Photography Printing

By TJ Tierney
Once your images are taken the next and most important factor is the quality of the print. If you are thinking about doing the printing at home, you need to be able to create quality prints and you also need to know the best quality paper and ink to buy. Before you decide whether to print at home or use a professional service, you need to weigh up the pros and cons of doing it yourself.

With a good printer it is possible to print great images in your office or at home. One of the biggest cons of printing at home is the time it takes; if you have a great deal of images to print I would advise that you get a professional service to do it for you. You will not save any money by doing your own printing but it is extremely handy to be able to do it your self, especially if you need the prints in a hurry.

If you have decided that you are going to do your own printing you need to know and understand how to do so. Your prints need to be perfect.

Printing images takes time and most affordable printers are slow. Your printer needs to be able to print at a minimum of 300 dpi. If possible get a printer that will print up to 600 dpi. This will give you a sharper and better quality image. You also need to know what paper will suit your printer. Your printer should have a minimum of four ink cartridges.

Always buy inks from the manufacturer of the printer. As a rule, I would only use ink and paper made by the same manufacturer of the printer. This has been tried and tested by many photographers and should become your standard for your photography printing. Papers that are not designed for your printer may cause jams or even repel ink.

I find that Epson is very good. But I would never put any other manufacturers ink into my Epson printer. Cheap inks will give you poor colours, resulting in poor prints.

There are many different types of paper to choose from with different textures. Glossy paper will produce rich colours but should be handled with care. Matte paper may be a better choice for an image which is going to be handled a lot. Always remember that whiter paper produces sharper more vibrant colours.

Many of us have digital cameras that tell us the mega pixel quality. As a standard a 2-mega-pixel camera will print a 4 x 6 inch print. A 3-mega-pixel camera will print a 5 x 7 inch print. A 6-mega-pixel camera will print a 10 x 8 inch print. An 8-mega-pixel camera will print a 12 x 8 inch print.

The final thing that you need to understand is how to calibrate your monitor so that when you view your image on a computer screen the colours will be as close as possible when you print. Your computer manual should have a section on this and it should be redone every time your computer is moved.

I hope this article was be helpful and that you are ready to create your digital darkroom. Photography printing at home will give you a better concept of colour along with the convenience of being able to print when you need.

TJ Tierney is an award winning photographer and a freelance writer. To find out more information visit his free photography and

Article Source: digital photography site. His site also contains a free photography directory.

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