Printing Pictures at Home?

[Outhouse]

My parents are asking for a point and shoot digital camera with the ability to print the pictures out on photo paper.

I know a little bit about the camera part but I know nothing about the photo printing part.

I'm looking for recommendations for what to look for, what to stay away from, etc...


Thanks!!

 

[TNhunter]

The Canon photo printers are excellent. I have the i960 and love it. I have seen it being sold for as low as $96 recently. I paid something like $350 for mine. That being said - you CAN NOT printer them at home for the price at WalMart or Costco. There is a site on the web - pephoto.com that will print them for .09 per print. That won't even touch the cost of consumables (paper and ink) for printing them at home. Home printers are for only one purpose - convenience.

 

[Timjackson]

Outhouse.. My wife and I have an HP printer at home. I cannot remember the exact model number right now. But, it was not a high-end unit and is proabably 3 years old now. We use a sony digital camera. It is just like the ones they are using for the game cams(just a different model number and more pixels). All we do is buy some high-gloss picture quality HP printer paper and print the pics out... We have some pics professionally done around the house and I cannot tell the difference.. The pictures are unbelievably clear and bright!! We cut them out and put them in frames and I swear you cannot tell a difference....

I am not sure about it being the least expensive way, but you cannot beat the convenience for professional looking photos...

Now that I think about it... I really do not think it is any more expensive to do it at home. If you factor in how many pics you can print with one printer cartride and how much paper costs, there may not be that much of a difference... You can also print out multiple pics on one sheet of paper and just cut them out....

 

[Outhouse]

Thanks for your replies.

Does the printer actually use ink cartridges or ??

 

[Bishop]

Just about any modern printer will print "photo quality" now days.
One thing to remember. Keep copies of your pictures on a CD. Printer produced pictures only have a 10 year life because they're printed with ink, instead of the normal photo developing process.

 

[karstic]

You start saving money printing your own pictures at home when you start printing 6x9 and 8x10 prints. For smaller prints, it's cheaper to go through a retailer.

 

[Outhouse]

TNhunter,
Have you used pephoto?

If so, are you happy with their service?

Assuming 50 picture that would be 15 cents(with shipping included) a picture. That's farily cheap isn't it?

 

[Lan-Lord]

please please please dont go with the "dots per inch" (dpi) technology if you seriously want to print photos at home. Look into getting a dye sublimation printer.

I have the Sony Picture Station and I will never print at a photo lab ever again. The Sony Picture Station uses the exact same method that a profesional photo lab uses. the DeskJet (dpi) technology is archaic.

But dont take my word for it. Go to Best Buy, and print the same photo on the different printers, and see for yourself which printer does the best.

Dye Sublimation is the way to go. The inks are archieval too.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_review...y_dpp-ex50.html

 

[Lan-Lord]

My above post sounded pretty strong.. some of the DeskJets do okay.. but once I saw the output of dye sublimation compared to a couple of the deskjets, I was convinced.

I compared the new Epson PhotoMate ($200), HP PhotoSmart ($160ish) and the Sony Picture Station ($175). Sony is the only one that uses dye sublimation.

Its very easy to use also.. I could give this to my grandma and she would be a pro.

 

[Marty]

Sony Picture Station @ Vanns.com $239 bundle price with two photo packs.

 

[Outhouse]

lan-lord,
I took a look at the link... tat looks like a cool little printer.

How many pictures can you print from the dye cartridge? how much do they cost?

Do you know it the dye cartridge has a shelf life?

I know my parents wouldn't be printing out a whole bunch of pictures. That would be one thing to take into consideration (in the cost per picture) if there is a shelf life in the dye cartridge.

Thanks again to all for your help!!

 

[shadow]

I have the hp photosmart 1100 and love it. The biggest problem I have with some of the dedicated picture printers is the limitations on the size of picture you can print. Most will only go up to 4x6. With the 1100 that I have I can print a nice 8x10 and frame it (and have) and folks never know that I did it myself. Shop around and get an idea of what you want as far as size of photos to print then go to best buy and try them out. See which one will fit your needs. Also the 1100 has slots built into it for reading some memory cards.

 

[Lan-Lord]

I dont have any stats on the life of the inks. It is more of a heating/melting process than a liquid ink process.. so it may last pretty long.. if the color components going bad is an issue, I would suggest buying the smaller packs. The ink is proportional, so if you buy the 25 print pack, the ink lasts for 25 prints. I think 6-9 months would be a reasonable expectation. The cost comes out to about .53c per print.

.53 is acceptable in my opinion. There is a huge convenience factor, and in my opinion, it is better quality than the .29c inkjet process.

My wife sometimes has friends over and will take a couple photos of everyone, their children, etc and print them on the fly and pass out the photos to people. It is well received by everyone. Also the sony paper is actually a postcard on the back, so just put a stamp on it and a note and send it to grandpa or whoever. It makes sending photos pretty painless.

 

[Outhouse]

The further I get into this the more questions I have... sorry!!

Is the dye actually a cartridge of some sort or is it already on the piture paper?

How long has the Sony dye technology been around?

Are the dye cartridges(if that is what they use) readily available at stores?

I would hate to buy something if that format(dye) isn't going to make it in the market place. Do you remember the 8 track audio tape or the Beta video tape syndrome?

Thanks again!!

 

[Lan-Lord]

dont worry about the questions, keep 'em coming.

Dye:
The dye is in a cartridge. It is more like a "film" that is applied to the photo paper, and then heated. Here is a photo that I took of it:

Creditable:
dye sublimation has been around for a long time. It is how the fuji frontier printer processes its prints (and other labs). (fuji is what most online photo labs use/sams/walmarts/drug stores/etc). In the photo world, fuji frontier is what you want printing your digital prints. Next time you go to Ritz camera, take a look at that big volkswagon sized piece of machinery.. It is most likey a fuji frontier (390 or 330)

Technology:
Read more about dye sublimation here (its a short and good read):
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question583.htm

History:
I know that 3 years ago Sony had a dye sub printer. They may have been out a little earlier than 3yrs though. They were pretty expensive 3 yrs ago.

Availability:
Definitely check the stores near by. Only Best Buy carries them around me. I have not looked hard though.

 

[Outhouse]

How much do you pay for the dye sub cartridge?

I've seen the term "Pictbridge", what is it?

 

[Lan-Lord]

I dont remember the exact price. You buy the paper and ink together. I think a package of 75 pictures + cartridge is close to $40.

Pictbridge is a USB interface that goes from your camera to the printer. It allows you to hook up your camera up to the printer, and print from the camera rather than hooking the printer up to your computer.

 

[TNhunter]

Yes I've used pephoto - 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 20x24. All have turned out great.