How do you print your pictures?

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So now I've got a digital camera (Oly 500L)-- but what is the best way to produce high quality, long lasting prints?

I went to a local photo store that carries a good line of digital cameras and the salesperson showed me a couple of example printouts. The camera used was a Kodak D260 and I don't remember the printer but it cost around $600. He said the paper used was very high quality. I was VERY unimpressed with the output. They weren't even close to the quality of traditional photos.

I know there is the option of sending jpgs away to get them printed but at ~$80 for 24 4x6 prints (i.e. 3 on a page, 8 sheets @ $10) you lose any cost benefit of having a digital camera.

Is there a better solution out there? Are there printers that can compete with the $10/sheet solutions? How do you print your digital photos? and how do they compete with traditional pictures?

Thanks!

-- David Coutts (dcoutts@mindspring.com), March 16, 1999

Answers

Try the HP PhotoSmart printer ($199.00 after rebate) and HP Glossy Photo paper (around $17.00 for 20 sheets). I have used this combo for several months with my Nikon CP900 with excellent results. Can't tell them from my film camera prints. Good Luck. Bob.

-- Bob Benson (benson@gbasin.com), March 16, 1999.

I have had excellant results with my HP 722C and HP Premium Photo Paper. I am surprised at how long the ink cartridges last, too.

-- Bob Huffman (huffmun@msn.com), March 16, 1999.

I labored over the decision for weeks. The rub is - until you spend many thousands of dollars you'll never get true photo quality. My three choices land on:

HP Photosmart Epson PhotoEX Alps MD5000

I eliminated the Alps because of noticable banding - even on the display prints at the store. (Salesman: "you don't even notice them when you hold the picture 2 feet away!")

The Epson would have been a great choice except that even the Epson consumer line says the ink is prone to fading in a year. (Saleman: "you can just print them again...")

The Photosmart was cheap - and the output quality is absolutely fabulous. Careful - at least one of the "reviews" on ZDnet has it all wrong - the printer DOES HAVE SEPERATE BLACK! I was scared because the price was so low (199.00 - full retail now). But decided to buy it anyway - and am extremely happy. Mind you I spent 20 years in a color darkroom doing prints - including Cibachrome. I'm not going to say these are even close - but they do compete effectively. Grab a copy of Photoshop 5 and you'll be absolutely amazed at the retouching you can do as an amateur. The technology right now is a trade off - the price of early adoption. It's clearly reached a point now where things are evening out and will clearly get better. At 199 bucks - you can afford to buy the next under-$1000 printer that really does true photographic quality when it comes out - it's a strategy that I think will pay off. I can't recommend the Photosmart enough for it's amazing quality - and it's current hedge in this technically burgeoning market.

Good luck.

Dan Desjardins

-- Dan Desjardins (dan.desjardins@tek.com), March 17, 1999.


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