|
Photo-printers : more than photo printing |
|
|
|
|
Written by Tony Phelps
|
|
Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
People like to print. The piece of paper in the hand seems to be more
real & valuable than an electronic equivalent, and there are many
who not only prefer to read from paper but find it hard to read
documents on a computer monitor. With photos, though, it really is a
lot easier to show & share if it is printed.
The increasing use of digital cameras leaves a question of how to put
that great photo onto paper so that it can be passed round or saved in
a photo album. The choices basically come down to either using a
photo-shop’s services or buying yourself a photo printer. Printers have
come a long way, though, and the manufacturers are trying hard to make
them very easy to use for printing digital photos.
Generally, you get what you pay for in the computer world. Even so,
photo printers are relatively cheap, and can print photos of excellent
quality (you’ll be hard pressed to see the difference between your own
and a shop’s prints). However, with a photo-printer, you can do so much
more depending on how creative you want to get. Usually, you’ll be able
to print your photo onto stickers (eg. to put on mugs, or T-shirts),
you’ll be able to amend the photo to cut out bits you don’t want, or to
add special effects such as text, love-hearts. You can make your own
birthday cards. You can even print directly onto a CD. You can print
small (eg. passport photo) or big (eg. full A4 size to hang on the
wall).
One thing to bear in mind is that although the printer may be cheap,
its ink cartridges are not. Typically, to replace all the ink
cartridges in a photo-printer you’ll pay about the same as the printer
originally cost you! It’s also worth bearing in mind that in Vanuatu’s
strong light, some inks will fade or discolour quite quickly. The paper
can also be expensive, as you need the special glossy or semi-glossy
photo paper if you want to produce prints that look like professional
ones.
Of course, if you want any of the above end results but not the hassle
of doing it yourself, the photo shops can probably do it for you too. |
