Photography Lab THIS SPACE OPEN FOR ADVERTISEMENT. YOU SHOULD BE ADVERTISING HERE!
A place to display digital masterpieces, enhance photography skills, photoshop, and share photo tips with one another... |
 | 
06-13-2012, 09:05 PM
|
#1 | | NOOB, Not Quite a Regular!
Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: van
Posts: 44
Thanked 57 Times in 11 Posts
| Buying photo printer vs photo lab
Just curious to see how many people here use a photolab or use their own photo printer for printing photos? If you do use a photo lab where do you go? If you use a photo printer what make and model do you use?
| 
|  | |
06-13-2012, 10:18 PM
|
#2 | | I *heart* Revscene.net very Muchie
Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Shanghai
Posts: 3,561
Thanked 888 Times in 350 Posts
|
photo lab is probably the better bet. better quality for a fraction of the cost. I got my portfolio prints all done at costco. matte with no color adjustments for $4 per 12x18 print. The color is pretty accurate, and quality is pretty good for portfolio/personal use
__________________
yolo | |
| | |
06-14-2012, 06:50 PM
|
#3 | | My dinner reheated before my turbo spooled
Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Richmond
Posts: 1,734
Thanked 1,128 Times in 339 Posts
|
$4 at costco! SNAP!
__________________
2017 Jeep Wrangler JKU
Canon 5D MKIV w/ a bunch of L's | |
| | |
06-14-2012, 10:07 PM
|
#4 | | Everyone wants a piece of R S...
Join Date: May 2006 Location: Richmond
Posts: 359
Thanked 140 Times in 34 Posts
|
When i bought my mkii in HK it came with a ip4200 photo printer.
I have to say it's pretty sweet. runs out of ink REAL quick if you do high dpi large print on glossy all the time though.
__________________
------------------------------------------------------
UBCSCC 2012-2013 Championship Novice STR (SCCA)
| |
| | |
06-16-2012, 08:40 PM
|
#5 | | VLS Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Vancouver
Posts: 16,351
Thanked 2,591 Times in 832 Posts
|
Printing at home gives you more control over the final product, but for most consumers, getting prints done at Costco or Walmart will be more cost effective. The colours may be not as vibrant, but you can't beat the price. London Drugs is more expensive, but they use the higher quality Fuji Crystal Archive Gold papers, and the prints look much better, but they're about 4x the Costco prices.
Getting a photo printer (especially a high end one) is more for exhibition quality prints - you can really wow your friend and family though! Print quality will also come down to how good you are at post processing an image, color calibration & inkjet paper choice.
Are you thinking of selling your prints or are they for personal use? If you're thinking of selling prints, then I would say get the best printer you can afford, or get the best professional prints done at a pro lab.
The lowest end printer I would personally buy is the Epson R3000 ($700-ish) because it takes rolls too - great for printing panoramas - but is limited to only 13" wide. The next step up would be the Canon PIXMA Pro-1 ($1000-ish) which is an absolutely fantastic printer, but cannot print on roll media and is limited to a 13"x19" sheet. The B&W prints that this printer is capable of is really quite amazing. We currently use an Epson R3000 & a Canon iPF6300 that prints to 24" wide media and it's pretty sweet, but impractical for most home users.
__________________
2007 Volvo V50
Taken by ex: 2005 Toyota Prius.
R.I.P. 1997 Lexus ES300. 
R.I.P. 1989 Acura Legend Coupe LS.
| |
| | |
06-21-2012, 08:17 PM
|
#6 | | Oh goodie, 5 posts already!
Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Vancouver
Posts: 8
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
|
how long does it take to print the digital photos at costco and at what price?
do they also develop and print films as well?
thanks
| |
| | |
06-21-2012, 09:47 PM
|
#7 | | VLS Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Vancouver
Posts: 16,351
Thanked 2,591 Times in 832 Posts
|
About an hour at Costco, not sure if they still do film though.
__________________
2007 Volvo V50
Taken by ex: 2005 Toyota Prius.
R.I.P. 1997 Lexus ES300.
R.I.P. 1989 Acura Legend Coupe LS.
| |
| | |
06-23-2012, 05:52 AM
|
#8 | | I *heart* Revscene.net very Muchie
Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Shanghai
Posts: 3,561
Thanked 888 Times in 350 Posts
|
also keep in mind, if you decide to go the home route, there is also a learning curve to get the desired results. It's not exactly plug and play, you need to calibrate both monitor and printer properly. Also if you or the hardware screws up a print, that can be an expensive mistake whereas in the photolab, if they fuck up a print, or the results aren't as desired, you won't get charged.
honestly, unless you're doing prints for gallery exhibition or a pro sending deliverables to a client, you're much better off printing in the lab because the difference in quality will not be worth the rather pricey cost differences.
__________________
yolo | |
| | |
06-23-2012, 01:53 PM
|
#9 | | To me, there is the Internet and there is RS
Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Nanaimo
Posts: 16,007
Thanked 7,382 Times in 3,464 Posts
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Senna4ever  About an hour at Costco, not sure if they still do film though. | Took out film years ago.
__________________
Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter. | 
| | |
07-08-2012, 09:56 PM
|
#10 | | RS.net, where our google ads make absolutely no sense!
Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Surrey
Posts: 989
Thanked 28 Times in 19 Posts
|
shoppers is probably the cheapest place to get film developed. they only do it at a few select locations but you can drop off film at any location and pick it up there. They include a photo CD as well in the price. But I have not tried it personally yet. So I can't vouch for quality
__________________
CoLoRs Member #26
For Good or For Awesome?
| |
| | |
07-26-2012, 03:28 PM
|
#11 | | Proud to be called a RS Regular!
Join Date: May 2006 Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 100
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
|
For personal use, photo printer at home is fine, unless you have the extra money to burn and/or dedicated about creating the highest quality with your final printouts.
On the other hand, for professional use or exhibitions, it would be better to use photo labs cause print lab's printers are maintained to provide 'service', so the color results, photo paper quality, and all final products would be more consistent.
Think about this, if something's screwed up, you can bring it back and ask them to get it done right, instead of eating the cost yourself.
If you have an inkjet printer and you want to print for professional usage, there is also the concern of inconsistent ink distribution unless you use the printer on a daily basis.
| |
| | |
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
| | |
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:35 PM.
|
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
The banners on the left side and below do not show for registered users!
