benos Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I've never printed a high quality digital pic. I have a little project I'm working on - in the end I want to print 4 or 5 high quality pics, and the pics will also have text laid over them. (I'll probably add the text in Illustrator.) The pics are 5 x 7", and were taken with a Nikon D40 at it's highest quality setting below raw (the camera's dead at the moment, so I can't post its pixel dimension settings), and are at 460 dpi. Not surprisingly, the pic looks wonderful on my computer. I only have laser printers. I have a Brother 4070 that I was hoping would print a nice pic. I went to Staples to get some photo paper, but the only paper they had HP brand paper for laser printers. So I bought some matt and glossy finish. Just printed a test print on each paper, with the printer set at its highest quality setting, and sadly the pics aren't all that great. Not good enough for their goal. Also, the pics on each paper are noticeably different. The matt paper looks much "truer" to the digital pic than the glossy paper. At this point, I'm wondering if I should take the file to Alphagraphics and have them print a sample of their best quality print, before I waste any more time on the project. Any advice will be appreciated. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Best prints are from something like Costco, real photo paper. Depends on how picky you want to be... Inkjet prints are fine for most people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 brian-ordering hi-quality prints is available right within iphoto. apple can have them to your door in days. all you do is click the ones you want in iphoto, they upload to apple's site who uses kodak to create them and deliver to yer place. http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/#print Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Was this on regular matt/gloss paper or Photo-paper. If it's the former it's not going to look right when it prints. You should get good results with the photo-paper. I printed off a few shots with my Canon printer (ink-jet) and they came out reasonable well, and it only has about 300 DPI. Your printer is capable if far more than that so the results should be as good as it looks on the screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLL1911 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Brian, I do print high resolution prints from my Nikon or from old slides or negatives I have scanned. For high end prints I gave up printing it myself – it is hard to get a very good color rendition with almost any domestic printer with any photo paper if you compare it with professional printing. There a few things that needed to be taken care before getting a good quality print. First of all, the original file must have high resolution, and it looks like you have it. You just mention 5x7 and 460 dpi. 240 to 300 ppi (pixels per inch is the correct term) are very good resolutions for a high quality print. The problem is when you enlarge the size of the of the print, the file resolution does not change, and the same number of pixels are now in a larger area, but it looks like you can get 11” x 14” prints with very good quality. These are consideration regarding where you are going to have it printed, at the lab or at home. I strongly suggest you to use a professional lab, but there is a catch – to make sure you are going to have a good print at one particular lab, with the specific professional print they use, you need to make sure the colors and brightness you are seeing on your screen will be rendered exactly the same at the lab – which is not that easy to do. First of all, you have your screen calibrated (with a colorimeter), and ideally use the print profile provided by the lab (somehow equivalent to the printer driver for your printer). Trial and error is often used until it gets done, and it could be costly using a professional lab. What I do is a compromised solution. I do not have a colorimeter, so my computer screen is not calibrated, and I do expect to have some shift in colors and brightness on my prints. Instead of expensive photo labs, I do use COSTCO and Sam’s Club – and believe it or not, COSTCO is a professional quality photo lab which is used extensively by professional photographer (I am an amateur photographer). They even provided printer profiles for their photo printer, by COSTCO location). Sam’s Club is also has a good printing service and I have used it several times. Both are very inexpensive, and currently I am paying $3.99 for a high quality 11’x14” print. Now, how to get the right color and brightness: From my computer I create print files with small changes in brightness and sometimes color correction and I have it printed in 4”x6” size. Based on the results I make additional corrections and print it again until it is right, and then I generate the bigger file for a large print. Important: It does not work if you are uploading the files. It must be done at the store, and the reason is that when you upload you have no control do disable the automatic color and brightens correction that usually are turned on at the print machine. When placing the order at Sam’s or Costco, asked the printer operator to do not apply any corrections to the print (print “as is”) – they will be happy to follow your instructions. Hope this helps, Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Print prices from Apple/iPhoto: Print Sizes and Pricing 4 x 6 inches: USD $0.12 each 5 x 7 inches: USD $0.49 each Wallet: USD $0.99 for 4 8 x 10 inches: USD $1.99 each 16 x 20 inches: USD $9.99 each 20 x 30 inches: USD $14.99 each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 brian-ordering hi-quality prints is available right within iphoto. apple can have them to your door in days. all you do is click the ones you want in iphoto, they upload to apple's site who uses kodak to create them and deliver to yer place.http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/#print Okay cool, I launched iPhoto for the first time ever, figured out that I need to get the pic in the Library to order a photo... signed up for the iPhoto (or iLife, I can't remember which now) account.. clicked to Order Prints... a window popped up that said somehing like "update iPhoto because in Nov. you won't be able to buy pics from your version of iPhoto any more" so I clicked proceed with my order then the window just went away and nothing else happened. So I repeated the Order photos/click proceed with order process and same deal. I don't think anything happened because before I did all that, I set up my iPhoto account, then clicked to Order Photos - before I'd added my pic to the iPhoto library - and and an upload window opened and I realized I was ordering one of iPhoto's test images that I happened to be clicked on (have selected). So I cancelled that, got my pic in iPhoto... and since then once I click to complete the order, nothing else happens. I even tried to order the test image I was originally ordering by mistake, and same deal. I logged into my apple acccount and turned on 1 click order, and still nothing from after click to proceed with order. So I'm stumped with it at the moment - and I gotta go. I'll update iPhoto and try again later. Was this on regular matt/gloss paper or Photo-paper. If it's the former it's not going to look right when it prints. You should get good results with the photo-paper. I printed off a few shots with my Canon printer (ink-jet) and they came out reasonable well, and it only has about 300 DPI. Your printer is capable if far more than that so the results should be as good as it looks on the screen. I printed on both matt and glossy. The guy's theory in the print shop at Staples was that ink jet printers really lay the ink on the paper, so you get better print quality with an ink jet than you do with a laser. (which is all I have). be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Well I just ran software update, and it didn't show that iPhoto needed updated. I'm still on Tiger, so maybe I have to upgrade to Leopard to get the newer version of iPhoto that will work with Ordering Photos. Which isn't going to happen, as Snow Leopard won't run on a Power PC Mac. I know there are online services where you can upload/print photos. I'll check that later. I think I remember someone telling me costco was good for that. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 (edited) I am sure the Order Print option is available in iPhoto '08. It may be under the SHARE option... I just read the rest of your post.... that's a bummer, I wonder why they took the option way from iPhoto '08..? Edited August 27, 2009 by BritinUSA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 +1 Costco.. the software on thier site is easy.. lots of options.. and it's cheap with good quality.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I'm not sure of all the stores but Walmart used to have the best Fuji printers out...of course you might not have the best operator on shift. If you decide to buy an ink jet - the paper is the key. I went through tons of brands/finishes and it was really hit or miss...until I found Ilford paper. They have long been a pro-favorite in the "real" photo development world. Now they have AMAZING paper for ink jet printing. Their glossy is almost pearlescent. They also have what they call pearl which has tiny beads and it is all super stuff. They also have a sample pack so you can try each finish. I have an Epson ~$150 model and you cannot tell if they were inkjet or photo-developed... I use shutterfly.com for my other print needs...great service and haven't been disappointed yet. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 The guy at Staples is a douche. Stop listening to him I can provide far more info on this than you probably want. FLL1911 has some good points. The net of it is this - if the screen isn't calibrated, nothing you print anywhere will look like what's on your monitor (nothing printed can look exactly like your monitor, but that's another story...). There are some simple, inexpensive solutions to this (the Huey is supposed to work pretty well for around $100). On top of that, if you have not calibrated the printer and paper combination, and then profiled your photo via soft proofing (in Photoshop, for instance), nothing you print out on that printer with that paper has much hope of actually matching what's on your now calibrated monitor. You can get close with a lot of trial and error printing (wasting paper and ink), etc, but... With a calibrated monitor, you'll see what you've really got - and then you should get reasonable results from most print providers that use at least some modicum of color control in their process. For snapshot type of stuff, I use SmugMug or Mpix.com - both do a reasonable job. Neither compares to a pro print house for art quality work (on any paper surface, photo paper or otherwise), but they both turn out decent prints. I understand Costco is in the same boat, but haven't used them. Its not just a matter of which machine they're using, or which operator is on it - though both of those things help a lot in an unskilled environment (WalMart is extremely unskilled). I've made some prints at WalMart, the local HEB, the other places I've mentioned, and a couple of pro print houses. In all respects, the pro shop prints beat the others hands down (color accuracy as compared to my calibrated monitor - that is, they have a color managed workflow; dynamic range - again, well managed workflow on their end; handling of my prints - no scratches, dust, or wrinkles; etc, etc, etc). Of course, we're talking about the difference between a Fuji or Noritsu press on "auto-magic-ish" mode, and a professionally run LightJet 5000, so... I disagree with Matt's assertion that the best prints come on real photo paper. With proper profiling, inkjet prints (aka giclee) on good papers are quite attractive, frequently better than photo paper prints, depending upon the subject matter (like, try to get good B&W prints on photo paper and then compare to a good, pro giclee print - and then look back at old school wet darkroom stuff... the giclee prints beat the snot out of current dry darkroom B&W processes on photo paper). But... you're not going to get that out of a cheap inkjet printer with no calibration - regardless of whether the printer says "Photo" on it or not. Anyway.... in many respects, it boils back down to how much time do you want to spend, and how much money (time is more valuable in this case, as it can take a lot of time to build the skills w/ the color management and soft proofing stuff, etc...)... Getting your prints from some place other than your desktop inkjet will more than likely help a lot. Joel's gotten lucky in his case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caspian guy Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 (edited) For my money if you want you digital images to look like photographs when printed find someone who uses a light jet printer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LightJet This basicaly uses what amounts to a laser printer to expose traditional photo paper which is then processed like a normal photo. (I used to use a service called mpix.com which produces excelent products.) Oh and a +1 to xre's comment about having you monitor calibrated. Without doing that no telling what you'll get. I have a cheap device spyder 2 I think ( I think it was $80) that hangs over the monitor and then runs through a process to produce a profile. Edited August 27, 2009 by caspian guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 For my money if you want you digital images to look like photographs when printed find someone who uses a light jet printer.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LightJet This basicaly uses what amounts to a laser printer to expose traditional photo paper which is then processed like a normal photo. The Noritsu and Lightjet printers (well, except a certain line of Noritsus) do the exact same thing... (I used to use a service called mpix.com which produces excelent products.) They do a decent job - but like I said above, it depends highly upon the processes and folks running the process and machines. Mpix is a division of Millers - different level of service (Mpix is volume, open to the masses) - so they don't quite follow the same level of process as you might get from the Millers side of the house, or from another quality pro house (I've used Calypso and West Coast Imaging). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caspian guy Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 For my money if you want you digital images to look like photographs when printed find someone who uses a light jet printer.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LightJet This basicaly uses what amounts to a laser printer to expose traditional photo paper which is then processed like a normal photo. The Noritsu and Lightjet printers (well, except a certain line of Noritsus) do the exact same thing... (I used to use a service called mpix.com which produces excelent products.) They do a decent job - but like I said above, it depends highly upon the processes and folks running the process and machines. Mpix is a division of Millers - different level of service (Mpix is volume, open to the masses) - so they don't quite follow the same level of process as you might get from the Millers side of the house, or from another quality pro house (I've used Calypso and West Coast Imaging). I bow to your far superior knowledge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Thanks for all the great details everyone! This thread might turn into a nice resourse for future photo printers. I'll never own another ink jet printer though... so I'm off to the print shop. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I sent a couple off to Apple (via iPhoto) last night just to see how they turn out. Even with the shipping it worked out about $5 less than a local camera store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz-0 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Best bang for the buck is costco. They actually have color profiles online for their individual printers. http://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/ Of course then there is the issue of color management and the fact that a display (emissive) is not a print (reflective). Only downside is that you only have two papers to choose from. But then again, I can get a 12x18 print for less than $3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 Thanks for all the great details everyone! This thread might turn into a nice resourse for future photo printers.I'll never own another ink jet printer though... so I'm off to the print shop. be Before I could do that, bdpaz (Brad) PM'd for me to come his print shop (conviently about a mile from me) and print them out for me. Ain't the forum great. Holy crap, his place gave a whole new meaning to "print shop." He printed some samples from a "printer" that was about 10 feet square and over 6 feet tall! I think the model was a Limba 130. And I even got a tour and some Photoshop lessons out of the deal. Way cool. He's the real deal. And the pics look great. So onward and upward. Thanks Brad. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Lambda 130 http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professiona...rstLambda.jhtml - another one of those silly "lasers printing to wet process photographic paper" devices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 Lambda 130 Thanks! (I wasn't sure on the spelling.) be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 My wife is a huge fan of shutterfly.com The photos we get look like photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I sent a couple off to Apple (via iPhoto) last night just to see how they turn out. Even with the shipping it worked out about $5 less than a local camera store. Just got my pictures back from Apple. They came out good. I think I'll be using them again for some of my Nationals pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtBob Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I have a Lexmark Z705 that I got a couple years ago for printing photos. The main problem I had was that the ink took forever to dry, and never did look as good as Costco's prints. For all the cost of the printer, ink and photo paper.... I just could not beat Costco or Snapfish.com. I think they are cheap and easy, plus they both have photo editing options within. The photos I take now (Fuji S7000) I print almost exclusively from Costco, and I couldn't be happier, except for the fact I need a better camera... Well, I say need, the wife says want.... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Just some general advice for anyone printing at home. Buy matching name brand ink and paper for your photo printers. The balance between ink chemistry, paper properties, and internal image processing is key to gettting a good home printed photo. It also helps to select the exact paper type in the printer driver, rather than using the 'auto' mode. If the paper has barcodes on the back, the 'auto' mode can be trusted. Also, if you use print services from CVS, Walmart, Tesco (UK), or Snapfish, there is a good chance you'll get inkjet. I am not making any statements about the cost/quality compared to other methods, since I'm not here to go down that rat hole or start a flame war. I just want everyone to understand how good an inkjet photo can look if you use the right paper and ink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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