Photo Processing Q

[BrittanyElise]

Newbie here with a question for you pros:

Do the majority of you use print labs or do any of you own any professional photo printers? I'm saving for all of my equipment and would like some references if anybody uses/owns their own photo printer.

I'm looking at the a Kodak 1400, 9810 and the HP 8750 Professional Photo Printer. Has anybody seen the results of any of these printers? Or have the annual costs to use such a printer?

Alright, well I appreciate your responses and thank you in advance.

Later Taters!
-Brit

[tony fanning]

My local pro lab is so cheap with bomb proof quality I cannot see myself printing my own images EVER.
Good luck doing your own stuff:)

[GertS]

I'm no pro, but getting a good printer is a difficult question.

If you have a good local lab, which doesn't "optimise" your images to death, then you are lucky. Unfortunately my last lab "started" this and the results were useless.
These images are cheaper than every print you can do. Generally they last longer than most self printed images.

Main questions for buying a printer are
- what maximum size do you need?
- what is your standard size? Can you print it without loss of to much unprinted paper?
- quality of a print?
- costs of one print? (paper & ink)
- costs of the printer itself?
- how often do you need it?
- what about fading colours? how long do they last exposed to UV?
- how quick do you need the prints?
- ink printer, how much is in a tank? go for single ink, if you use one colour more than others, you're losing money.
- protection against finger prints and moisture? Not every self printed image is good.
- Can you work with profiles that the colours are correct? Where to get these? They are dependent of printer driver, paper and ink

Keep in mind that not every sort of paper works with every printer. Even Epson has the problem that their own paper doesn't work with every of their own printers.

If you think of getting a certain model, look for other users and ask for their feedback, they can give you the best information. Do a search in forums first.

Otherwise ask in a forum which labs in your area can be recommended to you.

Good luck

[Phil V]

I wouldn't consider selling inkjet prints, real photo's are so much more reliable and the price is good too. Of course you have to find the right lab.

I only use my inkjet printer for the odd proofing job or to give away as quick prints. Although I'm considering buying a dye sub printer for certain types of event.

[BrittanyElise]

Yea the two Kodak printers that I was/am considering are dye subs, I've just never seen a tangible result from these printers. I definitely won't invest in a printer without having seen the results, let alone her some testimonies. It seems that the popular thing is to bring your prints to a lab, but I'm not sure how that all works. I've got another queston about storing photos without taking space on your hard drive. But I suppose I'll post that later, as I could go on forever.

This guy has a nice digital product overview. http://www.steves-digicams.com/printers.html

Peace in the Middle East
-Brita

[geester]

All professional lab for us....we only use in home printers for personal use. We have a local lab we take our cd's or dvd's to have prints done, but i know alot of others using whcc for their services. Usually you can upload your files via ftp. You will also want to invest in some type of monitor calibration device and software.

[sblais]

Professional lab for me. I can send my pics online and could have them shipped worldwide without leaving the comfort of my home! But I do go and get them at the store once they are ready.

I would think that printing at home would take a long time + with the costs of paper and ink, I don't know if you would save a lot of $$$.

[tim]

Pro lab.

[BrittanyElise]

Thanks, guys! So you just edit your photos with Photoshop, save them onto a CD, and send them to a pro lab, huh? What's the turnaround rate on those bad boys? Any good recommendations for a US lab? I'm sorry, I'm sure y'all answer these questions at least once a day, but I do appreciate your assistance! With a printer, I am not looking forward to spending $1,000 on a printer only to have a $100 monthly maintenance bill, too. I've got the eye for photography, just haven't got the equipment yet so any advice is helpful.

Another question...will Elements suffice for Wedding Photography or do I NEED to upgrade to CS2?

Until we meet again,
-Brittany Elise

[coreypolis]

print at home with a epson 4800. Most album companies won't accept ink jet prints, so then its outsourcing for that, but its so much more cost effective and imho, better quality and consistency, not to mention faster.

online places include
mpix.com
WHCC
Millers

[zacker]

Britt.. I use MPIX.com its great and they do an awesome job.. takes about 4 days or so to get em back... I like them..ALLOT i use my HP inkjet to do 4x6's and for family give aways.. most of the online shops do a good job.. I also go through my smug mug site and shutterfly (when they run the free prints campain!)

[Wedding Shooter]

I do my own in my office. No hassle when I need to reprint that one shot that didn't quite work or get an order off quickly.

Mind you - I think you need to invest in a very good printer before you think about doing this. I wouldn't look at anything less than $500 US and more likely something over $1000 US is going to be good enough.

[GertS]

Another question...will Elements suffice for Wedding Photography or do I NEED to upgrade to CS2?
-Brittany Elise

Photoshop Elements has a reduced set of functions if you use 16 bit, which is important for adjusting colour range. Most functions work only in 8 bit mode. :(

Honestly is not a good work flow if you can adjust colours in 16 bit mode, but for removing the red eyes for example, you have to switch the file to 8 bit, as this function is limited to 8 bit.

Colour correction is a must with 16 bit.
Certain important functions are only in the big version available too.

You can do a lot with Photoshop Elements, but you get to the limits soon if you do it professionally.

Look that you get a set of an older version with an upgrade for saving some $$$s. Some companies offer this as set. Beware of old "unregistered" versions by ebay, as most are not valid. (Hardly any)

[geester]

Never used PS Elements. CS2 is the standard, though. You'll pay a few hundred more, but it would be a small cost of doing business.

If you set up the account, the places usually take cd's or dvd's. You can probably send in a few pix for a test run to check for calibration on your pix. Then just setup an ftp account or send in your discs as needed.

[jra]

CS2 is definately the way to go. I've used Elements and it really slows down the work flow. CS2 is geared more towards high volume processing with some great features Elements doesn't offer.

Edit...oh yeah...I use a pro lab. Why bother with all the extra work and upkeep of a printer when it can be done fairly cheap with absolutely outstanding results by a pro lab.