| A lot of industries have had scares with the advent | | | | tracked down a cheap bulk paper source, and found |
| of the digital age. Yellow Pages has never sold so | | | | a place to buy cheap ink cartrisdges, it could well be |
| little advertising in its history, newspapers are | | | | worth it. |
| struggling to get people to pay for content … and | | | | Quality of professional photo printing |
| then there's the corner photo store. When digital | | | | Some people say that they can always tell a |
| cameras came along, with the ability to print your | | | | professionally printed photo by its quality – and |
| own photos at home, many people saw the death of | | | | simply won't stand for home-printed pictures. This is |
| the corner photo store as imminent. But despite the | | | | debatable – but photo shops certainly dfon;t |
| relative cheapness of photo paper, printer cartridges | | | | have entire rooms full of equipment for nothing! |
| and ink refills, that old corner store still hasn't rolled | | | | Other issues |
| over and retired. Why not? We investigate whether | | | | Quality and price are the major factors to think |
| it is truly worth printing your photos at home. | | | | about, but consider also that: |
| Costs involved in home photo printing | | | | - Photos printed at home are printed in complete |
| When you choose to print photos at home, there | | | | privacy |
| are several costs to consider: | | | | - It is much easier to just hit a couple of buttons on |
| - The cost of special photo paper | | | | the computer than take your memory card to the |
| - The cost of genuine ink cartridges or laser toner | | | | print shop |
| (aftermarket ink may not be recommended) | | | | - vNot everybody has access to the cheapest |
| - The cost involved in getting a printer that prints | | | | professional photo prints – prints are much more |
| high enough resolution to create comparable quality | | | | expensive in country areas, for example |
| Costs involved in professional photo printing | | | | - Will you increasingly be uploading photos to |
| When you choose to have your photos printed | | | | Facebook, Flickr etc rather than printing them in the |
| professionally, there is just one cost to consider | | | | future? |
| – the cost per print! It's much easier to | | | | Tips for home photo printing |
| determine this than it is to add up all the costs above | | | | Here are some tips to ensure you get the best |
| and figure out how many photos per printer cartridge | | | | quality, and cost effectiveness, out of your home |
| or ink refill you can print, how many prints the | | | | photo printing: |
| machine makes over its life, and factor in the cost of | | | | - Use manufacturer-recommended ink and paper. |
| the paper. In some cases these costs might not be | | | | They are made to work together. |
| fixed, anyway. If you take care of your printer, it | | | | - Print rush orders, small batches of photos, and large |
| might last for thousands more prints than if you | | | | photo sizes at home. For ordinary sized batches of |
| never clean it. If you choose a printer with a mixed | | | | ordinary sized photos, take them to the store. |
| tri-colour ink cartridge, your prints might cost you | | | | - Always choose printers that have individual colour |
| more than if you choose one with separate colour | | | | ink cartridges, rather than a tri-color printer cartridge. |
| printer cartridges. | | | | Printing photos at home has a lot of benefits – |
| Quality of home photo printing | | | | sometimes pricing is one of them. Make sure you |
| The quality of photos that come out of a home | | | | understand your printer and the costs involved |
| printer can be amazing … if you're prepared for a | | | | before you dedicate yourself to the idea of home |
| much higher initial cost than ordinary users have. If | | | | printing, though! |
| you'll be printing a lot of photos at home, have | | | | |