Do you print your photos? (bug proof edition)

[ausemmao]

Well, DO YA?

Some only ever look at pics on their own screens, some upload to sites for public viewing, some print to keep in their rooms, some put them into digital frames, some get their stuff in small galleries, some get them into MoMA or the Tate Modern.

What do you do with your shots, and why?

This post brought to you by an Aero Engineer's procrastination, getting a Canon printer to 1) work and 2) print what it should rather than an oversaturated apparently underexposed mess and 3) laughing (crying) at online print costs and the inability to properly preview (instantly)

 

[lyonsroar]

I get my best work printed from mpix.com and then either hand them out to family, or frome them and hang them in my room or around the house. I like seeing my work printed out and framed.

 

[Josh66]

I probably print close to 1/4 of what I shoot.

Most of it just gets printed at 4x6 and goes into a photo album.

Some get printed at 8x10 and goes on the walls, and a few get printed larger than that and go on the wall.

Up to US Letter size (8.5x11"), I usually print at home.


I like to keep photo albums for family and friends to see. Plus, the prints will likely be around longer than the digital files.

I probably have 2 or 3 filled albums where the prints inside them are the only thing that remains of those photos. Negatives/digital files long gone...

 

[PASM]

No..not really since i stopped using film. Maybe some 5x7s from one of those print-terminals in a supermarket (still haven't actually tried this yet )

Well, DO YA?

 

[ausemmao]

When I left for uni I decorated one wall with a collage of 4"x6"s of the year before rather than the usual band and film posters. Thought the effect worked quite nicely.

I just printed out a bunch of A4 (the printer I have can print those but not 8"x12"s) prints of some of the past few months to put up. Except for the aforementioned collage, I don't normally like small prints. Even with the A4s, the gremlin on my shoulder is whispering that some of these really should be A3s, and the pictures I chose are sharp enough to handle it.

The change in cost concentration of equipment and consumables and in shooting behaviour brought about by digital is interesting. The question of "is theis worth taking" becomes "is this worth keeping".

What was it like for sports photogs? Not having 8-10fps cameras or having to change film mid game/event?

 

[RauschPhotography]

I don't print nearly as much as I'd like to. Being a poor college student plays into my budget a lot more than I'd like, so I try to limit myself to portfolio prints (around 15/year, sometimes more depending on how much I really like the work) and 2-3 larger prints.

 

[clanthar]

Yep, I print select photos myself for display purposes. I use a Canon and/or Epson inkjet printer both of which work very well.

Joe

 

[SlickSalmon]

I shoot with the specific intention of making large prints, which I produce on an Epson 3880. I find the act of making an acceptable print much more difficult that making a screen image. The post-processing adjustments are often quite different.

 

[3bayjunkie]

hoooah! for mpix. also if you want a good printer for just around a grand try this =)

Epson Stylus Pro 3880 - Epson Professional Imaging - Epson America, Inc.

 

[mwcfarms]

I need to print more, so I can do as Josh does and have the reminder but so far I only print what I intend to sell in our gallery and for display at home in my make shift studio for display purposes.

 

[Dominantly]

Hell no.

Why not? Well because I don't have any intention of shelling out the coin for the initial cost, and maintenance of a proper photo printer, and find it much easier to have a pro lab do what they do best, and print my images.

I took one photo and had it printed at Bay Photo (because it's connected to my SmugMug, also love MPIX), then printed the same image at one of those Sony Kiosks... there was no comparison. The pro lab image was noticeably superior.

You can have a lab color correct your image if you are in doubt about whether or not your monitor is accurate.

 

[Josh66]

Why not? Well because I don't have any intention of shelling out the coin for the initial cost, and maintenance of a proper photo printer, and find it much easier to have a pro lab do what they do best, and print my images.

I think the OP was asking if you have prints made, not necessarily if you do them yourself at home.

How you get the print isn't the point. The point is, do you have prints?


Personally, I feel that prints are one of the biggest disadvantages of digital. Nobody prints anything anymore...

Most people have thousands of photos on their hard drive, but no physical prints that you can actually pick up and handle.

 

[PASM]

Some people don't even retain those digital pictures like people use to keep wallets/envelopes full of snaps. They keep them for a while on a memory stick or PC, then they get deleted.

How you get the print isn't the point. The point is, do you have prints?


Personally, I feel that prints are one of the biggest disadvantages of digital. Nobody prints anything anymore...

Most people have thousands of photos on their hard drive, but no physical prints that you can actually pick up and handle.

 

[KmH]

Yes, I have prints made.

To me an image isn't completed until it is printed.

 

[ann]

yes, i print, for shows, for sale and for gifts.

I enjoy the process and frankly found digital very boring until i began printing. Holding an image in hand is more fulling for me than viewing it on a screen. A hold on from many years in the darkroom.