Working with digital images

[ggreen]

Is it better/cheaper to buy a photo printer or bring photos to a printshop ? Printers seem cheap enough but ink and paper are expensive. I have a regular printer but don't know if I should buy one for doing photos.

[bdery]

based on my experience (in Quebec city, Canada), if your primary goal is to print 4x6, it's better to go to a print shop. However, if you print often and in large formats (10x8, etc) then a printer can be worth it. It costs about 1$ (canadian) to print a 10x8 (paper and ink) and you have to include the price of the printer itself. But it costs about 3$ (again canadians) to print a 10x8 in a print shop. So with a printer you save 2$ per picture. After 100 pics you've saved 200$, the price of a small printer. That's of course supposing you don't make mistakes and waste paper...

With a printer you can also fine-tune the printing settings, make sure the color balance is as you want it. That can be important, although after printing in four different shops here I've never had any color balance problem.

The prices may vary according to where you live, but I think checking the price of small and large prints and printers could be easy. You won't gain much quality with either the print shop or your own printer. Just make sure your shop uses good quality paper and doesn't rush its work.

As for regular printers, they're not made for photo printing, and the quality will be lower. The ink is different, the printer head is different, and I wouldn't advise it except for occasionnal small prints.

[Mike54]

Hi ggreen and welcome to the Q&A Board.

Printers seem cheap enough but ink and paper are expensive.

My sentiments exactly. I have a photo printer at home for when I want to get a quick copy of an image but quite honestly if I want a quality prints that I know are going to last I'll upload my pics to one of the many online printing houses. I'm patient enough to wait 3 or 4 days for the prints.
That's not to say you can't get good quality pictures using a home printer it's just that if you're going to do any amount of printing my personal opinion is that the cost of the ink and paper can be quickly saved by purchasing the prints.

I have no doubt others have a different opinion.

[ShutterbugGail]

I have a photo printer and love the convenience. Yes, I do waste paper and ink, particularly when trying to get a good print of photos taken with a flash. However I find it more convenient than running to the store and quicker than ordering online.

There are two areas of concern though. First, if there are long times between printing, a printer may clog. It could clog beyond cleaning the printer head using the printer driver. That means you'll have to send the printer in for repair and, possibly, not be able to use any remaining ink in the cartridges.

Prints made professionally may last longer. As for actual supplies, the permanence of prints made at home depends on the type of ink and paper you use.

For example, here is some information about inexpensive ink cartridges and permanence ratings:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/inkjet-supplies/cheap-inkjet-cartridges.htm

[ggreen]

Wow! Thank you everyone for the helpful information. Right now I don't think I do enough printing to justify buying a new printer, etc.

Thanks for helping me sort through this.

greg