Processing..

[auntlala]

I hope this is the right place to ask this.. i was wondering,

for all you professional photographers out there, if you use a digital camera for your portraits, do you print your own pictures? or do you send it to someone else to process it?

i'm looking into starting a studio in a few years (it will take that long to get everything going) and i came to a hault when someone said that printing pictures on a regular printer wouldn't come out right.

any insight you have to this question would be helpful..

thanks
Michelle.

[zero rc]

hey michelle,
i would liek to disagree with the person who told you that printing your own photos would not look right. first im not sure about the definition of "regular" printer, but some very good printers can be had for less than $1000. some even cheaper (check out the epson site and look at models like the r800/2400 )!! one of the first things you want to look at when shopping for your printer is the gamut of colors it can reproduce. look for printers with extended ink-sets. think more colors= good; less colors = bad. for instance the laser printers we have only print in 4 colors (actually 3 not counting black). its the old cmyk model 9cyan,magenta,yellow and black). most photo quality printers out now days print in at least 5 or more colors, usually a cyan, light cyan (or blue/ green), magenta, light mag (or red/orange), yellow then blacks. many even have a couple of different blacks (like a lt. blk, very lt blk in addition to black) for better tonality. using these combinations its possible to produce millions of colors and create beautiful photo quality pictures. i would also like to mention that whats just as important as the printer you choose is the papers you print on!! select a good quality paper and be sure to havea good profile for the paper/ink combo you use. this can be a dit daunting, auntie but with time it will become simple. as far as using labs goes, its often easier and if you are doing large runs (100s of images) probally more cost effective.

dont let something like printing hold you back!! if your shots are good then the printing is a breeze!! if nothing else, find a good lab ( i like whitehousecustom) and they can help you out! best of luck!!

[Mark McCall]

Michelle,
If your just getting started, printing your own probably isn't the best route.

Printing your own requires more knowledge that just hitting "Print".
Unless your comfortable with using Printer/paper profiles, calibrating your equipment and regular maintainance, I'd suggest sending your work to a lab.

Many labs will color correct for you, or allow you to control the color youself.

[auntlala]

Thank you all for your help, it was greatly appreciated.

Michelle.

[Songman45]

When I shot film I sent out everything. I never so much as processed a roll of film myself. Why? because a lab running miles of film a day would have far less a chance in ruining the part of the work that could not be recovered. I couldn't afford a darkroom for printing, nor absorb the cost of learning. With digital there is no appreciable fear of image loss in processnig short of data loss in the original. Printing is far more affordable. I suggest buying a good printer such as an Epson R800 or R1800 and a box of paper. Send out some work and print the same. Compare your attempt with the lab's. Spend as much effort in learning to print as you do learning to shoot. You may find it more cost effective to send out large size prints and only do "in house" the 14X17 and smaller.

[Alfred D.]

Printing inks are extremely dangerous carcinogen substances. Meaning they cause CANCER!
So if you must handle printing inks, do it very carefully and handle disposal as chemical waste! For your sake, for your loved ones' sakes, and for the sake of the environment.

Even better: avoid handling printing inks altogether and send out to a pro lab for your printing requirements.