Do any of you print your own photos?

[Jackie H.]

I have a digital camera. I've been uploading for a company to print them. Do any of you guys print your own?

If so, what do you recommend in a printer? What about the long term prospects of pictures printed on a home computer? I want to know my pictures won't start fading in 2 or 3 years.

Does anyone know a website that could help answer these questions?

 

[wtpclc]

I've heard that printers these days darn near as good as photo labs for being long lasting. I don't know of any websites, but I'm sure there's info. Actually, every type of photo processing has plusses and minuses. If you keep your photos out of the heat, light, humidity, and dog's mouth, printed ones should last just as long.

One of my favorite qualities on my printer is the ability to change each ink separately (not one cartridge for all 3 colors). I also have a 2 black in cartiges. One is for photo quality and one is for regular printing, so I don't waste the good ink. I have a Canon i860 and have been very happy with it.

 

[pattyT]

I have been thrilled with the results of my Lexmark X6170 3 in one printer!
I do not do all of my photos this way - the cartridges are expensive
put the clarity is great when I have to scan a photo to use in more than one album or I need that picture right away!

 

[QuiltTeddy]

I have a Canon i850. I print all our pictures and when I give them to someone to look at, in conjunction with some that were professionally developed, no one can tell the difference.

One thing to keep in mind when you buy a printer, make sure that you get 6 colors and go for separate ink tanks. Important to have separate ink tanks because if you run out of "cyan", you don't have to replace the entire tank (I believe Lexmark and Epson). Much cheaper in the long run.

 

[Limmer]

I just have to tell you that I work in a camera/photofinishing store and we constantly get complaints about home printers. Not the quality, but the price. The good, archival paper is very expensive. I was at a Christmas show with all our different suppliers last year and all the companies told us that their home printers (Kodak, Canon etc) cost about $1 a print when you used their printers with their paper. Now I know this has gone down (I am on mat leave and did not go to this years show) but when you can get them printed at a place like Black's (Canadian store) for $.35 CDN or less a print it just does not seem reasonable. They are handy for prints in a hurry or for visitors though.
FYI these were the small 4x6 individual printers with brand specific paper.

 

[AWorldofMemories]

I have a Lexmark and love the quality of the pictures. But........for a lot of pictures I use walmart.com The 4x6 are only .24 and you can either pick them up at your store or have them mailed. I have found that I am paying that per sheet of photo paper and that doesn't include the ink. I only use the printer when I need the prints quickly or enlargements.

Good Luck!!

 

[DISJen]

I have spent a fair amount of time researching this as well. I too am worried about the longevity of home printing and the expense. For now, I am using one of the online services and I have been very impressed with quality, ease of use, and price. I also like the fact that I can store my albums online. I like to send links for my family and friends to view them. I also like the peace of mind knowing that I have copies stored on the service servers as a back up.

 

[Alice28]

I don't print at home; my mom has an HP photo printer and she seems pretty happy with it. I like to upload my photos to Costco.com, and have them sent to Costco to be printed at .19 a picture. Can't beat that. I don't think the uploading is abailable everywhere yet, but man it's handy!!

 

[pattyT]

back to that matter of opinion thing -
i hate my hp printer - lol

i agree price-wise the online companies (shutterfly, snapfish, ofoto, clark) have great prices - especially when you buy ahead in bulk!

 

[Tiger Fan]

I have used Ofoto mostly, but also use Wal-Mart pretty frequently. By biggest complaint with these options is the time - at Ofoto it's the uploading time and Wal-Mart it's standing there preparing your pictures, etc. I am getting for Christmas the new Epson PictureMate. I've done tons of research and also already tried it out - ssshhh - ! I am VERY happy with the print quality. I do lots of scrapbooking and love the idea of printing out what pics I will need for each crop and power planning my pages. I am sure I will still use Ofoto and Wal-Mart for some printing, but I love that I now have this new option. I laid several pictures out from all three sources and no one in my family could accurately pick out where each came from. Epson says 100 years in a glass and 200 years in an album on the longievity of their prints. Even the critics give this little machine a huge thumbs up. I got a fantastic deal too at Staples. It was $199, then I had a $20 coupon, they offered a $20 instant rebate, and I sent off for a $50 gift card that you get if you bought this machine. That was the final push I needed - all those discounts. I like that the paper and cartridge all come together and it's the amount you need to make it work out. Sorry this was so long, but wanted to share my one experience. Good luck to all.
Lisa
Tiger Fan

 

[Fire14]

for me by the time I dink around getting photo just right to print I can run to walmart or sam's have have it printed. I have just started trying the upload to sams way.