buy a printer or have them printed?

[rdzmzda]

so just out of curiousity....
is it better to have the pictures printed somewhere else or is it mroe cost effective to actually print them yourself? with what printer if its better to print yourself

 

[DigitalDiva]

Depends on what you want. I want total control out of every image, so I print myself. There are quite a few important things to know about printing digitally. I have taken a few courses on printing in the dark room and the digital dark room, so I know what I'm doing to get the best of of my printer.

If you send it out to be printed, you never know what you will get. I think it's almost always cheaper to have them printed elsewhere.

 

[rdzmzda]

hmmm ok....well can u recomend any articles that helped u out with such things so i can read further into this?

 

[Drake]

I always have my photos printed, I send them the files and 2 days later get my prints. So far the prints have been so close to what I wanted them to be, that I actually don't bother printing myself. I know how to get nice prints, but I am not sure I'd get them to look as good as the online store does.

 

[bs63366]

/\/\

Who do you use to get your online prints through?

 

[Drake]

Since I live in Poland, I use a Polish site, http://superfoto.pl
It might not look like a place for pro photographers, but I get there what I want at the price I want

 

[dxqcanada]

For small prints I use a Photo Printer.
It is cheap and instant.

For larger prints (pictures I actually think are that good) I will send them to a photo lab.

We have a local lab called Silvano Colour Lab that provides instructions/assistance in balancing your monitor/Photoshop profile to match what their printing equipment will put out ... so you get a print close to what you see.

 

[McKaso]

There are many things to consider when making this decision. When I first started digital photography in 1996 continuing through 2004 I did my own printing. As I advanced I read many articles and reviews and settled on a $600 printer with pigment inks for longevity. It could print 4x6 to 13x19. You had immediate results when printing, but my issue was where to store all the extra ink cartridges, all the paper sizes, all the different paper types. If you decide to go with a special paper you can very rarely just buy a few sheets. You invest in the ream that you may not use again because you may want a certain look that suits that photo and you may not sell many prints of that photo. For instance I have a fantastic abstract photo of crocus flowers that has very strong color saturation and I decide to match that with a metallic paper. Is that paper suited for just any photo? not really. Another issue is technology. How often must you upgrade to a better printer or better ink types to achieve the best results possible? I would rather have somebody else worry about that. I have now switched to sending my prints to a lab that I can trust. With either choice, calibration is a must and one of the first considerations is calibrating your monitor. I have invested in a $300 color calibration system and it is used once a month, so my monitor is calibrated to the lab I use. They also have profiles I have loaded so it is an even better match. What I see is what I get. The Adobe Bridge file viewer software has a great loupe feature that I use to closely inspect my digital files before sending them. It works just like the real thing. Yes I have had to do a couple of re-prints, but overall it has not been an issue because I spend a considerable amount of time inspecting them before sending them off to be printed. If you choose a very good lab you may have the option of a great amount of different paper choices and different print sizes, which also takes your photography to another level. Your prints don't have to be the "standard" sizes. There is not a wrong answer to this question it is just a matter of what suits your needs as a photographer. A few links that may help.
http://www.wilhelm-research.com/
http://www.danheller.com/tech-prints.html
http://www.pcphotomag.com/how-to/printing.html
http://www.picturecorrect.com/photographytips/printing_better_photos_tips.htm http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/how-to/printing-and-output.html

 

[Christie Photo]

Funny... after 25 years in business, I'm asking myself that same thing once again. The lab I've been using is closing.

I started to do the web search thing, and decided to call an old friend. Ultimately, I find myself in agreement with him... process the files, but let the lab do the final tweak, making them responsible for the final prints.

So... I'm looking for a new lab, preferably here in the Midwest. Any suggestions?

-Pete