Printing from home or printing at a "lab"

[metric_photography]

I have a Canon photo printer and have also used labs (not super pro ones) like Costco and Black's. I was just wondering what everyone thinks about printing at home versus a lab. Will the at home prints eventually fade?

And if I take my images to Black's/ Costco,etc., is that okay to charge customers for prints they can get on their own?

[SusanH1970]

It's probably cheaper in the long run to just get them printed for you - ink and paper is expensive.

As for charging customers - you're not charging them for the paper and ink. You're charging them for your skill as a photographer and time spent editing the images. Otherwise, they could have just taken the photos themselves.

[candleman]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

It's probably cheaper in the long run to just get them printed for you - ink and paper is expensive.

As for charging customers - you're not charging them for the paper and ink. You're charging them for your skill as a photographer and time spent editing the images. Otherwise, they could have just taken the photos themselves.

+1
agreed


kinda like a resturaunt.. I could cook myself eggs bennedict.. but a chef can do it better so i pay more because i'm paying for the skill and not only the cost of the food.
see?

*stomach grumble* damnit now i'm craving Eggs Bennedict

[Jim Poor]

Self printing is a major pain! I have a large format printer from back in the day when I thought I'd do my own printing. FORGET IT!

So much easier, more convenient, and less expensive to just use a good lab.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by candleman

*stomach grumble* damnit now i'm craving Eggs Bennedict

Here ya go, dear heart.

[candleman]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Here ya go, dear heart.

om nom nom

[OsmosisStudios]

Do you have a room large enough for a printer the size of a hatchback? Do you have a 240V outlet that can provide AC current at 60amps? Do you have plumbing to handle that kind of throughput? Do you want to deal with chemicals, dark rooms, heavy racks, lasers, etc?

Do you have a MILLION dollars?

If the answer to any of those is "no" (I'd wager it is to ALL), then you wont get the same QUALITY as a proper lab.

[Thunder_o_b]

I do all my own printing. I use a Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II. The inks and paper are rated at 100 years before fading. My customers love the fine art prints as well as the glossies. I print up to 13"x19" and do all my own matting.

I have used labs with million dollar gear, and so far my prints are better in all respects. Labs are great if you need a high volume of prints fast, but it is simply not true that you can not do as well and better at home with a $1,000 printer. I hear that the Epson equivalent is a fine printer as well.

For myself, I have no plans to go back to a commercial printer.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by Thunder_o_b

I do all my own printing. I use a Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II. The inks and paper are rated at 100 years before fading. My customers love the fine art prints as well as the glossies. I print up to 13"x19" and do all my own matting.

I have used labs with million dollar gear, and so far my prints are better in all respects. Labs are great if you need a high volume of prints fast, but it is simply not true that you can not do as well and better at home with a $1,000 printer. I hear that the Epson equivalent is a fine printer as well.

For myself, I have no plans to go back to a commercial printer.

Curious, what is your cost per print?

[Thunder_o_b]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Curious, what is your cost per print?

It depends, I have around $7.50 in Lucia inks in the 13"x19 prints as I have the quality settings at maximum, the paper varies depending on wether it is glossy or one of the fine are papers. A 13"x19" fine art print, matted with free floating mounts without a frame in acid free archival materials sells for $100.00 in a gallery.The simple glossy prints are $5.00 dollars less.

Cost is widely variable depending on the paper that you use, the quality settings on the printer, and the size of the print. The difference between the low setting and the high is not noticeable unless you have them side by side with the highest ones. The selling price reflects the labor and materials to matt and print, the cost of the photo gear, printer, computer, programs and the 30%-40% mark to the gallery.

The one cost that you can't get around is the price of the ink carts. Labs are cheeper, but ask them how long they rate their prints before they start to fade. I know people that work at the largest one in this area, and was asked why I no longer use them. I asked if they would like to see some of my prints from the 9500 Mark II, they were literally speechless when they saw the prints, finally one said "I can see why you don't use a lab, we can't match that."

A photo worth printing is worth printing so your grand kids can enjoy it.