Printing Photos Yourself or At Stores: Pros and Cons?

[Virgo10]

I've always printed my own photos. As long as I use good paper, they come out fairly well. But I'm wondering if, cost wise, that's the way to go.

Has anyone here ever figured out if it's actually more expensive to do it yourself? Those high res photos really do sponge up the ink. Do you get more bang for your buck at the stores with any particular size? I like to do the photos I want to frame in the 9x11 size.

Which stores do you find do the best job? I'm defining best job as quality, price and amount of time it takes to get them back. If you have any other thoughts on this, feel free to add them.

 

[YEKCIM]

If I have one or two photos that I need a print of, I print 'em on my Canon inkjet printer (is it OK to print pix made with a Nikon on a Canon printer?). If I have a bunch of pix that I want 4X6's of (after a WDW pix snapping marathon, for example), I edit them, burn them to CD, take them to my local Sam's Club, load the CD in the kiosk, select "Print All", and come back in an hour for my $0.14 each prints. Print quality is fine and, unlike inkjet, the image won't be ruined by a raindrop getting on it.

I rarely print anything larger, but have done an 8X10 from time to time at Sam's, usually ordering it online from home, via internet upload.

~YEKCIM

 

[Master Mason]

If I want a quick print to give or show to someone, I will print it on my hp, if I want a picture that will stand up over time, I have a lab do it.

 

[Groucho]

I think Mr Mason hit the nail on the head there - any of the inkjet photos I've printed have inevitably faded over time, sometimes surprisingly quickly.

For 4x6s, it's probably very difficult to beat the price you can get from having them printed professionally. The price for larger sizes goes up extremely quickly, though, so if you like 8x10s, you may do better on your own.

 

[jann1033]

i'm not sure how truthful they are being but HP claims their vivira( sure i spelled that wrong and don't have a box handy) lasts a long long time, like decades...personally i haven't printed any with it longer than a yr ago so can't prove or disprove that claim. i have seen costs that say it's more to print yourself for small photos but mine only prints up to 8x10 anyway so i always send them out since i only print ones i want to frame plus i like b&w and don't like the way my printer prints them( some you can get cartridges with more gray shades , mine i don't think you can). i got a really nice 11x14 from shutterfly a pretty lousy sepia from walgreens( i had some free trial things) so i might try mpix next time i print something.

 

[MICKEY88]

I agree with others, for a quick print, such as a pic of one of my nieces when they are visiting, I'll print it on my HP photo printer, for other stuff, such as school events that I want quickly, I send to my local walmart which so far has done an excellent job for me, any large orders of 4x6s I send to fotki, since they are only 9 cents a piece.... for anything professional or that I really care about I send them to mpix.

 

[Furgus]

I print all my stuff up to 8.5X11, hope to get a much larger printer soon.
For everything else I use Mpix.com

 

[Virgo10]

Thanks for the info about MPix. I know there are no stupid questions but this may qualify. The prices that are listed vary according to how many prints you want. Is that for a single photo that you might want 15 of or 15 different photos that you want one of each? I suspect it's the same picture done multiply times, yes? The site says you get a better price if you order multiples from the same file but I don't know exactly what that means.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Store Pros:
* Cheaper for small prints
* Easier
* I can have them printed at a distant store and have someone pick them up rather than printing locally and mailing them.

Home Pros:
* More control
* Cheaper for large prints

I haven't had a longevity problem. I've been printing with Canon inks on Canon Photo Paper Pro. I've got 5 year old shots that still look new. They are behind glass and not exposed to direct sunlight.

 

[photo_chick]

I print 99% of my personal stuff at home. I use an epson R1800 so I am good for up to 13" wide. I get great quality. On cost... enlargements are cheaper for me to do at home. My cost is about $1.80 for a 13x19 sheet (using Inkpress papers and Epson inks) I print 9 4x6 images on one 13x19 getting them at about 20 cents each.

 

[ktulu]

I use a dot matrix.

 

[Anewman]

I use an ESPSON only for emercenies.

With Costco giving me 8x10s at $1.50 and 12x18s at $2.99, I dont think anyone can beat that at home if they factor in the price of the PRINTER into the equation.

And I wont even get into a quality debate.

 

[Zeagle]

I have used mPix over the past few months with great results when sending pics to friends and family. I also have switched to an LCD picture frame over the cost of replacing ink at home.

 

[GrumpyOne]

I also have switched to an LCD picture frame over the cost of replacing ink at home.

How have you liked it? I've given some thought to getting one but they seem to be fairly low rez.

 

[photo_chick]

I use an ESPSON only for emercenies.

With Costco giving me 8x10s at $1.50 and 12x18s at $2.99, I dont think anyone can beat that at home if they factor in the price of the PRINTER into the equation.

And I wont even get into a quality debate.

Since I got my printer roughly 2 years ago no, I don't consider the printer cost. Also I did not buy this particular printer with photo printing in mind actually. I knew it would be great for that, but I went wide format to print my 12x12 papers.

Quality is hard to debate online, there are way too many factors to consider.

 

[photo_chick]

I use a dot matrix.

Are your images in ASCII also?

Seriously, I just pulled the old Tandy dot matrix from DS's room. It is going in tomorrows garage sale. So long continuous feed paper!!!!

 

[ktulu]

I usually send my stuff to target via yahoo photos (soon changing to flickr) and pick them up.

 

[AndrewWG]

I use a dot matrix.

Where do you find the photo paper with those little holes and perforated edges!


I use WalMart if I want printed photos. Usually, I don't print anything but when I amaze myself with a lucky shot or two, I send them in and get an 8x10 for like $2. Can't complain about the quality. I have so far been very pleased. I like Marks Idea of sending them to a WalMart near my folks house and having them pick them up there. I would even save on postage!

Andy

 

[Anewman]

Since I got my printer roughly 2 years ago no, I don't consider the printer cost. Also I did not buy this particular printer with photo printing in mind actually. I knew it would be great for that, but I went wide format to print my 12x12 papers.

Thats cool but if one is trying to break down the cost PER PRINT, IMO the $500 expense would need to be factored in.

As would new print nozzles and smudged(or other) prints than waste ink and paper, not putting home printers down just cant compete with the Costco accross the street from my kids school... in my case.

 

[Zeagle]

I like the flexibility that the LCD frames provide, they are great for work too. it really is nice to easily display several pictures on one device. You have to search for frames that display past 800 or 1024 for sure, but the lower resolution has not bothered me much since I just want to see the captured moment without critique. I can always look at the high res picture on the computer or if I want a pic framed for posterity then that is when I would use a service like mPix.

How have you liked it? I've given some thought to getting one but they seem to be fairly low rez.