michael_s10 Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 <p>I recently purchased an Epson R3000 printer, and having figured out the in and outs of color management with it (as well as a few finicky communications issues), I have some nice prints to hang on the walls.</p> <p>Are there any options that are less expensive than taking them to a frame shop that are better than scotch tape and thumbtacks?</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howard_m Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 <p>lots and lots of online frame shops (I use framedestination.com) for a whole lot less $$. You may also want to look at places like Michael's (crafts shops)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddler4 Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 <p>Lots of options. You can get nice Nielsen photo frames with UV glass and precut mat inexpensively. I buy mine at Blick, but I think you can get them at B&H too. (they are actually called "photo frames"). However, there is a catch--the rabbet is extremely narrow, so any chipping on the edge of the glass will show. I have had zero problems with 11 x 14 frames for 8 x10s, but I did get a couple of 16 x 20s (for 11 x 14s), the largest you can buy, with glass chipped in shipping. Blick replaced them. You can cut your own mats if you are willing to invest in a mat cutter. I have the Logan 450, which has worked fine and comes with the right stuff for 4 ply mats. You need an additional cutter for 8 ply. There are a bunch of places that sell frames in pieces, to your specifications, e.g., American Frame, but some will ship large ones only with acrylic, not with glass, and at least one does not even sell UV glass. I have been wondering what to do about larger frames, and I think I am going to buy the frame and back board from one of the online vendors, cut the mat myself, and buy cut UV glass from a nice neighborhood framer nearby.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveH Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 <p>I personally like American Frame as an online frame shop. I think their prices are reasonable, and their service is excellent. I have had them ship frames/mats/acrylic/foamcore suitable for 20x30 prints (meaning about 24x34 frames) without damage, and on time. If you have some woodworking skills, you can make frames yourself, and buy mat board and glass at local art supply places. For pre-made frames and mats, Michaels does a pretty good job, and they often have sales. As a general rule I like 16x20 mats for 8x10 and 11x14 prints, and 20x24 mats for 16x20 prints. Average viewing distance for prints is about twice the length of the diagonal. Have fun. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveH Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 <p>I personally like American Frame as an online frame shop. I think their prices are reasonable, and their service is excellent. I have had them ship frames/mats/acrylic/foamcore suitable for 20x30 prints (meaning about 24x34 frames) without damage, and on time. If you have some woodworking skills, you can make frames yourself, and buy mat board and glass at local art supply places. For pre-made frames and mats, Michaels does a pretty good job, and they often have sales. As a general rule I like 16x20 mats for 8x10 and 11x14 prints, and 20x24 mats for 16x20 prints. Average viewing distance for prints is about twice the length of the diagonal. Have fun. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_s10 Posted December 21, 2012 Author Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>Howard, Dan & Steve - these are great suggestions. Thanks so much!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_shearman1 Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>Get a Logan matt cutter for about $100 and it will pay for itself because you can buy matt board in bulk and in the largest sizes and cut it yourself. Both matt board and aluminum section frames can be bought online at basically wholesale prices, and other frame styles are available as well. If you can master color management, you can easily master framing. I would never pay a frame shop. That would be like paying a photographer when everybody knows all you need to take good pictures is one of those $400 digital cameras. :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_s10 Posted December 21, 2012 Author Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>Craig - <br> Getting one of those $400 digital cameras is how this whole mess started. Then it was a $1000 camera. Then lenses. Then lights. Then another camera body. Then books. And seminars. And software. And wide gamut monitors. And calibrators. And retouching videos. </p> <p>Does it ever stop? :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 <blockquote> <p>Does it ever stop? :)</p> </blockquote> <p>Happily, no! </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddler4 Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>Re a mat cutter: the Logan 450 I use costs about $150. I did not buy it to save money. Lost of framing options come with high-quality mats at a low price. For example, the Nielsen photo frames come with a very nice 8-ply mat that is frankly nicer than the stuff I cut myself. for my purposes, the main reason to buy a mat cutter is that pre-cut mats don't always match the aspect ratio in which I want to print. A mat cutter lets me print in any size and aspect ratio I want, without having to pay a framer.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_s10 Posted December 21, 2012 Author Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>Dan - </p> <p>That's kind of why I bought a printer. Economically, it doesn't really make sense compared with the inexpensive options for printing out there - but it satisfies my inner-control-freak (as well as my lack of patience to wait for the prints)</p> <p>I've found some online options that allow quite a range of customized art and frame sizes - I haven't done an economic analysis yet, but I think I will try doing some online and see what happens.</p> <p>Mike</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starshooter Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>Yes, Virginia ther is a Santa....whoops, different story. Yes it can all stop. I too have an obscenely expensive inkjet printer, more hungry ink tanks than Lana Turner had husbands, a calibration this and a calibration that and software up the kazoo. Not to mention photo prints that look kinda fake with the colors not right. A printer that used 17 colors of ink when all I print is monochrome.<br> However it will go away soon. As soon as I get my "dip and dunk" wet darkroom put totether. Progress is the other direction, folks. Live with it.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>I think Wayne is scolding us for using a digital workflow because he couldn't get his colors right. But I'm not quite sure!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_s10 Posted December 21, 2012 Author Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>I must say that once I figured out the intricacies of color printing with the R3000, I am *very* happy with results. And by intricacies I mean that when using Photoshop managed colors the Epson print preview window looks absolutely atrocious, but the print matches what was shown in PS (or lightroom).</p> <p>I'm not sure how switching to a film based workflow would help me out. I'd still need a bunch of equipment to develop the negative and make the print. And I'd still need to be able to dodge and burn. Most of all, I'd still need to have expertise in different types of film, developers, etc. And I guaranteed you that the first results would be muddy, off color, and god knows what else.</p> <p>In the end, making a print takes effort and knowledge - I'm doing the former and working on the latter. It's really a rewarding endeavor.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_shearman1 Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 <p>Does it ever stop? :)<br /><br />No!<br /><br />For me, it started with an Instamatic in second grade in 1967, and an 8mm Brownie movie camera a couple of years later. I've gone from instatmatic to medium format to 35mm to large format to digital. I've also done movies/video in everything from 8mm movie film to HD digital video. And I also collect movies on 16mm and genunine 35mm movie theater film, complete with a pair of 500 pound carbon arc theater projectors. My stuff takes up more than half our basement, and my wife refers to be as an "infinite pit of need." :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith reeder Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 <blockquote> <p>A mat cutter lets me print in any size and aspect ratio I want, without having to pay a framer.</p> </blockquote> <p>Which does, of course, save you money...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaymondC Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 <p>You guys in America can get mail order precut mat boards right? <br> We have pay for ours to be custom cut for us .... so cost more ...... There are also mat cuttes, I got one from the USA and imported it. As for the printer, I don't think it makes sense even in the USA cos the lab prints are cheaper than us but you can also buy inkjet ink and paper cheaper than us so same conclusion. I find that 8x10 it breakevens if you make no print errrors and your own time is free, even 16x10 breaks even. Smaller than 8x10 for me is cheaper to be done outside, but those are snapshots anyway so one can just use a mall for it. Kiosk style. Unless one is printing on true matte paper or thick paper (real pro labs) self printing doesn't make money sense. And one hasn't even figured out how to get back the initial printer investment. Which is by doing own prints cheaper than outside and use those savings ... for that $899 or whatever printer cost.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_sudduth Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 <blockquote> <p>Yes, Virginia ther is a Santa....whoops, different story. Yes it can all stop. I too have an obscenely expensive inkjet printer, more hungry ink tanks than Lana Turner had husbands, a calibration this and a calibration that and software up the kazoo. Not to mention <a id="itxthook0" href="00b9OF?start=10" rel="nofollow">photo<img id="itxthook0icon" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" alt="" /></a> prints that look kinda fake with the colors not right. A printer that used 17 colors of ink when all I print is monochrome.<br /> However it will go away soon. As soon as I get my "dip and dunk" wet darkroom put totether. Progress is the other direction, folks. Live with it.</p> </blockquote> <p>Costco and Sam's club do large prints for only a few dollars a pop. Calibrate your monitor. Then <a href="http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/Profiles/Texas_profiles.htm#TX">download a printer profile for the printer at Costco</a> you want to use. Embed the profile and then upload your picture to the Costco website. Usually within a couple of hours your print is ready. With Sam's there typically aren't profiles. Just use sRGB and turn off their auto adjustments. Seriously unless you are some kind of commercial outfit cranking out a large volume of prints I don't see how owning your own setup is economical. 20x24 prints are $7.96 at Sam's. If you are doing black and white you have to order larger than a certain size to ensure they use their injek printer. Their other printer is a Fuji Frontier at my Sam's club and you can end up with a color cast. The inkjet though has multiple gray ink cartridges and gives you a neutral black and white print.</p> <p>I shoot film and darkrooms are cool... but they are hardly necessary to get a decent print. Check out what one of the warehouse stores can do for less than $8.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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