Do you print your photos?

nathanm · « **on:** 6 Dec 2007, 03:35 pm »

I have a "gut feeling" that the majority of people who own digital cameras never actually print them but mostly e-mail them around to family, perhaps do the occasional iPhoto slideshow over holidays and share them online. If this is true then it really does make the whole megapixel race completely ridiculous. Even moreso if I factor in my gut feeling that people are using low monitor resolutions. (I think there was a thread around here for that awhile back) For screen use you barely need a megapixel anyway, 786,432 would probably suffice. Hmmm....

So what's the story; do ya'll print your photos out and file them in albums like the olden days or is your photography mostly electronic-based? And by print I don't necessarily mean you do it yourself, it could be a lab too.

woodsyi · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 Dec 2007, 03:42 pm »

I take all my pictures at the highest resolution. Most every picture is saved in a dedicated external hard disk. I keep a digital album on the home network which features selected pictures and video. Then I also use Ritz to print regular pictures and blowups to keep and send. I have also used dot photo on line.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 Dec 2007, 03:47 pm »

Quote from: nathanm on 6 Dec 2007, 03:35 pm

I have a "gut feeling" that the majority of people who own digital cameras never actually print them but mostly e-mail them around to family, perhaps do the occasional iPhoto slideshow over holidays and share them online. If this is true then it really does make the whole megapixel race completely ridiculous. Even moreso if I factor in my gut feeling that people are using low monitor resolutions. (I think there was a thread around here for that awhile back) For screen use you barely need a megapixel anyway, 786,432 would probably suffice. Hmmm....

So what's the story; do ya'll print your photos out and file them in albums like the olden days or is your photography mostly electronic-based? And by print I don't necessarily mean you do it yourself, it could be a lab too.

Stored (loaded to hard drive, website, sent to customers, etc) - almost never printed out here. Your 'gut feeling' has to be right...otherwise there'd still be traditional cameras available still in the marketplace.

I might be a snooty audiophool, but I want a camera that takes lotsa' pictures (cheap) that I can store for perpetuity

Watson · « **Reply #3 on:** 6 Dec 2007, 04:19 pm »

I don't make single prints any more, but I do occasionally put together little booklets or calendars of photos as gifts (using iPhoto). On the other hand, I have a friend who prints out *all* her digital photos at Wal-Mart and keeps them in physical albums. She likes to decorate the albums.

JP78 · « **Reply #4 on:** 8 Dec 2007, 05:18 am »

i have a canon portable thermal printer that plugs right in to my canon digital elph. for 250usd and 30 cents a print, it's a great way to get a 4 x 6 print out of your backpack without a pc, laptop, or power source. it's great for days at the amusement park or family outings where the family can take home seconds. or for guys night out, so all the buddies can blackmail the guy making ass.

navi · « **Reply #5 on:** 8 Dec 2007, 08:42 am »

The only prints I do now are for my folio (that rarely gets looked at- clients just go to my site) I just FTP the files to my lab and go down to pick-up prints in a day or two.

I don't even burn CD's that often for clients anymore!- they just get me to FTP everything.

Ivan

BradJudy · « **Reply #6 on:** 8 Dec 2007, 04:27 pm »

For sharing with family and friends, we mostly do web-based albums.

For our own use, we usually print out two or three different ways. First, we put together a Shutterfly photobook for each major trip or event (usually at least one a year). Second, we print out a couple of 8x10s for our front room which has a couple of frames that we cycle our favorite pictures through - we have a couple more 8x10 frames in the basement that we cycle photos through as well. Third, we'll cycle smaller prints through our offices (5x7s or 4x6s). Lastly, if we have a really nice larger photo, we'll have it printed larger (usually panoramas) and have them printed and framed for home.

Thebiker · « **Reply #7 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 06:20 pm »

I shoot max resolution that the camera allows. Yes I still print, just not everything. Back in the day, when I had more time and while influenced by recreational substances, I ran my own color darkroom for my own enlargements.

This is no different, except for the substances. I print some 4 x 6 stuff for the wife of the grand-kid, but most of what I print is 8 x 10 & 11 x 14. These are hung about the house, sold and occasionally given to a friend who admired on a particular shot. I know I shoot more frames now but that's the advantage to a 2G SD card. I also print about the same # of enlargements as I did before.

I'm just back from the Phoenix area where the zoo puts on a program called Zoo Lights. This is animals constructed of lights and obviously done after dark.....way cool and way too much fun shooting it. Me, my tripod, my Nikon and the wife running the IR remote to trigger the shots aa. The 10 foot spider web is just awesome.

Walt

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Dec 2007, 12:15 am »

Talking about the printing, for me I use Snapfish but there is something royally p--n in the a-- about the uploading aspect of these printing galleries. Snapfish allows just 10 uploads at the time and depending in the connection, it gets tiring fast...When I have 100 pictures easily of an event, the pain is tenfold.

Do you guys know any net galleries that have a easier way of loading up batches of pictures at a time?

95bcwh · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Dec 2007, 01:17 am »

I print all my photos - that's the only way to get top quality print. I have a Canon printer capable of printing up to size A3. I spent so much time calibrating my printer and monitor so that my print will appears just like what I see on my monitor.

I would never use Walgreen/Walmart...

BradJudy · « **Reply #10 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 01:57 pm »

Quote from: Bemopti123 on 18 Dec 2007, 12:15 am

Do you guys know any net galleries that have a easier way of loading up batches of pictures at a time?

Shutterfly will let you drag-and-drop as many photos as you want and then let it crank through the uploads. There might be some limit, but I've done at least 100 at a time. I just start the batch going and check on it later.

drphoto · « **Reply #11 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 03:01 pm »

What technology does Shutterfly use to make prints? Are they inkjet, laser exposed RA4, or what? I couldn't find any info on their website.

BradJudy · « **Reply #12 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 06:14 pm »

I don't know what tech they use for prints. If there's an easy way to tell, I can look at my prints and let you know.

I've also been tempted to move over to Smugmug. I don't know what their photo upload process is like, but they have a great reputation and have some nice controls around who can view what resolutions of your pictures. It's run by photographers and they have a page about trying out different print companies before they selected one for print orders. I hadn't used them in the past because the Shutterfly photobooks is one of our primary print uses, but it looks like they have partnered with a company called Blurb for that now. I might have to try it out.

drphoto · « **Reply #13 on:** 19 Dec 2007, 07:38 pm »

Inkjet prints are water soluble. That would be one test.

I'm not sure how you control matching monitor view vs print w/ these online services. Do they have downloadable profiles? Digital printing can be a tricky business. I had my Epson 4000 dialed in w/ factory ink, but decided to save some money and go to the refillable cartridges from inksupply.com and it's been a complete nightmare. I even have a spectrophotometer and profiling software, but can't nail it down. I had good luck w/ their products when I ran the old Epson 1200.

BradJudy · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 01:49 am »

Here's what Shutterfly says about their printing and profiles: http://crmweb.shutterfly.com/cgi-bin/helpfly.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=555

SmugMug uses EZ Prints for their printing and they have both an ICC profile available as well as an option to get a free reference print to adjust your monitor to match. http://www.ezprints.com/help/IccProfileHelp.asp

ipy · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 08:35 am »

Yes, I started to print booklets to give away to friends. They are normally awe how good the DSLR pics look on print vs monitor viewing. After a while, there's so much you could view using the monitor

. In addition, photo labs are providing more self-servicing kiosk for the DIYers

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Dec 2007, 11:55 am »

Quote from: nathanm on 6 Dec 2007, 03:35 pm

So what's the story; do ya'll print your photos out and file them in albums like the olden days or is your photography mostly electronic-based? And by print I don't necessarily mean you do it yourself, it could be a lab too.

All of the above, but our goal is to have a nice enough printer here in the house. The days have all but died where _Walgreens does our developing. It's been a year since I've taken a roll of film from the belly of my Pentax SLR and carried it to _Walgreens. The turning point was last Christmas when I bought the wife an El-cheapo 6.1MP digicam with printerdock. Darn nice print quality, surprising actually. But the quality of the camera sucked so bad none of the pictures were worth printing. Now we have a D40 so the camera's not an issue anymore. Being limited to 4X6 doesn't make wifey happy so we've been using an Epson 'all-in-one' to print 8X10's. Not bad, not bad at all. Amazing difference in the print quality depending on the brand paper used......I never knew that would matter much.
I've got her favorite photo's 'slideshowing' on her monitors screen saver. kinda like a 17" digital picture frame. I've got a Photobucket account, maybe I'll have them send me a couple prints of some pics I've got. Anybody try Photobucket yet??
Maybe we could talk to JohnR about making prints of pics found in our gallery.

Think about it John, a marriage made in Heaven.

Bob

JohnR · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 12:54 pm »

I've decided to try and not just print but also frame and hang a couple of images from each roll of film. I feel more like I've accomplished something that way

Currently using a Canon inkjet but looking to upgrade to an UltraChrome printer before too long and looking into the carbon inks for B&W

JohnR · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 01:02 pm »

PS. Here's one I just put up a short while ago, at 6x9. It's not all that spectacular, but anyway...

That rock sometimes has loads of birds nesting on it, I need to go back and try again.

TONEPUB · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 04:38 pm »

Quote from: Thebiker on 17 Dec 2007, 06:20 pm

I shoot max resolution that the camera allows. Yes I still print, just not everything. Back in the day, when I had more time and while influenced by recreational substances, I ran my own color darkroom for my own enlargements.

This is no different, except for the substances. I print some 4 x 6 stuff for the wife of the grand-kid, but most of what I print is 8 x 10 & 11 x 14. These are hung about the house, sold and occasionally given to a friend who admired on a particular shot. I know I shoot more frames now but that's the advantage to a 2G SD card. I also print about the same # of enlargements as I did before.

I'm just back from the Phoenix area where the zoo puts on a program called Zoo Lights. This is animals constructed of lights and obviously done after dark.....way cool and way too much fun shooting it. Me, my tripod, my Nikon and the wife running the IR remote to trigger the shots aa. The 10 foot spider web is just awesome.

Walt

I used to live in phx, that's a great event!!