Why are you guys still printing at home???

[chris92593]

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs

that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as if you walked

in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and $16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media

as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade like the ones you print at home

so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are becoming readily available

 

[Richard W]

Convenience and for the hell of it!

The next few years will be very interesting. As cheap lab printing from digital becomes widespread I envisage real problems for printer manufacturers whose main revenue comes from the 'average consumer' who probably can't be bothered with the enthusiast stuff we discuss here.

Most people I'm sure would rather get quick cheap prints from a lab than waste their time at home printing, worrying about paper/ink combinations etc. I hope this will force printer manufacturers to address the ridiculous costs they charge for consumables, inks in particular.

Labs on the other hand will have to cater for the average user but also for the enthusiast for them to abandon home printing. The great thing about doing it at home is that you get virtually instant results, and have CONTROL over the final output process.

Many labs seem to crop/pre-process images in a way many of us don't like and have no control over. The first set of prints I had from a Fuji Frontier system were great. The second lot were all wrong, as though they had been processed pre-printing which had introduced a colour cast and too much saturation/contrast.

At the end of the day I want to print my images, unadulterated (except by me!), in the size and format I want them, when I want to. That's about it really.

RW

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

 

[jrowley]

You mention your cost like it's a benefit? I can print the same 8x10 for under a buck and in about a minute and half, without having to go anywhere to do it. The newer printers are getting to the point where the results are virtually indisguinshable from a silver print to most people (admittedly, not experts). I should be getting kickbacks from Canon for all of the printers I have sold by bringing some of my results into work. No one can believe they were printed... If they do fade (in 25 years as claimed by Canon, taken with a grain of salt), I can always print another one.

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

 

[Markep]

Good question, good points.

However, I bought a Canons9000 printer for the ability to print the really big stuff, 13*19 in particular. The size of the file necessary to print that is quite large and I haven't found any service that will easily take this size file. In the meantime, the 4*6's that I home print are competitive cost-wise, and they allow me to "practice" to get the settings just right so that the big prints will look great.

Still, if I want a LOT of one particular 4*6, I definitely send away. Sams Club at $0.24 is tough to beat and they do a great job. The 2 MB file size limitation isn't a problem for that size print.

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

 

[Richard W]

You mention your cost like it's a benefit? I can print the same
8x10 for under a buck and in about a minute and half, without
having to go anywhere to do it.

True, but you also have to consider initial costs like the printer itself in the equation. You may or may not already have a PC.

The newer printers are getting to
the point where the results are virtually indisguinshable from a
silver print to most people (admittedly, not experts).

True again. I see silver halide prints so infrequently these days that when I do I realise that we are very close to the quality you get from an average (average user's) lab run from 35mm film.

I should be
getting kickbacks from Canon for all of the printers I have sold by
bringing some of my results into work. No one can believe they
were printed... If they do fade (in 25 years as claimed by Canon,
taken with a grain of salt), I can always print another one.

Longevity of prints is very hard to quantify isn't it. Manufacturer X say their printer will print photos that'll last for 50 years - I may be dead in 50 years so I'm not going to worry about it in all honesty! As you say, I will always be able to print another one - imagine printer quality in 10 or 20 years' time!

Although chrisc41's post might initially strike you as almost being an advertisement for his/her services, they didn't detail their location etc. which is good.

I think the question is interesting and valid though. If you're cynical you might consider it a cost-free exercise in market research. If not, maybe the poster is trying to improve their service by finding out what people really want - if you're very cynical, it's the same thing!

I buy a lot of paper online because it's cheaper. If/when I get broadband access and a photo lab can offer me prints from large files which are competitively priced, with user selectable printing options, and output that can match what I can get at home, I would consider using online printing (or local lab printing - e-mail us the prints they'll be ready in an hour - great!). If I have to wait a few days for mail order paper, why not just get online prints? They'd probably take just as long to deliver.

What stops us using online/local services is our ever more demanding, NOW culture, globally. The only thing which counteracts this is the equally powerful value for money instinct we have! I'll get philosophical in a minute, so I'm going to get another glass of wine!

RW

 

[Phil Sexton83509]

so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

I seldom print 'snapshots' at home any longer. I did, at first, because of the novelty of do-it-yourself. Now I send files to a lab and let them do it. They typically do not provide exactly what I want but it's close enough to warrant the saving of time and moiney.

When I want 5x7 or 8x10 for 'hang on the wall' purposes I print my own. If I don't like what I see I do it again, immediately, for less than a buck apiece.

One other factor. It is difficult enough to get a match between monitor and printed image when you can adjust everything at home. If the labs could supply some means for me to adjust MY monitor so that their printed result matched MY monitor view, then I might consider using a lab.

 

[johnd1]

Wal-Mart prints (as good as most any commercial processing) 4x6 prints are only .26, 5X7 are.99, and 8X10 are 2.85. And larger sizes are priced accordingly. I still do it cheaper on my printer at home.
Your prices are good but not competitive.

Wal mart and excellent cheap inkjets are hurting/killing the pro processors out there.(except wal mart)
John

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

--Seabee MCPO (ret)

 

[johnd1]

Phil,

I just compared the same 8X10 print from Wal Mart's Fuji Frontier machine,(on line) with one off my HP 940c ink jet printer. I cannot see a difference even with a 2 X magnifier.

I always thought the printer was very good but couldn't compare with commercial prints. I was wrong!
The Wal mart paper had a bit more gloss. Thats all. John

so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

I seldom print 'snapshots' at home any longer. I did, at first,
because of the novelty of do-it-yourself. Now I send files to a lab
and let them do it. They typically do not provide exactly what I
want but it's close enough to warrant the saving of time and moiney.

When I want 5x7 or 8x10 for 'hang on the wall' purposes I print my
own. If I don't like what I see I do it again, immediately, for
less than a buck apiece.

One other factor. It is difficult enough to get a match between
monitor and printed image when you can adjust everything at home.
If the labs could supply some means for me to adjust MY monitor so
that their printed result matched MY monitor view, then I might
consider using a lab.

--Seabee MCPO (ret)

 

[B Passarelli]

I think you'll find the folks who care for print longevity, color saturation, or fine tone gradations that you get with a silver halide process will make an occaisonal print with an on-line service (or buy a higher end printer as I did) but will continue to use the ink jet for convenience and excellent visual results. Their results are also cheaper than what you're offering by a factor of 3 or 4.

My Fuji Pictrography turns out silver halide prints that cost me $2.50 per 8x12 at home. It takes 70 seconds to print. Why wouldn't I print at home?

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

 

[Tom DeMita]

I'm like you in that I use Sam's club to print multiple 4x6's, only they charge 20 cents each here.

Still, if I want a LOT of one particular 4*6, I definitely send
away. Sams Club at $0.24 is tough to beat and they do a great job.
The 2 MB file size limitation isn't a problem for that size print.

$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95

6.25 for an 8x10 is a little high for me. I use my 2000P for 8x10 and they supposedly last longer than your lab photos.

as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

I was thinking of starting my own digital photo printing lab with a Phogenix DFX digital photofinishing system but I will never be able to compete with Costco and Sam's club. Besides, what if Phogenix comes out with a home printer using the same technology? I think it is only a matter of time before home printers will match the current labs.
Tom

 

[Don Daugherty]

Maybe it's because my printer sits right here, next to me, where I process my pictures. I reach over and drop in a sheet of paper (my choice of course) and hit print. In a few minutes, I have photos.

Maybe it's because I pay about .30/page for OD paper and about .60/page for most other premium papers. So, 3 4x6 prints cost me about .20 tops. I usually print 3.5x5 because of the aspect ratio and I get 4 to a page. Ink cost is nominal as I refill my own. So, a 3.5x5 costs me about 10 cents. An 8x10 costs me at most .75, quite a far cry from $6.25.

If you can tell the difference between your prints and my prints, that is great! Would your 8x10 be 10 times better than mine? I don't think so, but I have not compared them. What counts? I like my pics. Everyone I make prints for likes my prints.

To consider paying those prices and have to upload my pics or wait for them to be processed is just not in the realm of possibility.

My question to you would be: Why in the world would I want to print anywhere else but home?

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

 

[Andrew Curatola]

My Fuji Pictrography turns out silver halide prints that cost me
$2.50 per 8x12 at home. It takes 70 seconds to print. Why
wouldn't I print at home?

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

There are also a lot people that use printers that are hobbyists like myself. I enjoy tweaking my photos in Photoshop and printing them out real time and enjoy the satisfaction I get when my photos look the way they should look. If I were in a sitution where there was alot of printing out involved, I would definetly turn to a photo lab.

Andrew

 

[gail]

Why me (a non-pro consumer)?

Because now and then I'd just like to send a print to someone who doesn't have a computer. Perhaps we'd like to hang one on the wall or place on the coffee table.

Truthfully, I hardly make prints anymore anyway.

I recently scanned more than 60 years of our favorite family photos, added titles, music, etc. with pix2exe, then burned them into a self-running CD. Mailed one to every family member and friend that I thought would be interested. Almost everyone who viewed it had tears in their eyes. None of the scads of photo albums I have ever did that. And they can be updated.

When someone visits, they sit a few minutes in front of my computer if they want to see photos from one of our recent trips or events. I don't hear any "sighs" like I thought I heard when I used to drag out photo albums. ;-)

Photographic lab prints will be around for a long time. I just think fewer and fewer people with find the need to use them.

gail

 

[Phil Sexton83509]

It appears that you have succeeded in getting a pretty good market survey. At least fairly representative of those who frequent dpreview.

 

[teufel88463]

I also like using my printer for greeting cards, which I use programs like American Greetings Creatacard Plus, amoung other stuff. The photo printing is just an added benefit, and it is very convenient.

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

 

[bijan]

Your prices are way higher that other online photo printing services.

It costs me 30to 40 cents for 8x10 prints that will not fade for he next 70 years.
--Bijanwww.pbase.com/bijan

 

[eL47288]

Never owned a printer until I wanted an inexpensive 8x10 print. The additional hidden lab printing charges to subsidize somebody's (even property owner's) hidden luxury life and entertainment costs turns me off!

Face reality. The cost of services is laced with hidden costs. Your investment with the bank and property owner doesn't improve my life or my 8x10 prints cost effectively. Welcome to the new millenium! )- eL ):-(

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

 

[Butch Black]

I own a Lab and run a Noritsu 2901 the newest in digital labs
that prints on silver halide paper up to 12x18 I charge the same as
if you walked
in with a negative most labs I speak to in my area that have the
same capabilities charge about the same
$.40 for a 4x6 $3.25 for 5x7 $6.25 for 8x10 $12.95 for 11x14 and
$16.95
for 12x18 this is from virtually any media
as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

It goes back to the control of doing it yourself.

Back when I first got interested in photography, most enthusiasts had a B&W darkroom or access to one, and did their own developing and printing. There is a lot of satisfaction from seeing something you did yourself.

From a practical standpoint there is little cost advantage, and none if you factor in time in doing it yourself. But it's FUN, and it brings the fun back into photography. There have also been several threads about inconsistant quality control. As a lab manager I would have to agree with them. As more drug store and discount retailers get these digital minilab, then put people without proper training and a background in photography in them, quality control will suffer. Not everybody knows what a good print is supposed to look like. Fewer understand concepts like color crossover and saturation. I've seen oversaturated prints from labs that should know better.

--Butch

 

[bob d]

as I see it is cheaper and faster and your prints will not fade
like the ones you print at home
so why do you guys chose to print at home when these services are
becoming readily available

Cheaper? No way. It costs about $1 to do an 8 x 10 matte print on my Epson C80. Lets be conservative and call it $1.25. I can do FIVE prints for the price of one of your prints. With your services, I could only afford 8 x 10 for special prints. With the C80, I can routinely print them out and put the results in a portfolio.

Faster? Driving to a photo lab. Then driving to a photo lab again the next day to pick it up. That is NOT fast. And if you factor in the driving costs, which people usually don't, it adds even more costs. My employer reimburses me 36 cents a mile. Using that amount, and if the photo store is 5 miles away, this adds $7.20 to the costs!

Last longer? The Epons C80 uses pigmented inks, and they are supposed to last 70 years. Most photographic papers are only certified for 25 years.

If I was really serious I would get an Epson 2000p which is supposed to last 200 years. That's far more than any silver halide print, even more then Cibacrhome which you don't do.

People who care about longevity now have inkjet printers available that will give them this.

Inexpensive inkjets are only going to get BETTER not worse.

And you didn't mention quality. I guess I've never compared to good quality lab work. The 4 x 6 photos I've seen developed at inkepensive film developers look AWFUL. Bad colors. Too light or too dark. Not sharp. My Epson C80 prints look far better.

The story is that SERIOUS photoraphers who are in the KNOW will do their own printing at home. Labs will only get grandma's point and shoot photos.

 

[JimB]

As I sit here with another waisted premium page and lost ink because of another clogged head. Sitting here waiting for the windex to soak the dirty heads on my printer But I still like having the control of getting the output just right.

By the way, Ofoto charges 14.99 for 16x20 and they have coupons all the time to cover shipping.

From a practical standpoint there is little cost advantage, and
none if you factor in time in doing it yourself. But it's FUN, and
it brings the fun back into photography. There have also been
several threads about inconsistant quality control.