[Alibaba]

I realise that the majority of people only want standard prints however last year I purchased my first digital camera joining a couple of local camera clubs for assistance. I found it frustrating with prints from the local shop in respect of the print and sizes, what I needed was control. After time spent with online research and viewing prints at printer suppliers I purchased an Epson 3880 and am thrilled with the results.

Yes I have spent some time improving my printing knowledge and it was a steep learning curve but I find I am producing more B&W and have set up a photo gallery at home allowing me to display shots that I am particularly thrilled with. I am even printing B&W for some club members for the local comps.

I have found that different papers give depth and mood to the photo subject and in some instances higher visual impact. I can also print unusual sizes and multiple photos on larger paper, not available with ordinary photo labs and this in turn can reduce price. For me the control outweighs the printer outlay and I am already ahead in savings compared to decent lab costs. Here an 8"x10" costs AUS$14 mine AUS$2.30.

[denpapp]

Earlier you said "I do rather enjoy tweaking and working on a photo until it is just right. I miss (a bit) the hours in the dark room, though, that smell was always lingering."

If you've used a darkroom, you likley experienced the control and final satisfaction of getting a print just the way you want it to look. My situation was like yours and I like to display my work. After using third party printing for a couple of larger prints it didn't take me long to realize that I needed to keep control of the process to get what I was looking for in the final print. I invested in a 13x19 printer and have never regretted it, but ymmv.

[deejjjaaaa]

why would I want to invest in a photo printer...?

well, very simple - typically when you have a crappy photo (or just a crappy camera/sensor/lens to start with) that is very clear when you look at it on your monitor then you can always print it and claim that it looks perfect being printed @ a'' x b" and we are all stupid pixelpeepers

[mrbdm99]

Well, to bring this up again, I (long story short) ended up getting an Epson Artisian 725. I know it's not a pro level printer, but it is by far and away the best photo printer I've personally used. I don't plan to print everything on it, but using some Red River photo paper, I've printed out a few images that are vastly better looking than anything that I've ordered from Shutter Fly, Snapfish, Wal-Greens, etc. etc. There is a lot to be said about instant gratification, as long as I'm not thinking about how much each print is really running. It does have a scanner though that works via wifi, so that is a useful, extra touch.

[normhead]

I recently picked up a Canon Pro 9500 on sale, and discovered life is full of surprises. Despite using 10 inks, it's not noticeably better than my 6 ink Epson of HP printers, and the ink is too expensive. But, I'm not a 4x6 kind of guy. I don't do photo albums, posting my pictures on line in downloadable slide shows is so much better than 4x6 prints. What I want to print is what I'm going to hang on my wall. After i got the printer, I wasted at least $100 worth of ink understanding what the picture had to look like on screen to give me a print I'd be happy with. I might add, probably the only reason I use photoshop anymore is because of the precise control it gives me over my printing,

I assume, because if you're here, and you have a Pentax DSLR of the 3000x 4000 range or greater, you were thinking about larger prints when you bought the camera. If I didn't want large prints I'd still be shooting with my *ist. I bought my k20d because I wanted to print 11x14s. Staying with a printer that wouldn't print that size wouldn't make any sense. We recently sent out for some 20x30s and I'm happy with what they did. But, I'm also happy with what I produce at home.

The advantage at home is, if it doesn't turn out just the way I want it, I'll learn how to make it better. And the art papers, I just love the museum etching paper for fall colour shots, ads a whole different dimension to your work.

It's a lot for home use. It just depends on how particular you are about what you have on your wall. There are still guys where you can take your work, rent a studio and sit there with them until it's the way you wanted it, just like there was for film.. but, you're going to pay for that, just like in film days.

SO either you pay for help, or learn to do it yourself. Same as everything else. And the same as everything else, if you're careful and concise, it may be that you end up with better prints than you could buy, even if you sat with a technician.

There is absolutely no need to do this, it's just a thing you can do. A way of extending your hobby.

[raz-0]

So, with a number of online and, in some cases, local places that offer high quality prints in any number of sizes and various mediums for less than (cost of the printer not even counted) I can print it at home, why would I want to invest in a photo printer...? It is just baffling me as I was looking at scores of models the other day that would be great printers, but then, when looking at the price to print quality photos with them, I just couldn't understand why I would get one. Other than the convenience of them, and the control to try various papers, etc., I just couldn't figure.

Of course, this is not a cheap hobby once you start factoring in lenses, gear, prints, etc. So, I know that cost per print isn't on the forefront of most peoples minds, but again, I'm just curious. With any number of specials that are floating around ever day, I could print 100 photos online for the price of 25 quality sheets of paper.

I'm with you on this. So far, I'll tell you what I have got.

1) Availability. If inspiration and or free time aare available at 2am, someplace open 9-5 doesn't necessarily help you much.

2) Travel. This covers both convenience and cost. I'm 15-20 minutes form where I like getting my prints, and they are cheap. Some people may be 2 hours from the nearest place they can get reliable color profiled printing. Travel can affect cost significantly.

3) Consistency and control. You have the printer, digital darkroom, and the camera. You are in control of the process. You should be able to get what you want the way you want. You also are responsible for servicing the equipment so you know when things have changed.


4)It's art. There's LOTS of weird things you can do with printers. I've been reading digital alchemy: printmaking techniques for fine art, photography, and mixed media. I ahve to say I didn't think about trying a lot of those things with a printer despite being aware of the techniques using other media.

[Macario]

I don't tpint photo's myslef, always send them to a dedicated print service here in Holland. They also print B&W on real B&W paper. SO you do end up with a silver rpint, which does look much better than the B&W on normal photo paper

[cats_five]

4)It's art.

And you can use the paper of your choice, assuming it's compatible with the printer ink technology - some papers cannot be used with pigment ink printers, some cannot be used with dye ink printers. However it's easy to end up spending a lot of money on paper - and to try to many different papers too quickly and never really get the hang of any of them.

[Spotmatic]

I bought a photo printer for convenience, not to save money.

I used it mostly for this situation: friends/relatives came for a visit. We took photos. Sometimes we edited the photos together. They then went home with a set of prints as souvenir. It worked great.

I use past tense because that happened in the past. Costco just opened a new store less than 2 miles from my house. The printer has now become a back-up printer.

+1 on Costco

[jennverr]

i bought a large format 13x19 printer because i wanted to try to start showing more of my stuff in shows around here, etc, and i like having the convenience and control of seeing it come out, and working with it if i need to... rather than sending it to a printer, having it come back too dark or too light, etc. oh also because i like to wait until the last minute to do everything :-x

[ivoire]

i bought a large format 13x19 printer because i wanted to try to start showing more of my stuff in shows around here, etc, and i like having the convenience and control of seeing it come out, and working with it if i need to... rather than sending it to a printer, having it come back too dark or too light, etc. oh also because i like to wait until the last minute to do everything :-x

Did the same for the same reason plus a friend upgraded and sold me a little used Epson R1800 for $100. I also have a cheap epson nx510 ($60) for scanning/printing documents/invoices and for producing greeting/birthday cards and 5x7 prints for relatives/friends

[RonHendriks1966]

I'm using a HP B9180 that is A3+ printer. Very nice pictures coming out. I mostly prind A4 and made some 50 A3+ prints. Just for fun, convenience. Not because it is cheaper, since I don't think it is. I make more prints having this at home then I would ever do ordering.

[reeftool]

A ps to my earlier post a few month back. I recently bought a Canon Pro9000 Mark II and am quite happy with my decision. I haven't printed any 13x19 yet but the stuff I have done is stunning. Much better than the Rite Aid. The ink is reasonable. None of it is cheap and this uses the same ink as my other printer, a Pixma MP 510 all in one. It has 8 tanks and some more colors. It works very nicely with Lightroom and puts out and almost exact copy of what I see on my monitor which is pretty amazing since I'm using a stock HP LED monitor I bought cheap and I have never calibrated it.

[normhead]

The 13x19s will blow you away....we look for 16x20 frames on sale, and aim to size our prints between 11x17 and 13x17 and custom cut our mats. 19x13 is just a tad to big for a 20x16 frame, and custom framing is just way out of sight in terms of cost. We can often pick up nice frames for as little as $20 and out mat cutter cost $100. Mats are about $10 for enough to make 4 16x20s.

[philbaum]

Well, its a very good question.

I have a very good Costco nearby. And the prices are very cheap, and if it comes out wrong, i just ask to have it reprinted at no cost to me. Lately, i don't even print on paper, i send the images out to get printed on canvas with giclee inks. Then i do the mounting part, pretty inexpensive too.

When i got my first dslr in 2007, i found the learning curve to be very steep. The camera operation, composition techniques to learn, and then comes post processing and software upgrades from time to time. The last thing i want to do is add "printing" as another technical subject to learn. even costco goes down infrequently and has to call in factory reps to fix their machines. own my own machine, troubleshoot printing problems - no thank you.