[kevgermany]

Many top line photographers also print themselves - Alain Briot, Neil Snape and Joseph Holmes spring immediately to mind. Would they do it if it sucked? One could hardly call them dittos - whatever derogatory meaning that term may have acquired.

It's important to remember that there's personal choice involved and that what works for one guy may or amy not work for the next.

Good labs can offer more range and excellent results. But no lab's going to print for me on Sunday night when I need to deliver prints on Monday morning, as I've done in the past.

Home printing also easily matches the quality of lab work and allows one to rectify problems that weren't seen/obvious on screen. Printing at home allows me to experiment with papers for a specific print's look and feel - something that'd be extremely time consuming trotting off to the lab every day for a different test. Although some people may find it problematic, I and many others enjoy making prints at home. It's immediate, unlike a trip to the lab. On the cost side of things, I've a 2-3 hour round trip to get to a decent lab. Factor that in... Breakeven point changes a lot then, especially as most of the printing that I do is singles or small batches of less than 5.