Photo printer

[MarkBarbieri]

have the prints been exposed to water

No. I can't recall ever trying to wash any of them. They're all inside, so rain hasn't been an issue.

 

[mom2rtk]

No. I can't recall ever trying to wash any of them. They're all inside, so rain hasn't been an issue.

Try living in an 85 year old house..... You'd be amazed how many things can be exposed to water in the lifetime of a roof.......

 

[safetymom]

the issue I have with home printing is that I have yet to see prints that will not run when they get wet, is there such a thing..??

Yes. If you get an Epson printer with pigmented ink they will not run. I used to put one in a bottle of water to show people how waterproof they were.

To print an 8x10 paper and ink was about $1.75.

If you want to know the archival life of different printers visit http://www.wilhelm-research.com/

 

[MICKEY88]

Yes. If you get an Epson printer with pigmented ink they will not run. I used to put one in a bottle of water to show people how waterproof they were.

To print an 8x10 paper and ink was about $1.75.

If you want to know the archival life of different printers visit http://www.wilhelm-research.com/

thanks for the info,,

I guess part of my issue is when I took my photography course years ago, the instructors stressed the belief that a photographers time is best spent behind the camera, and to let a professional do your printing. with the volume of pictures I take and the time needed for post processing, if I took time to print I'd never sleep..

Actually one of my 3 printers is an epson, I've never printed any photos with it,, I bought it only for printing on printable cds and dvds.

 

[safetymom]

Many photographers that I know like Vincent Versace, Steve McCurry enjoy the Photoshop work and printing as part of their output. They can create and print the way they want rather than depending on someone else to print it.

That is what is great about photography. You can do it the way that you enjoy.

 

[MICKEY88]

Many photographers that I know like Vincent Versace, Steve McCurry enjoy the Photoshop work and printing as part of their output. They can create and print the way they want rather than depending on someone else to print it.

That is what is great about photography. You can do it the way that you enjoy.

there are many photographers, especially those who do model portfolios, that send their work to photoshop wizards to do the processing..

I'm sorry if it sounded like I was saying people shouldn't print at home, was just saying why i don't do it, with working a full time job 40-60 hrs per week, then shooting a lot of pics, there just wouldn't be time for sleeping if I did my own printing.. I do my own processing, but then mpix works their magic

 

[safetymom]

I understood what you were saying. It's great to have the flexibility to do it whatever way you choose.

 

[boBQuincy]

Our choice of paper has a lot to do with water fastness of inkjet prints. In general there are three types of paper, resin-coated, nanoceramic, and cast coated. Nanoceramic can be very water fast, even with dye inks.

The choice of paper also has a lot to do with permanence.

 

[photo_chick]

thanks for the info,,

I guess part of my issue is when I took my photography course years ago, the instructors stressed the belief that a photographers time is best spent behind the camera, and to let a professional do your printing. with the volume of pictures I take and the time needed for post processing, if I took time to print I'd never sleep..

Actually one of my 3 printers is an epson, I've never printed any photos with it,, I bought it only for printing on printable cds and dvds.

I was required to process my own film and make my own prints the first 2 years because the instructors believed it was an integral part of the craft.

I always find it interesting how different programs stress different things.

 

[Schachteles]

AWESOME information...thanks everyone for your input. Keep the ideas coming

 

[MICKEY88]

I understood what you were saying. It's great to have the flexibility to do it whatever way you choose.

very true, one of my printers is an HP 7550 photo printer, it does an excellent, but the only time I use it is if I'm having a party or family get together, and want to give someone prints on the spot, most often that would be my 2 young nieces..

I have been tempted to try my epson for photos, but always end up convinicing myself to keep the ink for printing disks... it does an awesome job on that , especially with silver printables, they look like storebought disks..

 

[JJ71]

I have an Epson R1900 and am very happy with it. The pigment inks are very durable. It also has good glossy output due to their special gloss optimizer ink.

 

[Troop o' Goofs]

Hiya,

I'm in the market for a new printer for the computer and I am looking for something that will print pictures with good quailty as well. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[rtphokie]

Hiya,

I'm in the market for a new printer for the computer and I am looking for something that will print pictures with good quailty as well. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks!

How often do you think you'll be using this printer and what kind of printing will you be doing (mixture of B&W documents and photos, all photos, 4x6 photos, 8x10 photos, etc.)?

If you will be printing mostly 4x6 photos a couple of times a year, I'd consider focusing on your other printing needs instead in making your buying decision and get your prints online or at a local drug store. For occasional photo printing, this approach is hard to beat for cost and convenience, especially if you've got a Wal-Mart, Walgreens or one of the many other drug stores nearby where you can upload photos and pick them up in an hour. There is almost always a coupon code floating around that will get the cost down to around $.10 a print or sometimes less. An inkjet printer will cost many times that per print.

I went this route a few years ago and do almost all my printing at home on a low-cost B&W laser printer. The toner cartridge costs about $30 and lasts me for 2+ years. I have a good quality Canon ink jet which produces fabulous results but use that only when a print is needed immediately (such as when friends are over) or when I don't want their software second guessing my cropping.

The cost of ownership of inkjet printers is so bad that I've gone in to buy a replacement inkjet cartridge and walked out with a new printer in the past because the new printer was cheaper than the new cartridge. Those days are over now because new printers often come with half filled cartridges.

 

[dioxide45]

Don't bother with a printer for printing pictures. With the low cost and great quality of online places like Snapfish a printer is not cost effective. They pictures you print will NEVER look like those printed at a professional print place. Compare a $100 home printer and a $100K printer used by places like Snapfish... you get the picture.

I wouldn't even suggest places like Wal-Mart, CVS, or Walgreen's. Their print quality is atrocious. They do limited if any color correction. If you have an eye for color then you will see that the color is very often off, usually too magenta or too blue. Never quite right. We have had great success with Snapfish. The prints are cheap, look great, and are delivered quickly.

 

[mom2rtk]

I love having a printer at home. I scrapbook, and never know in advance when the spirit will move me! If it happens at 6AM on a Sunday morning, I love being able to print my photos on the spot, and also to be able to print replacements if I dribble paint or something else on them. It also gives me the flexibility to print unusual size photos, or even full collage pages. I'd be hard pressed to give it up. I buy my ink on Ebay for a pretty substantial savings.

I currently have an Epson Artisan 700. The Epson printers I have had have produced top quality prints. That said, they tend to wear out fairly regularly, which perplexes me. But they have dropped in price enough that it's not as big a deal as it used to be. This time it happened right before the warranty expired, so they sent another to my home at no cost. All I have to do is box the old one and send it back at their expense.

 

[Troop o' Goofs]

Thanks for the replies. Our current all-in-one is about 8 years old or so, thus the need for a new printer. I don't often print pictures but mainly because the quality is less than good and the cost for ink is rediculous.

I will look into the Snapfish and other sites. I have only ordered from Kodak and that was years ago.

 

[dioxide45]

We have used both Snapfish and Shutterfly. We ordered the exact same photos from each for comparison. We found the quality of printing to be better with Snapfish so we now use them exclusively.

 

[mom2rtk]

It is absolutely true that it is cheaper to order prints online from one of the big companies. But if you watch ebay, you can do better on ink and photo paper (even the good stuff). Just don't bid against me, ok???

What I have found is that if you print larger sizes, or odd sizes, it is often better to print at home.

 

[lovephotography]

I like Snapfish and Shutterfly, they are good sites for printing photos..