Do you print your own or use a lab?

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #3336281
Ditto

same here.

plus i've had people ask me to do events that want me to be able to print them at the event.

Epson 2200 ROCKS!!! Incredible 13X19s outsource anything larger to a pro lab I use.

For small jobs of 1-5 prints of up to 11x14 I use a local lab for larger jobs or when I need a bigger print I use a varity of online labs.

Not sure how Costco would feel about printing some of my work but i'm pretty sure the folks at Wally World would have a hissy fit

Mike

We use a lab. Everything goes out to Millers, MPIX, or WHCC depending on the order and my mood at the time. It's simply much easier, and very cost effective, to send it out. No maintenance worries, no printer supplies, etc. We do all the color correction, calibrate for their printers, and we're good to go.

Good results!

I was looking at the Canon ip6700d - it has a $30 instant rebate at B&H and it has been mighty tempting...

But so does sending out... Our local store (Fred Meyer's) does good work, but they always loose my order - GRRRR....

Costco is too far away, but they do ship for free (if I could wait long enough) -- but then a Costco membership costs money, and I don't use Costco for anything else....

Tough choices!

I used Mpix for my 16x20 and they did a great job! But I am not sure if I want to pay shipping all the time...

I'm printing with my Canon ipF5000. 16" & 17" roll paper is great. Dramatically cheaper than cut paper. Ink costs and paper costs are minimal. I can print a 16" x 12" print for $2.16 each. The 12 inks give a great gamut and 16 bit printing makes a noticeable difference. And no head clogs!

I use www.whcc.com as well.

does whcc give you their icc profiles for their printers?

I personally think you needed one more option in their which would have been pro lab. I don't equate Costco, Walmart, et all as professional photo finishers. They can do good work but it has been my experience that it is not consistent.

I use a pro lab that is just outstanding in both quality and service. Sure the prints are a little bit more but if you are charging market rates does an extra ten cents on a 5X7 really cut into your margins that much. If it does then you aren't charging enough.

I do have a good photo printer that I can use for those occasions where I need to turn something out in a few hours. I do print alot of my own personal work this way and there certainly is an immediate personal gratification by doing this.

All in all it is really a personal decision if you aren't doing this professionally. For those that are doing this professionally it is a business decision that has to be balanced on costs and quality.

Large quantities of small prints or bigger than 13 X 19 I send to a professional lab. 13X 19 or smaller I have an Epson 2200 thats just incredible.

I print my own. While it may or may not be cheaper, I do get better results than I do when I use a lab. I'm using an R1800 from Epson with Mediastreet inks in a CIS.

J

Now that I have a nice new digital camera (Canon S3IS), I have all these photos on my hard drive. I am not seeing the point of printing them en masse. I would prefer to leave them in digital form. To this end I now have a very nice digital photo frame, the Philips 7FF1/m4 which I use to show my pictures. I copy the ones I want on to an SD card and insert the card into the frame. This frame has a rechargeable battery so I can take it with me; or normally, I have it on my kitchen table doing a nice shuffle slide show. Otherwise, I am uploading pictures I want to share on a web based photo service. So what do I need a photo printer for? Yes, occasionally I need a nice hard copy print which I can get done at the drug store. But I am not seeing the point of converting all these pictures to physical prints. Am I missing something?

What are you missing? Well, at this point in time, nothing can beat a beautifully printed fine art part or enlargement, nicely matted, appropriately framed and properly displayed.

Sure, digital frames are fun and perhaps even convenient. But none of them have the resolution and detail of a well produced (hardcopy) image. I agree it does not make sense to print everything you shoot - but there will be those special images that will look great on a mantle, wall or in a gallery. And I'm not talking drug store printing.

retexan599 wrote in post #3355886
Now that I have a nice new digital camera (Canon S3IS), I have all these photos on my hard drive. I am not seeing the point of printing them en masse. ............ But I am not seeing the point of converting all these pictures to physical prints. Am I missing something?

I use a commecial pro lab - Buckeye Color - to do all my wedding and social event work. There's now way I could produce all those proofs and enlargements as fast or as inexpensively as they do.

For my own personal printing though, I use an Epson R1800 for a lot of B/W as well as color 8x10 work. I may spend an hour getting a B/W print just right before making the final print and I like to have those results right away.