Cost of 10,000 prints from CD's in Portland, OR

[keithcf]

I'll be returning to Portland, OR from traveling SE Asia and India,

and have a question re: getting prints from CD's. During my travels

I had film processed and scanned to CD (via Fuji Frontiers), but did

not get any prints -- index prints only.

 

At home, I'd like to generate 4x6 prints from the CD's for cataloging

purposes (quality doesn't have to be perfect -- I'm saving that for

enlargements ;)

 

I have probably 10K frames -- what is the best way to get prints made

that will not cost an arm and a leg? Even at $.10 a print, it's

$1000 -- is there a better way? Home printing? (can't imagine that

would be any cheaper with the cost of a decent printer, paper and

ink).

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Keith

[phule]

What about contact sheet-type prints? Bigger than those index prints on 4x6, you could fit a number of larger images on an 8x10 sheet.

 

Just a thought, I've never had to deal with that many images before :)

[freehueco]

I doubt you'll get it any cheaper than 10 cents per copy. Remember that the lab has to cover the cost of the prints for it to be worthwhile( not to mention the fact that it will take roughly 2 1/2 hours to make that many prints( on a Fuji 340 Frontier)..

[bj_bignell]

Keith,

 

Have you talked to Fuji directly about this? For such a large quantity, I'm sure they have options (financial and/or logistical) other than your local Frontier lab. Ten thousand prints is going to make a HUGE stack!

 

Be sure to post back your solution, 'cause one of us may end up in a similar situation (I'm planning a 6+ month trip to Europe right now...).

 

BJ

[tom_s.]

It certainly won't be any cheaper doing it on a decent home printer. I did a calculation for myself a few months ago, and found that the cost of ink alone is more than the cost of sending the file out to have a print made by someone else. Then there's the cost of the photo-inkjet paper, the cost of the printer, and your time and labor. (Your time is worth *something*, even if you're not getting paid...)

 

Now if only there was a lab with a Fuji Frontier I could zip by on the way home from work... even better, I wish I could upload the files to the lab in the evening, and pick them up in person the next day after work. I'm imagining / hoping in a few years this will be true.

[a_gettles]

Wal-Mart can do prints from CD for .24 each. if you can find one that has two Frontiers say maybe a 390 they can pound that out.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Sams club here develops 35mm film; and makes 4x6 glossies; for 2.58 for a 24 exp roll. This is about 11 cents per print; with processing for free. My own in house color copier can be cheaper; if I take my digital images; and nest as many as possible on an 11x17 sheet; and print the sheet as one image. Here My cost is less than way less than 10 cents; but the nesting; and trimming time is also not free. For me it is vastly cheaper to use film and conventional labs; and throw out the duds.....<BR><BR>Dont pressure the printer to get the job done. All printers have slack time; and overcapacity sometimes. Shop around for pricing; allowing them 2 weeks to print them.

[discpad]

Keith,

 

Kelly is right: Shop around and find a commercial lab that can run them in the off hours... But don't expect miracles. 10k 4x6 prints is 1667 square feet -- And that's WITHOUT margins, or file numbers printed on them.

 

Let's see: For the $160,000 Durst Epsilon I work on, that's FOUR whole 165 foot by 30 inch rolls... At $140 per roll, or $560. That's not including chemistry, labor, wear & tear, shipping about 80-100 lbs, or anything else.

 

Hmmm, after crunching the numbers, the paper alone is 5-1/2 cents per shot... That 10 cent price is actually VERY GOOD.

 

If you cut the square footage down by using slightly smaller prints, then the price will drop. For example, 3 x 4.5 inch prints will cut the job size almost in half, from 1667 to 940 square feet; significantly cutting the cost.

 

Cheers!

Dan