Home Printing vs Commercial Lab, Pros and Cons ?

I was just curious as to how many people these days are doing their own printing and how many are sending it out?

<p>Hello Jon,<br>

I use Adoramapix, Mpix & Costco, to me it is more cost effective and saves me time.</p>

<p>Look , lots of people follow each of these routes. I'm not sure that having detailed nmbers is going to help you and indeed I'm not sure you're going to get credible numbers. </p>

<p>Whether its best to print at home or at a lab will depend on a number of factors such as how many you think you want to print, how big and how often. Without stating anything about your photograhy you are reliant on others telling you about their printing needs so you can see whether their perception of pros and cons is at all relevent to you.</p>

<p>Here's what I and my family do.</p>

<p>Two photograph but do not print at all.</p>

<p>One prints several large batches of 6" x 4" a year. She does that entirely at high street retail labs, using the consoles, as its miles cheaper and faster than printing here and she does not have the patience or the need to send them away. I believe a lot of people behave like this for small proofs where speed and acceptable quality outweigh the possible quality advantage from printing at home for a skilled user. </p>

<p>I make larger colour and b&w prints for display and sale (when I get lucky). All my prints are made at a lab although I create the files and soft proof against the machines and papers that will be used for the prints on a calibrated screen. The lab prints will cost me a little more in variable cost but of course I don't need to buy/own/upgrade/ manage a printer which yould probably need to be something like an Epson 7800 so I think its a fair trade off. If I made three times the number of prints I'd probably go the other way. I do not believe there is a quality dimension to my decision, though if I wanted to use RA4 print processes eg LightJet - which I did until a year or so ago- then I'd have to use labs because there isn't an accessible domestic solution .</p>

<p>You might consider fleshing out what prints you need to make and in what volumes to get sets of pros and cons that are relevent to you.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>few people print these days, which has put the labs in serious trouble.</p>

<p>This is what i tell my students, If you are going to be printing a few images a year, regardless of size and type, send them out for processing as it will not be as costly.</p>

<p>If you enjoy printing and that workflow then the cost is not important.</p>

<p>I do all my own printing, is it cost effective, hm, maybe maybe not, but i enjoy and when i get in the mood to print i do a lot of printing, but the printers may sit for a long time without use, which is not a good thing. As the Epson rep told me recently, these machines are meant for use, not using them creates problems.</p>

<p>My decision may also be based on my background and experience. I have been doing darkroom work for over 60 years and another person or lab has never touched a negative.</p>

<p>I am an amateur; my work flow may not be appropriate for professionals or others being paid to take photos.<br>

I have my color film developed only; then I scan it on my Coolscan V. I post process the scans in Photoshop. I develop my black and white film myself, usually in the kitchen.<br>

I upload scans of my color pictures to Costco for printing. Since Costco publishes profiles of their printers, the colors of the prints, in my estimation, are true to what I see on my screen. If I upload the files by midnight, I can pick up the finished prints at the Costco store by noon the next day. Most days, I can upload the files during the day and pick up the prints only a few hours later. It is vary convenient and cost effective.</p>

<p>I print my black and white photos in my traditional darkroom (also known as our second bathroom <grin>). If I want digital images of my black and white prints, I scan the prints on a flatbed scanner.</p>

<p>I print documents on a networked Brother monochrome laser printer that I share with my Significant Other's computer. So far, the toner cartridge has lasted over two years; try that with an inkjet printer. Coupled with my flatbed scanner, I have a very good copier, too.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>It depends on my needs (wants) at the time. If I am after a bunch of 4 by 6 prints I will usually send them off to my local Sam's Club where I can pick them up an hour later. If it is just one or two 8 by 10 prints I will probably do them on my home printer. If I want something larger than an 8 by 10 I may send it out to Sam's Club or if I want some extra services like mounting or perhaps a little better quality I may choose some other custom lab like Mpix</p>

<p>The price of high end inkjet printers is coming down. Both Canon and Epson have relly good A3 printers for less than $1k. And their larger ones are also not too expensive.<br>

The issue will of course be the skill of the operator in maximising the quality of the output. If you become an expert at it, as some fine art photographers have become, it saves you a lot of money.<br>

I'm going to give it a go.</p>

<p>I print everything with using an iMac (calibrated with OS X), Lightroom 3 and MPIX. MPIX has never sent me a bad print. MPIX delivers fantastic B&W prints too.]I will never own a printer because it's too much trouble and the ink costs a fortune.</p>

<p>It's probably not as cost effective, but it's more convenient and more enjoyable to print my own. I can get superb prints up to 16"x24", and I can spit out a 4"x6" on a moment's notice.</p>

<p>Every now and then I get the urge to buy an inkjet printer. But the urge passes quickly. Why? I don't print / get prints very regularly, which means at times I could face clogging issues. By all accounts, if you want really good prints on both glossy and matte paper, in both color and black and white, the printer itself is going to cost at least $500 - $700, and take up a big space on your desk. And then the cost per print will not really be any cheaper than Mpix or Adorama or Shutterfly. And I would have to stock a variety of paper types and sizes. All of that is a hefty price for instant gratification.</p>

 

<p>You didn't mention what you want to do with them or the size. Are they for family and friends or pro? Those answer will help you decide.</p>

<p>I am an amateur. I have an Canon IP4600 that I use for print text documents and photos for myself and family/friends up to 8 1/2 x 11" now and then. The photos come out excellent IMO. I could probably get prints cheaper outside but its nice to have the printer to print out when I'm in the mood. Since the initial cost is fairly low although inks do cost more than they should, it's nice to have around. I need a printer for non-photo printing anyway so I picked an excellent units that does both. OH, also it's fun playing around with different types of photo papers at home, something that you cannot really do with the low cost outside services.</p>

<p>I'm planning to try some larger prints and for that I'll go outside. Good luck and whatever you decide to do. Alan.</p>

<p>One thing about sending out prints is that you don't have to worry about the costs of the ink and paper which can be substantial especially for large jobs. Also the technicians who are doing the printing are professionals who are probably more skilled than you are.<br>

Printing takes time and unless you have a pretty stable and reliable workflow, it can take several days, maybe weeks depending on the size of the job.<br>

On the other hand to me the print is the final stage in the photographic process. It gives you control and more satisfaction when you do it yourself, plus you get a chance to get the kinks out before the final print is made. No matter how skilled most assembly line printing outlets are going to spend the minimal amount of time on your prints no matter what they advertise. </p>