I am interested in printing some of my digital photos (some from this project and a few others, too) for framing, scrapbook, etc. I would love to hear some suggestions on the best way/place to print to get good quality printing. Or maybe someone could point me to a good online article? I scanned through past posts here, but didn't see anything on this topic.
We have an Epson printer, but I never am really all that pleased with the quality of the outcome. I have also printed on Snapfish, which was OK, but I found that on some shots the image got cropped differently than I intended, and so I am not sure what they best choice is for proportion, etc. when printing.
May seem like thread hijacking but i would also like to hear of decent printers and places to print. I intend to decorate my photography area with my photos to keep me inspired but I don't know whether to buy a printer or to go with an online or local lab.
Snapfish tells you it will crop digital photos in a nonconventional way. I agree, it is disappointing. I am on my 3rd printer looking for a good photo printer and am really happy with the quality of this Lexmark. Previously I had an Epson and then a Canon and neither of them printed true. I don't print too many because let's face it, the cost of photo paper and ink is so much more than ordering from Snapfish, but sometimes you just want a nice copy and you don't want to wait.
Fullcolor.com is a site for professionals and businesses to print their work. You do have to set up an account and there is a minimal order amount, but the quality is great! They offer different types of prints and products, such as canvas, metal prints, etc. You will have to callibrate your monitor to their site.
Thanks all! I will check out your recommendations. I peeked at a couple of them and it, of course, has lead to more questions...like should I select a matte finish paper or the metallic paper. Is that just a personal choice or is one better for photos on display in a frame than another?
@Cody - I find the same thing that Allison said to be true - the cost of printing paper and ink makes ordering online seem so much easier (if you don't mind waiting.) I also find I end up having to waste a lot of ink cleaning the nozzle heads, etc. to get a good image, but maybe I just have a bad printer??
I used to work in a high quality photo lab, I can help you a little bit with this. I know nothing of home printers or digital prints (DSLR's were still first coming out when I was working in the lab).
For a good quality photo lab, you want to look for one that holds regular maintenance on their machines.
-regularly color calibrate their machines. I'm not talking once a week, I'm talking twice a day or more.
-regularly break down the printer and clean out all the crystals from the racks. Dust everything inside & out of the machine as well as the shop. The less dust there is, the less dust get on your prints. Even better if you can find a lab that will even change out the photo chemistry frequently.
-custom color correct your prints. Most shops I know auto correct your prints. Now you can specify that you want your prints to be custom color corrected (most labs offer this). Color is everything on your prints, it can make your image happen....or not. It's a bit of a studied art, being able to see colors in prints but one good tip, is if you have something white in your image (such as a shirt or something), place a white sheet of paper over it. Is the white shirt in your image white? You might be surprised. So far, the lab I used to work in is the only one I have seen that color corrected every single frame. But if they regularly maintain their machines as mentioned above, automated prints should still come out in decent shape.
Stay away from Wal-Mart and pharmacy photo labs. I have never liked any of them. I have also heard stories of Wolf/Ritz cameras but the one here where I live does a good job.
Prints through online, I have no idea how this works. I don't like not knowing what/how they run things.
Hope this helps you out =)
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@Cody - I find the same thing that Allison said to be true - the cost of printing paper and ink makes ordering online seem so much easier (if you don't mind waiting.) I also find I end up having to waste a lot of ink cleaning the nozzle heads, etc. to get a good image, but maybe I just have a bad printer??
For a good quality photo lab, you want to look for one that holds regular maintenance on their machines.
-regularly color calibrate their machines. I'm not talking once a week, I'm talking twice a day or more.
-regularly break down the printer and clean out all the crystals from the racks. Dust everything inside & out of the machine as well as the shop. The less dust there is, the less dust get on your prints. Even better if you can find a lab that will even change out the photo chemistry frequently.
-custom color correct your prints. Most shops I know auto correct your prints. Now you can specify that you want your prints to be custom color corrected (most labs offer this). Color is everything on your prints, it can make your image happen....or not. It's a bit of a studied art, being able to see colors in prints but one good tip, is if you have something white in your image (such as a shirt or something), place a white sheet of paper over it. Is the white shirt in your image white? You might be surprised. So far, the lab I used to work in is the only one I have seen that color corrected every single frame. But if they regularly maintain their machines as mentioned above, automated prints should still come out in decent shape.
Stay away from Wal-Mart and pharmacy photo labs. I have never liked any of them. I have also heard stories of Wolf/Ritz cameras but the one here where I live does a good job.
Prints through online, I have no idea how this works. I don't like not knowing what/how they run things.
Hope this helps you out =)