Should I print my photos at home?

Setup Costs

Here are some of the things to consider when determining the up-front cost of setting up your own print shop at home.

1) Do I need to buy a new printer?

Buying a printer is one of the largest initial costs when beginning to print at home, but it's possible that the printer you own is already sufficient. Ask yourself these questions:

- is my current printer capable of printing on photo paper (most people start with glossy photo paper)?
- is the printer capable of printing with a resolution of at least 400 dots per inch (dpi)?
- do I have a separate printer cartridge for colour vs black and white?
- what are the limitations of my current printer for paper size - do I want to print larger images regularly?
- if you're still not sure, download a high-resolution photo from the internet and do a test print - are you happy with the results?

2) Photo-editing Software

Getting your digital images from your camera onto your printer requires software. Usually the software that comes with your camera is more than sufficient to transfer images, but you will most likely also be interested in additional functionality. Consider these questions when determining if you need to purchase additional software.

- do you already own a software editing program that allows you to crop, resize, and change contrast settings? are you happy with it?

- did a free version of photo-editing software come bundled with your camera CD? (Most digital cameras are sold with a CD that contain photo-editing software such as Adobe Elements, or PhotoShop Lite)

- if not, I recommend you next research some freeware on the internet and see if anything is sufficient to suit your editing needs; typically people are only interested in cropping or resizing images before printing, with possibly some rudimentary contrast and brightness editing; others want the ability to do colour correction, remove red-eye, and correct poor exposure

- price out some of the software that's available in stores: Adobe PhotoShop is very expensive, and not likely required for what you need to do, so consider some programs geared less towards professionals and more towards amateurs, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements

3) What type of paper do I want to print my photos on?

Photos printed by photo-developing stores most often come on 4"x6" photo paper, but is that what how you want to see your digital images? Do you plan to print all your photos for a scrap book, or only the few you truly love? Do you want to enlarge and frame some to decorate your home? Consider these aspects of paper selection to get you started:

- size: 4"x6", 8"x10", 11"x14", bigger?
- type:
    a) glossy (expensive) vs matte (matte is cheaper than glossy, and fine to use if you're mounting your print behind glass since you can't tell if the paper is glossy or not)
    b) archival vs non-archival (no proof yet that archival paper lasts significantly longer than non-archival)
- weight: the heavier the paper, the longer it will last and the nicer it is to hold, but the more pricey it is

Ongoing Costs

1) Paper

- if you purchase a printer with the capability of using rolls of paper in addition to sheets, then consider the cost of purchasing a roll - e.g. a 30' roll of your preferred width and the printer cuts the images when it's done printing
- specialty paper: they now have fine art paper, as well as various fabrics, etc to make more artsy prints

2) Ink catridge costs

- different printers have different accessory pricing, so be aware of your printer's colour cartridge replacement or refill costs
- if you own or decide to purchase a printer with one cartridge per colour, you will only replace what has truly run out (e.g. my light cyan ink cartridge runs out twice as fast as my yellow), but that doesn't necessarily mean the end cost is cheaper
- is your printer an ink hog?