Advice on printing photos

revilo · Dec 18, 2008

I have a few shots from my digital camera that I'd like to print off, but seeing as I only have a very poor printer, what are my options? What printer would I have to buy to get acceptable images? How would I then maximise the quality? I'd like the print anywhere between 5"x7" and A4, possibly a little larger but certainly not much larger than this.Or is it better to get prints from a shop for now, seeing as I don't really have the budget for a printer.

Chewbecca · Dec 18, 2008

I have only printed a few shots of mine. I have had GREAT results with mpix.com. The prints are very well priced, imo. And they come back looking great.

Frozen · Dec 18, 2008

I did a test print of one shot at Costco, and it came out well, I have a couple more that I am picking up today. But from what I have heard, with Costco it can be hit and miss if the guys running the machines are good.

Big Mike · Dec 18, 2008

In most cases, if you are going for good quality, it's probably better and cheaper to just use a lab to print your photos.

Tom3 · Dec 18, 2008

I've had 4 photo printers in the last two years. The last one I have is an Epson Artisan 800 and I'm really happy with it.

If I want to print a lot, I still get a company to do it.

Home printing is not cheap and even though I'm the first on to scream that Epson/HP/etc inks are way overpriced, the cheap ink will not look the same, especially over time (and I'm talking over less than a year).

So, at the end, it really depends what you need; I deal a lot with art for my work, and sometimes I need quality prints 'now', but for anything else, I always use a third party.

Josh66 · Dec 18, 2008

I like the Canon Pixma printers (mine is the iP5200). The biggest they can print is 8.5x11, but the prints look pretty good to me.

I haven't figured out exactly how much one print costs me, but I have a feeling it would be cheaper to send it out for printing (especially large quantities). I mostly use it for 4x6's for the photo album, and the occasional 8x10.

ANDS! · Dec 18, 2008

The PIXMA line includes the 9000 (which I have) and the 9500 which can print up to 13X19. The home consumner photo printers which are usually sub 200 bucks, are the ones that print up to 8.5X11 max.

You are going to be HARD PRESSED to find a quality photo printer around 100 to 200 bucks that does NOT print at A4 (8.5X11) size. I have the HP D7360 which is awesome, but an older model.

And sure, if you don't see yourself firing off a ton of prints, a lab might be the better option, but if you are interested in making your own prints - a dedicated photo printer is infinitely more convenient.

What is your budget?

mrodgers · Dec 19, 2008

I only have one of those small 4x6 photo printers. My wife bought it for Christmas last year to go with the camera she bought me.

I learned very quickly after running out of ink after printing 30 photos that the $30 to refill the ink and paper was FAR more than the $10 it costs to just send them to a printing lab (I love Adorama after comparing Adorama, MPix, and Snapfish.)

Battou · Dec 19, 2008

You could go down to your local Drug store and use their printer. My local drugstore (Rite Aid) has a publicly available print station for digital image printing. Printing an 8x10 at Rite Aid is $3.00 (USD) cheaper than the sendout services available to me, So I use that when ever I have print needs. Only draw backs are, I am limited to 4x6, 5x8 and 8x10 and full frame photos need to be in letterbox format to print an 8x10 with out loosing the ends.

Sw1tchFX · Dec 19, 2008

Unless you do a ton of printing, it can be very hard to justify spending an arm and a leg on a printer and ink. I suggest using a Lab, because unless you practically print pictures everyday, they're cheaper and of better quality in the long run.

ksmattfish · Dec 19, 2008

I'd try your local lab or an online lab like mpix.com Well done ink-jet prints are very nice, and if done right much more archival than chemical prints, but it's hard to beat lab made C-prints for quick, cheap high quality prints.

Josh66 · Dec 19, 2008

Your local lab may produce better prints, but my local lab does not.

I have been very happy with my printer, especially when I compare it to the local labs. The only downside for me is the cost, but I'm more than willing to pay a little extra for the added quality. Anything bigger than 8.5x11 I will have to send out though.

revilo · Dec 19, 2008

Thanks for all the replies.
I don't necessarily have a budget, just if I were to spend money on a printer, I don't have a lot of money to spend right now. The main purpose of this thread was to find out whether it is really worth sending of photos to a lab, which most people tend to agree on, so I might try one of the online ones.
Thanks again.

maulrat · Dec 19, 2008

Not sure if anyone else has this experience but I just got some Christmas cards, the 4x6 ones, uploaded to Walmart.com then printed at a local store. They were $.33 each. I edited my photos to very sharp in CS2 at 4x6, 300ppi. The cards came out a little blurry for the quality I uploaded. Maybe they alter them online, not too sure. I printed out some photos ranging from 16x9s to 4x6s and they came out sharp as a razor.

mrodgers · Dec 19, 2008

FYI, here is a post I made on another forum after I had prints sent back to me from several different places. I uploaded the same 3 photos, a B&W, a color portrait of my daughters, and my youngest daughter with some desaturation/sepia kind of toning. I sent to Adorama, MPix, and Snapfish. Here's my posts, I don't want to type it all out again....

My print comparison

and added Snapfish when they came