Beginner How do I go about printing and sending?

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EJAMES

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Ed
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I want to produce prints but I don't know much about the process and how to go about it. Should I print them myself or go to a printers for better quality?
Anybody got advice?
 
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Depends on the size you want to print and your aims for those prints. Even cheapish All-in-one printers like Canons (specially the newer 6-ink ones) produce pretty nice A4 size prints. I'd definitely go with printing some of your own to start with; you get to experiment a lot more easily. If you want to go A3 or larger, the money for printer and paper goes up (though the ink price per ml probably goes down), so at that point you need to decide how frequently you will print at those sizes. Sending away is pretty cost-effective, specially if you batch up some print jobs so as not to get too badly hit by the postage charges.
 
ChrisR said:
Depends on the size you want to print and your aims for those prints. Even cheapish All-in-one printers like Canons (specially the newer 6-ink ones) produce pretty nice A4 size prints. I'd definitely go with printing some of your own to start with; you get to experiment a lot more easily. If you want to go A3 or larger, the money for printer and paper goes up (though the ink price per ml probably goes down), so at that point you need to decide how frequently you will print at those sizes. Sending away is pretty cost-effective, specially if you batch up some print jobs so as not to get too badly hit by the postage charges.
Click to expand...
I'll buy a printer soon and see how some of my images turn out on A4. I don't think A3 is necessary yet anyway. Thanks a lot Chris.
 
Prints from an average home printer can be cheaper and probably better quality from an average online printer. Prints from one of the exceptionally good home printers Epson SC P600 or similar and above can be as good as exhibition quality prints from a reputable online printer and possibly cheaper. But to reach that stage takes quite a bit of "faffing about" as some people call it :)
Even with archival inks and great papers it does actually work out reasonably economical but it does admittedly require a fair outlay in time as well as money to achieve that standard. I would certainly recommend getting a cheaper printer to see how you get on and also find out if you want to put the effort required into it. I perfectly understand people not wanting to bother but on the other hand it's pretty cool seeing a great print emerging, every bit of it your own work. Some say it may help being a control freak as well. They may be right.
:)
 
edjamesjones said:
I want to produce prints but I don't know much about the process and how to go about it. Should I print them myself or go to a printers for better quality?
Anybody got advice?
Click to expand...

Producing a good print starts with producing a good image on the computer. By that I mean one that is suitably sharpened, with sufficient highlight and shadow detail, etc, The next trick is to get the printer to produce something like what you see on screen!
Producing a high quality print has many variables and can be a long frustrating process, but it depends on the quality you want and what the intended usage is, eg are you printing exhibition prints, fine art prints for a client to stick on their wall, or snapshots for friends and family?
If the absolute highest quality isn't a factor, then a cheap home printer or sending to a lab like DS colour or Photobox will produce decent results, and I'm told that some higher end labs produce excellent quality, but for ultimate control over the process, and dare I say it the highest quality, then printing your own on a decent printer is hard to beat.
 
gerry s said:
Prints from an average home printer can be cheaper and probably better quality from an average online printer. Prints from one of the exceptionally good home printers Epson SC P600 or similar and above can be as good as exhibition quality prints from a reputable online printer and possibly cheaper. But to reach that stage takes quite a bit of "faffing about" as some people call it :)
Even with archival inks and great papers it does actually work out reasonably economical but it does admittedly require a fair outlay in time as well as money to achieve that standard. I would certainly recommend getting a cheaper printer to see how you get on and also find out if you want to put the effort required into it. I perfectly understand people not wanting to bother but on the other hand it's pretty cool seeing a great print emerging, every bit of it your own work. Some say it may help being a control freak as well. They may be right.
:)
Click to expand...
That's true, none of this is urgent so I'll probably buy a printer sometime in the future, thanks.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
Producing a good print starts with producing a good image on the computer. By that I mean one that is suitably sharpened, with sufficient highlight and shadow detail, etc, The next trick is to get the printer to produce something like what you see on screen!
Producing a high quality print has many variables and can be a long frustrating process, but it depends on the quality you want and what the intended usage is, eg are you printing exhibition prints, fine art prints for a client to stick on their wall, or snapshots for friends and family?
If the absolute highest quality isn't a factor, then a cheap home printer or sending to a lab like DS colour or Photobox will produce decent results, and I'm told that some higher end labs produce excellent quality, but for ultimate control over the process, and dare I say it the highest quality, then printing your own on a decent printer is hard to beat.
Click to expand...
I think printing them myself will be how I'll go when I start, thanks.
 
Good luck with it... any problems just ask... promise to try and resist the buy printer and envelopes type help.
:)
 
Hi,

I have used an online photo lab (White Wall) in the past for a few prints, including close to A3 in size, and was happy with results. You can provide them with colour profiles, and it is easy enough to use.
My other experience was with a photo lab in Madrid, and that was great, but mostly because I talked to someone who knew about their job - and they complimented on my photo... :)
 
Unless you spend a lot of money, the quality on a home printer will be nothing like a proper print on good paper. I have used DSCL and to show how good they are get the same pic printed at your local tesco... worlds apart. Yes, one print will set you back around a fiver as postage takes up a huge chunk, but no hassles with ink, paper, plus all the waste when you do it incorrectly.
 
l.saint said:
Hi,

I have used an online photo lab (White Wall) in the past for a few prints, including close to A3 in size, and was happy with results. You can provide them with colour profiles, and it is easy enough to use.
My other experience was with a photo lab in Madrid, and that was great, but mostly because I talked to someone who knew about their job - and they complimented on my photo... :)
Click to expand...
I'll check white wall out, thanks
 
cambsno said:
Unless you spend a lot of money, the quality on a home printer will be nothing like a proper print on good paper. I have used DSCL and to show how good they are get the same pic printed at your local tesco... worlds apart. Yes, one print will set you back around a fiver as postage takes up a huge chunk, but no hassles with ink, paper, plus all the waste when you do it incorrectly.
Click to expand...
Seems like DSCL is where I'll turn to, thank you.
 
cambsno said:
Unless you spend a lot of money, the quality on a home printer will be nothing like a proper print on good paper. I have used DSCL and to show how good they are get the same pic printed at your local tesco... worlds apart. Yes, one print will set you back around a fiver as postage takes up a huge chunk, but no hassles with ink, paper, plus all the waste when you do it incorrectly.
Click to expand...
When you get the hang of it it IS a proper print and if you get the hang of it you WONT do it incorrectly.

Just saying

:)
 
While I'm in favour of print labs for the quality stuff, there are things you'll learn from printing your own even on a cheapish printer with A4 reasonable paper, that will be really helpful in preparing images to send out. Basically, it's cheap and quick to iterate. It turns out that getting an image to look good on the screen does not necessarily mean it looks as good on the printer as it might. So, print, adjust, print, adjust, print etc (I'm looking at two versions of my current effort on the desk, and seeing them in print has already given me ideas for adjustments to improve them), then send off for that final quality print.
 
ChrisR said:
While I'm in favour of print labs for the quality stuff, there are things you'll learn from printing your own even on a cheapish printer with A4 reasonable paper, that will be really helpful in preparing images to send out. Basically, it's cheap and quick to iterate. It turns out that getting an image to look good on the screen does not necessarily mean it looks as good on the printer as it might. So, print, adjust, print, adjust, print etc (I'm looking at two versions of my current effort on the desk, and seeing them in print has already given me ideas for adjustments to improve them), then send off for that final quality print.
Click to expand...
You're right, seeing rough copies is important. Thank you.
 
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