Best software for at-event printing? How about printer?

<p>Hello,<br>

I am going to be shooting at a fair where I need to be able to print photos almost instantly if possible. Basically, I am setting up a booth where people can come in, get their photo taken, and get a print. There will be small children there and a high turnover rate, so I need the fastest and most seamless solution. I have access to both PCs and Macs, so feel free to suggest software for either. Ideally, I would like to snap a photo while shooting tethered, have the people approve it, and click print. The final print will be one of those little prints (4x6 I think) that go in a little paper frame with the name of the event (anyone know where to get those frames made up??? Also, is there a printer made for this? I have a large format Epson printer that I was going to use, but that might be a pain. Is there something compact designed for this level of high speed printing? <br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>Hi Brandon, I don't know exactly what sort of volume you're planning, but if it were me, I'd consider a couple of dye sub printers which I'm sort of familiar with. They don't come real cheap, though.</p>

<p>The little Sony Snaplab, model UPCR10L, can print 4x6" prints in 16 seconds, so nearly 4 per minute at full speed. It has card readers, plus it's own LCD screen built in, so you can operate it without a computer, if you want.</p>

<p>For a similar price, the Shinko S2145 prints about twice as fast, 4x6 in 7 seconds - probably faster than you can collect your money. But it needs a computer to run it, and you probably want to hook it up with an icc printer profile in the print driver.</p>

<p>This website has info on both machines, plus others: <a href="http://www.imagingspectrum.com/shinko-s2145_printer-chc-s2145.html">http://www.imagingspectrum.com/shinko-s2145_printer-chc-s2145.html</a></p>

<p>Both these machines should be able to use a different media set to make 5x7s, if that ever becomes important to you. BTW, Sony has sold off their digital printing business to Dai Nippon, so the future of Sony printers may be in question. However, Dai Nippon should continue to supply Sony media. Just a heads-up in case you didn't know about this.</p>

<p>That was exactly what I was looking for...thanks! I didn't realize the prices would be so high but oh well...</p>

<p>I'm sure there's a range of prices for dye sub, but probably all of them with similar "build quality" will be in the same general range. These fit in the sort of heavy-duty to industrial range, vs a consumer grade. They were designed by people who knew what they were doing, with the intention of being workhorses.</p>

<p>Something you might look into, if the cost is a deal-breaker, are event supply dealers who may have rental SnapLabs. In fact, if you're in a large town, with a pro-level camera store, they may even have a couple of SnapLabs that they rent out. If you go that route, you could also put up another sign, "Print Your Photos Here!" Unfortunately, the general public is accustomed to getting 4x6" prints dirt cheap, but 5x7s might be a different story. Anyway,hope your event turns out good!</p>

<p>To address the software question - what camera are you using? If it's supported for tethering by Lightroom, that's probably the best way to do it. If your camera is not supported, the manufacturer usually has software that you can use as the front end to Lightroom.</p>

<p>you might check into some of the canon printers, they cost less and seem to print faster than a few I was just looking at on that link that Bill provided.</p>

<p>The best software to use at an event is NO software. Printers like the SONY SnapLab are easy, fast and the cost of a 4x6 is about 20 cents. While there are other less expensive printers on the market, the per print cost may be substantially higher. <br>

My preference is to avoid inkjet printers. They're slow and the prints don't come out completely dry. Dye-sub printers like the SONY use a ribbon and heat, so there is never any ink and there is nothing to dry. They also put down a protective coating on the print, so if there's a slight drizzle in the air, the print won't run like an inkjet print.<br>

This type of printer will pay for itself very quickly.</p>