Printing options

[henryh]

I just joined the forum today after returning to photography after a long abscence. I did all film work and dabbled a bit with digital before leaving the hobby, but I am a beginner with respect to digital.

I'm trying to determine the best way to print photos on a limited budget. I did use an HP photsmart when they first hit the market. I have also thought of using one of the online labs such as Snapfish or Shutterfly. I just sent some photos to snapfish and they were not bad except for some color matching problems. Regardless of what I do It seems clear I will need to purchase a piece of equipment to calibrate my monitor. If I were to calibrate my monitor how much of a difference would that make in quality with a photo lab ? I'm wondering if these online labs would allow me to download an ICC profile as well.

Printing my own photos will probably be more expensive. If I purchase a moderately priced printer I'm not sure whether the quality will be that much better. I don't expect to see my photos hanging in any museum, but I do want to get the best quality possible within my budget.

I'm currently using Photoshop Elements9 for an editor.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Henry

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[SusanH1970]

Snapfish and Shutterfly have lousy quality. Try Mpix.com - I've had great luck with them.

If you want/need to calibrate your monitor, try Spyder Express 3. It's reasonably priced and does a great job.

[henryh]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I will check out Mpix. I was looking at the Spyder 3 express or the Spyder 3 pro.

Will these work ok with an LED monitor ?

Henry

[SusanH1970]

According to the manufacturer, it works with CRT, LCD and notebook monitors.