Don't forget, if you want to order multiple print sizes from a single image file you only need to import it once.
Whatever approach you follow, once you're done you'll see the images loading into the Print Order window.
Step 4: Prepare your order
Now that you have images available, you can:
1. Rotate, remove and duplicate selected images (you're not affecting the original files, just the way they're represented in Lab Direct).
2. Change the display between Grid (thumbnails only) or Summary (showing your order details), and use the slider to change the size of thumbnails.
3. Sort and filter images by File Name.
4. With a single image selected you can adjust the frame and crop in the zoom/crop box (top left); this works exactly the same as in Photojunction. When you send your order the lab will crop the image according to what you specify here.
5. If you prefer you can double-click on the thumbnail to display the image full-screen, so you can adjust the crop there.
6. With a single image selected you can also view the Print Details for this thumbnail and change them if you wish (eg print size and quantity, and texturing and mounting if available).
Remember: Don't confuse these "Print Details", which apply to individual images, with the "Order Details" that appear below them, and which apply to the entire order.
If you want to specify a non-standard print size, select Custom from the Print Size menu and create a new size. The image will be printed on the next largest standard size and the cost calculated accordingly. Lab Direct will remember your non-standard sizes so you can reuse them.
If you want to order a second print size from an image, simply duplicate it (the "X2" button) and change the print details for the copy.
If you want the lab to do any artwork on a file you should enter the instructions in the artwork/comments box. Artwork is not available on Print-Ready orders, which go direct to the printer.
To review details of your order, and check the costs, switch to Summary view (above).
As well as print prices etc this will calculate rush surcharges and apply volume discounts. Print discounts (based on your Queensberry purchases) are not shown, but will be applied before your payment is processed.
Step 5: Finalise your order
When your order is complete click the Next button on the bottom right of the Print Order screen. Lab Direct will scan your image files and advise of any problems, eg non-compliance with our lab file specifications. If necessary you can click Back to remedy any problems (and avoid extra costs); alternatively, check Accept and Continue.
Step 6: Upload your order
Click Continue to move on to uploading. Lab Direct will start gathering up files and uploading them immediately. An upload progress window will open when the upload process starts. The Order History window will reopen and you'll see a progress bar while the upload continues. Lab Direct also queries the Queensberry server and enters a reference under LabID. Please use this reference in any communication with the lab.
If Lab Direct loses the connection to our server, it will automatically try again every minute (you'll see a message in the progress window).
If you decide you want to pause or cancel the upload, click the Pause or Stop buttons to the right of the progress window. Stop cancels the upload, and you'll need to start again.
If you quit Lab Direct, or turn off your computer, or pull the plug, Lab Direct will ask if you want to resume uploading when you reboot. Alternatively you can double click on the order in the Order History window to resume.