Two print questions...

[dmm96452]

First, I have my prints made at a local Ritz. They can do up to 8x10 on site but need to send out for anything larger and told me it takes 2 - 3 weeks to get the print back. I asked them if they were making the prints walk back after they were made and they just stared like deer caught in headlights. Is 2 - 3 weeks an excessively long time? It seems like it to me.

Second, how do the photo printers on the market now stack up against lab prints of up to 13x19 quality and cost per print wise?

[mjs1973]

Hey Dan,

2-3 weeks sounds like an eternity to me. Have you checked out any of the online photo printers? I use Mpix, and I'm very satisfied with them. They ship your order the day after you place it, and the shipping charge is pretty reasonable.

As for home printing... I have thought about it, and I just don't think it's worth it. At least not for me. As far as print quality goes, I think the home printers are great. My girlfriend just bought me a nice Canon i5000 something or other printer. I had her send it back without even opening it. It's the cost per print, and the hassle of getting everything set up just right that turned me off. Total control of your work from start to finish would be nice but to me, home printing seems like more of a pain in the butt than it's worth. By the time you get the printer, paper, ink, everything calibrated just right, I don't think you would save any money over having a lab print them for you.

[another view]

Second vote for Mpix. I don't do my own prints either for those reasons, and also because if you don't use it regularly (like a couple times a week if not every day) the ink nozzles can clog. That's why I threw out a small Epson awhile back.

I've seen some great prints from the Epson 2200 which was recently replaced and supposed to be even better. I think the new one is an R2400 - it's about $800 (read a review the other day) and prints up to 13x19. Might be good if you're doing volume (but you have to consider your time investment, too) and if you're using other color spaces like Adobe RGB. All the on-line printers I've come across use sRGB which, in my experience, can produce an excellent print.

[dmm96452]

Thanks for the input. I'll check Mpix now.

[Seb]

First, I have my prints made at a local Ritz. They can do up to 8x10 on site but need to send out for anything larger and told me it takes 2 - 3 weeks to get the print back. I asked them if they were making the prints walk back after they were made and they just stared like deer caught in headlights. Is 2 - 3 weeks an excessively long time? It seems like it to me.

Second, how do the photo printers on the market now stack up against lab prints of up to 13x19 quality and cost per print wise?

I don't think that you could possibly justify printing 4x6's at home (other than for proofing) considering how cheap these are at labs. The larger you print the more worthy a photo printer will be. I figure that a 13x19 print made on my HP 8750 must be 4 time cheaper than a 13x19 made at a pro lab (considering the cost of ink and paper all alone) BUT you might consider that print to be significantly more expensive if you put the price of the printer and of the monitor calibration tools in the equation.

In the end, I love to make my own prints at home for the absolute level of control over the final product and the greater image quality (I do get nicer prints than labs used to provide me) but it's aint cheap. You have to print a good number of pictures to make it financially worthy in the long run (but I was personally more concerned about creative control than financial matters). I doubt you could regret the purshase of a prosumer/professional printer, picture quality wise. You just need to figure out if the investment is worthy for you.

(p.s. a delay of 2 to 3 weeks to get your print do is long!)

regards

Seb

[Seb]

because if you don't use it regularly (like a couple times a week if not every day) the ink nozzles can clog. That's why I threw out a small Epson awhile back.

That is exactly why I chose an HP over Epson. These aren't likely to clog as long as you print once every two weeks and the heads are parts of the cartridges. If things ever get ugly (which has yet to happen) you loose a cartridge rather than the entire printer.

Epson's are great as long as you use them quite regulary.

Seb