Photo printer ink

I was speaking to an experienced scrapper yesterday, and she told me that using a photo printer at home isn't a good idea because the ink is not acid free, and therefore not archival quality. She sends all her digital photos to a local camera store for printing. She pays 34 cents a picture, which I thought was a lot.

Is there truth to this ink thing? I toy with the idea of getting a photo printer, but right now, I'm experimenting with different upload sites like Walmart, CVS and Walgreens.

Should I quit lusting after my own personal photo printer?

Stepnut

I never heard of that and I print all of my photos on my printer and have worked with other scrappers who do the same. I never take my photos to be printed at a local store. And .34 a print is pricey, I have seen online .15 a photo and I think it was Kodak.

I used to print my own until I ran out of ink earlier this year. That's when I realized if I use Coupon codes I can save money by ordering prints online. Between the cost of an ink cartridge ($35) and the cost of photo paper, it's cheaper for me to order prints for .00 to .15 each. It also saves me a ton of time by not having to sit and print them out at the computer. That's time I could be scrapping instead. The only time I print a photo is if I need it larger than the print I had made.

I used to print all mine, but then I thought the same thing. Not really about being acid free, but about how long these photos would last on paper. It couldn't possibly be the same as having them printed at a photo lab...

There is a difference in print quality depending on where you get them printed. I tried Snapfish @ .10 a print - didn't like the quality. I have tried Walgreens @ .19, which is very quick and convenient since it's 2 blocks from my house. But now I am considering going to a locall professional camera store. They charge .29 I think I am going to order the same photo from 3 different places in order to compare cost versus quality. I truly believe quality photos and prints can make all the difference in the world on my pages. Sorry to ramble! HTH

I print all of mine on my own printer. The quality is great. And now that I have a new printer/scanner/copier (all-in-one), it's really much better. Plus I can buy ink cartridges in a package that comes with photo paper. I've done research on some of this and the HP ink that I use has been upgraded and is safe for scrapping.

I don't know whether the ink is safe or not, but I'd never print my own pictures. My printer doesn't do a good job compared to getting them printed elsewhere. Speaking of which, I just received pictures from Winkflash (my first time to use them) and they are great! Really good quality (I looooove matte finish!), .99 cent shipping, and 12 cents a picture.

if you are hesitant about the archival quality of the inks you would be using- contact the manufacturer- epson, kodak and other companies have realized the importance of printing photos out at home and have made quality inks and papers.

I print my own all the time- often at last minute so using an online service isn't fast enough for me- also I like that I have the ablity of printing my own enlargements at my fingers.

for most people it is more about cost- printing online compared to at home. compare the price of the papers, the inks to what you might spend for the same amount of photos- that may help you decide.

Printing at home using brand name items is perfectly fine.

If you just want to save money, go for the online printing. But for my dollar, I want better quality and nothing online I have used is even close in quality to my Epson printers.

I love my HP and it has great quality. Plus I can print pics of all different sizes and layouts!

I have a Lexmark and the quality is pretty good. The convenience of being able to print when and in the size I need is important to me, so I usually print my own. I have a lot of old snapshots from disposable cameras that I re-do on my printer in different sizes.

I am not a perfectionist about my photos. If the moment we captured at the time is a little out of focus, that is okay with me.

What is important is that we took a picture of what was happening in our life. Like we all know, this is not the dress rehearsal, this is your life.

I have been printing all of my own photos for years. I use only Epson Inks (I have an epson stylus Photo 900 and LOVE it). I print on Ilford Gallerie paper. (Ilford makes regular camera printing paper as well as Ink Jet). The quality of the pictures is the same as having a professional photo place do them-can't tell the difference in a side by side comparison. For me, this is the best way to do it so I can make the photos whatever size I need and my only cost is the ink and paper. I only buy the ink when I have a Coupon for office depot of office max and I get the paper at Sams (box of 25 sheets - 8.5 x 11 - for $24.00.)

I have never really compared costs, to me, it is more about convenience and control.

I print all my pics at home. I use a HP printer along with their inks and papers. They always turn out awesome, I don't think that I could beat the quality . I have been meaning to try Snapfish, but I have heard negative things about the quality. But, I don't want to wait for my pics.

Plus, I tend to use really bigs photos and I can make them any size I want!

As far as safe goes, I know HP inks are safe for scrapping.

If you are thinking of a printer, I would get a regular printer that prints great photos. I highly reccommend an HP. Mine is awesome, I love it! If you get a printer that just prints photos you won't be able to do them any bigger than 4x6. Jus a suggestion!

HTH!!

I already have an HP printer. It's a Deskjet 932C, and I think it prints horrible photos! I use HP photo paper, and the photos are terrible! They have a weird shadowy look, and I would hardly compare them to lab-printed photos.

Is there something I am doing wrong?

Stepnut

Are you using HP inks Stepnut? That can make a huge difference.

Yes, I'm using the HP ink cartridges too.

Stepnut

If it were me I would take it back to where I got it. Otherwise, depending on how old it is...maybe it's just time for a new one.

Well she's wrong I got mine because it is acid free and the pictures will last 100 years I told my grand children to sue if they don't. but a lot of professional and photo shop photos I got are not acid free.
Let me just say I do have a photo printer and all are not made equal. I use a photo paper that is acid free. and there ink. not cheep.
Get a acid pin and check your photos for acid..
If you get one shop around and get the best you can afored.
I got the epson photo R1800 can do 11x14 on it
And love printing borders on my paper. . Anna

By the way not all printers are photo printers or all ink safe so read you get what you pay for. just like having them printed I bet half your photos are not acid free. check.

Check your printer "Preferences" before you print. Mine are set to default at a lower quality and in gray scale, so every time I print a photo, I need to change it to the best quality (about 3 notches higher), the type of paper (selecting glossy photo paper makes a difference), and to print in color (i set it for grayscale to save ink when printing web pages). Then, try printing photos on different settings and see what happens. This might help your situation.

Another thing I found - don't be cheap on the paper. I got a pack of "Everyday" photo paper and it was the worst print quality I had ever seen from my printer. Look for the heavier weights. I usually look for "Premium Photo Paper" The one I have now has a weight of 61 lb.

HTH

This site and particularly this article will speak to many of your concerns. : http://www.wilhelm-research.com/camera/Will_InkjetPrintsLast_2005.pdf

• DragonflyMama Said:

Thanks for sharing this.

Oh my heavens! Oh my goodness! Oh my gosh!!!

Lady Johnstone, your suggestion was SPOT ON!!!! I went into the printer preferences and found a whole world of options to play with! I never even knew they were there. What a difference in my photos! I may be back in love with my HP printer again!!

Thanks soooo much!!!

Stepnut

• stepnut Said:

I am so glad this worked for you! I had a feeling that was your problem!

I went to the site, and my computer locked up. Oh well, I never really had thought about the pics I do at home being any less archival than at the store. I like printing at home because I can make the pics fit the actual lo as far as size and cropping. I use a lot of small pics on lo's, often to complement one large one--lets me scrap more pics without requiring multitudes of pages. But thanks for bringing this up. We do want our work to last.

I bought a spray from acm that protects the items printed. It was states its for digital photos, and other computered printed items, as well as a sealent for chalking and things like that.

I do print a lot of photos, and I also get some developed when I get a good deal. But I like printing from the computer, that allows me to print specific pictures and if I crop a picture wrong I can easily reprint. On some of my pictures, I don't use the glossy photo paper, I use a more matted type of paper.

I like using my printer, I can then incorporate my pictures directly into the layout. I am currently printing out a mock news arcticle about my DH and I'm putting his photo in the article and will directly print it out. I also take pictures and make borders with them.

So for me its not so much about money as it is time and flexibility