How do you more advance photographers print your photos?

Do you send your pics to sites like snapfish and pick it up at your local walgreens? Shutterfly, etc. Or, do you use your own printer?

With our point and shoot camera, we've always sent our pictures to snapfish. I found throughout the years, it's much cheaper than maintaining and constantly buy ink cartridges.

So do people who use dslr still send pictures to these services? Would these services do justice to the quality of pictures that can be taken with a T2i?

I ask because I jumped during the printer rebate promotion and I got a Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II. Are these home photo printers better than online services?

I'm deciding whether to sell it or keep. Please advise. Thank you!

You might get more response if you post your question in the printers and printing forum.

You have an excellent camera, and now an excellent 13x19 printer.
Whether you keep the printer is up to you.

My ultimate photographic output is a quality 13x19 print, and perhaps it was my conventional darkroom experience that causes me to print all my own work. One can get good printing done at shops like you use, and their equipment is very good, and usually maintained and calibrated very well. Plus there are 'pro' labs that can output extremely high end work, but at corresponding prices!

My Epson printer is completely trouble free and needs no 'maintainance', but it is the CONTROL element that I personally prefer in choosing to print my own work.

For 4x6 I use a Canon Selphy 4 color Dye-Sub printer which does an excellent job for around 30 cents per print

Over 4x6 up to 8x10 I use an ancient Canon S900 6 color printer, also does an excellent job if you get the right paper.

Over 8x10 I go to an outside printer, usually Sam's Club to get the best price, although not the best paper. Quality of images is usually pretty good.
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jp

Sir Atfus said:

I ask because I jumped during the printer rebate promotion and I got a Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II. Are these home photo printers better than online services?

Click to expand...

Yes, unless you use really professional ones ($2+ for a 4x6, etc.). Shutterfly, etc., is junk. MPIX was better when I used them but for portraits only. Very good for large prints though.

Enjoy your printer!

I print my own enlargements on an Epson 2400. However, if I have returned from vacation and just want a bunch of 4x6's printed, off to Costco.

Recently I decided to make a calendar for a young lady as Christmas present for her BF. FedExKinkos did it a lot cheaper than I can make it. I was impressed by the quality of the reproduction, even the B&W.

Having seen their quality, I do wonder why I still do my own printing. It costs me about $3.00 for an 8x10 (assuming I am doing a lot of printing and do not have to do a head clean) while Costco's charge $2.00. You can even download their printer drivers.
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Jim
http://www.pbase.com/jcassatt

Costco. Seriously. Go online and get the color profiles for PS.

Printed 13 16x20 prints for a portfolio exchange in December. My print looked as good (if not better) than all the others printed on expensive inkjet printers. And as for the time spent - I used to have an Epson 4000 and spent so much time and money dicking around with it. Costco - I get online, post the file, pick it up the next day.

BTW - one other photographer also went the same route. If you live in Dallas, TX it's hanging in the Magnolia Theater.

Les
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“I go to the theatre to be entertained. I don’t want to see plays about ****, sodomy
and drug addiction...I can get all that at home.” Peter Cook

I just picked up a Pixma Pro 9000 Mark II. Doing my math, to print an 8X10 with Moab Colorado Gloss (great paper, discovered it through a sample package at B&H), total cost of an 8x10 including ink usage is $1.64. That's really not much of savings for an 8x10. However, printing out an 11x14 or 13x19 would be $3.19 and $4.78 respectfully. Basically, my understanding from what I gather, is the larger you print, the more cost effective it is to do at home.

I got to my numbers by looking up prices at B&H, calculating a per sheet price (thankfully i'm doing that for another project) and this report from Red River Paper. http://www.redrivercatalog.com/cost-of-inkjet-printing-canon-pro9000-pro9500.html

The report seems to have a pretty good testing method that seems reasonable. They give a plus or minus 10% cost variation. Still, to me, it seems the larger you go, the more reasonable it gets.

Well, I have an Epson printer at home which I use occasionally for snapshots. Most of my prints are made through my smugmug website at either EZPRINTS or Bay Photo print facilities. Here are some things to think about:

What a home printer is nice for is instant gratification - you can print a couple images out.

There are two problems though:

1) If you keep those photos out in the open they do degrade. If they're in an album or framed behind UV glass they're fine. But I have several images printed on both Epson and Canon printers I just have tacked up on my wall at work and in only a few years you can see image degradation

2) The cost of printing your own is much higher. The reality is - once you open the ink cartridges there is evaporation. So if you don't do a lot of printing you're still losing ink. That's the catch-22 of printing your own images. You get the most number of prints if you do all your printing over a short duration. But if you're doing a lot of prints over a short duration it's easier to just use a lab.

Now - on labs. I mentioned the two I use, but it costs $$ because you pay for shipping. The key to getting good local prints is first to find a place that allows you to print without automated color correction. Nothing worse than having beautiful images go through WalMarts color correction and come out wrong.

I work in a small chemists photo lab, so get to play with the photo printer there for my own work.

Typically though, there are the mainstream photo labs like the ones in Costco or Walmart which can be hit or miss - get one with good staff who properly care for and maintain the machinery and you can get great quality, cheap and local printing. Find one with more blase staff though and you could get crap...

Beyond that there are the better 'pro' labs that will give you a great quality print, but typically you will pay a bit more for it.

Home printing gives you complete and utter control - you can setup your printer to perfectly match monitor calibrations, and fine tune your paper and inks to suit the exact looks and quality you want, the big downside to this is the fact it takes a lot of time to get right, and will cost you when you are running through high quality paper and ink for a printer that uses 6 or 7 separate cartridges...

If I didn't work in a lab, finding another local lab would be my choice, a bit of groundwork and testing and you can get to know the staff and quality level and find something good.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/narcosynthesis
http://www.illaname.deviantart.com

The above-mentioned Bay Photo in Santa Cruz, CA is an excellent online lab with great prices and free USPS shipping on 11x14's and under, and $1.50 2 day UPS shipping on orders over $12. Great service, you won't regret it.

http://www.bayphoto.com/

I use winkflash for most of my printing needs. Their prices are much cheaper than, say Costco, and they offer a plethora of poster print sizes that go well with any of those Aaron Brothers buy 1 get 1 for a penny sale.

Now I've had quality issues with the poster prints, but quite frankly, at those prices, I can live with them.

Buy the prints and posters (and whatever else you may need) when they have sales for them as that's the best bang for the buck. I'd stay away from their photobooks though.

I picked up the same printer on the same deal. Haven't used it much yet tho.

I like printing at home because, well, for me it's just another rewarding part of photography. Also, I might have a little more time than some to mess around with, and learn, that aspect of it. There's a certain amount of personal satisfaction of getting good results....when the results are good

At the same time, while I might try one of those commercial places, they aren't readily available where I live.

Nick
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photography -- a compatible blend of tech and art --