Digital camera owners....do you have a photo printer?

[NancyIL]

I'm about to get my first digital camera, and am wondering about getting a new color printer. Do you recommend printing my own pics, or should I take the compact flash card to Wal-Mart to get prints made? How much hassle is it (not to mention expense) to do it yourself?

 

[Dan Murphy]

It is costly to do it yourself (if you want good results), papre and ink is costly, and the results will be very good, but never eaual to a lab (JMO). I look at doing pictures myself like a Polaroid, nice to make a quickie now and then. I like it for printing a picture off for visitors to the house if I take a picture or two, give it to them before they leave. Again, there are very good printers out there, but none as good as a lab. However, with the costs as low as they are, I would suggest having a good quality photo printer at home. I have a high quality HP photo printer, but rarely use it. Good luck, enjoy that camera. (I'll have to watch out at the DIS meets now )

 

[RNMOM]

I don't take as many photos as I used to when the kids were little but I am able to choose the photos I want prints of, decide the size and number and then print those only. I don't have a whole bunch of prints sitting around that don't have much use. In my closet I have 7 large photo boxes that hardly ever get opened up from my 35 mm camera.

We have an Epson photoprinter.

 

[battricia]

you can get prints @ places like snapfish or image station for about 26cents each. I prefer to do it this way because they aren't 'printed' out, the image is burned into real photo paper, so you have a real photograph, rather than a printed image. You can also get them cheaper if you pay in advance, they're usually about 19 cents each then. Hope this helps you out.

tricia.

 

[JetMom]

We have tried printing pictures at home, but like Dan said the good paper, etc. is really expensive. We make a lot of slide shows that we put on CD's and watch on the DVD player. When I want a print I go to Wal-Mart or Eckerd and get a 4x6 for a quarter.

 

[geffric]

I usually use Snapfish but I have also used Ritz camera. You just upload to their website and then pick the prints up at the store later on the same or next day..

 

[KathyTX]

Like the others, I upload my photos to a service to have them printed. I use Shutterfly. They are affordable and very fast.

I also have a photo printer at home. Like Dan, I only use it for rough or quickie jobs. The quality of the lab produced prints is much better than anything you will achieve at home.

 

[MICKEY88]

I agree with Dan....

I have a high quality HP photo printer, but rarely use it

which printer do you have... I have the 7550...and like it a lot...it's great for printing pictures at parties...so my guests can take them with..

 

[mus muris asinus]

We print TONS of pictures on our HP Deskjet 932C and it's so much more convenient and easier than going to a photo lab.

In another year or so, we'll probably invest in a new printer, but for now, our old HP is a workhorse.

 

[skuttle]

I use shutterfly to print pictures. I think their quality is great and they are REALLY fast! And it's so easy to just do it from home.

DH was going to get me a photo printer for christmas, but after doing some research, he figured it'd cost almost just as much to order from Shutterfly. Plus, shutterfly always has some sort of special going on.

 

[TheLionKing]

Well, I print at home because I like having control over the final product.

I think you can do very well with photoprinters where you hook up the camera directly or take the storage medium and put it into the printer.

However services like Costco and Walmart do a good job, too.

It is very hard to beat the prices of the print services. The only disadvantage is that you don't have "print on demand" like you would if you had a printer at home.....

 

[cati]

I usually let other sites process my pictures. You have to be careful and be sure to get acid-free paper or your pictures will fade after a few years.

 

[elgerber]

We bought a Sony Dye something or other printer last year when we bought the camera. It's doesn't use ink like a regular printer. We never use it. It prints good pictures, but it's still not as good as taking them somewhere else. I took 185 of my Disney pics on disk to Ritz this weekend,and you can't tell them from the ones I took with my 35mm SLR. I prefer to just have them printed elsewhere.

Erika

 

[Lanshark]

I have them done at imagestation. I have Poloroid pictures from years and years ago and the image has all but faded from the shot. These are among the few images I have of my mother. I want our pictures to look good 20+ years from now so my grandchildren can enjoy them.

 

[NancyIL]

Thanks, everyone! The "audience" seems to strongly suggest not printing my own pics. Hmmm....we may still get a photo printer down the road, just to have a better color printer...and maybe to "tinker" with digital pics.

Dan..you'd really better watch out at DIS meets from now on...especially when you exit the restroom!

 

[SilverLily]

We just bought the best photo printer ever. It is the Olympus P-400, but they just came out with the Olmpus P-450. It is not an inkjet like most home photo printers. It uses dye-sublimation like the photo labs use. The pictures will not fade over time like the pictures from inkjet printers. It pust a clear protective coating on the photo. I have been printing pictures all day today and the quality is unbelievable! It is just like professional pictures.

The drawback: The printer is expensive. It cost about $350, and the newer model is about $500. But it is worth it for me and my family. We like to print 5x7's to frame and give as gifts. I love being able to take a picture and print it out in a matter of minutes.

 

[cati]

SilverLily - sounds like a great printer - I will have to look into that one. I would love to print my own pictures. I have a color printer but when I was making my own pictures they warned me to be sure to use the acid free paper at that time (guess the printer you were talking about was not out yet). Thanks for the info.

 

[SilverLily]

You're welcome, cati.

I'm not sure when this printer came out, but it is the first home printer that uses dye-sublimation. I believe there are other brands that have dye-sublimation printers (Kodak, maybe?), but they cost close to $1000 or more. Olympus was the first brand to make an affordable home version.

 

[NancyIL]

It's not easy to find Olympus printers online. And you're right, they are verrrry expensive. Just saw the Olympus Camedia P-400 for $446.49!!!!

I'm considering a Canon i560 or i470D (very inexpensive at Office Depot this week).

 

[Lanshark]

Silverlily,

About how much is the paper and ink? In other words about what is the average cost of a picture. I'd love to know how you like it.