Digital Photography 101: Printing Your Pictures

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

28 Aug 2007 11:58 PM

Continuing in our series about digital photography... Okay, so you've snapped your photos, now it's time to print them. You have a few options for printing your images. You can do so from the comfort of your home, have it done at a retail store, or use an online printing service.

In this blog we will discuss printing your pictures from your home.

Printing digital pictures at home is easy thanks to advancements in technology. These days you don't need a fancy computer to get prints that are as good as the ones you get at the store. Many digital camera buffs are investing in self-contained printers that turn out high quality 4x6-inch snapshots. (Parents magazine is stuffed with ads for these machines.)

The following digital photo printers consistently rank high for user ease and quality:

Epson PictureMate. First and foremost this machine is easy to use. You simply put your camera's memory card into a slot in the machine or plug your camera into the dock and viola---out pops a high quality picture every 3 minutes. The PictureMate shoots out 4x6 prints that last as long as the ones you would get at a Wal-Mart or Walgreens. Epson's snapshot printer uses the same long-lasting pigmented inks found in many of its larger desktop printers, and, according to designers, it is the only 4x6 printer on the market to use six inks instead of just three, for a wider range of possible colors. The other bonus is the savings per print. At $26 for a 100 count print pack of paper and ink, each print costs just 26 cents. Not bad considering most store mini-labs charge about 20 cents per print, plus tax and the cost of gas to get there. The built-in six-in-one card reader also allows you to print direct from any memory card. Figure on spending about $200 for the PictureMate.

Kodak Printer Dock Plus. This machine is also very easy to use. If you have a Kodak camera (yes, that's the catch) just pop it into the dock, and press the button. The Printer Dock Plus is the latest version of Kodak's mega-popular 4x6 printer. This updated version adds a SD/MMC memory card slot for printing straight from a card and also has a new port for printing from cell phones. This particular model also comes with an optional USB bluetooth adapter, which lets you go wireless. Another cool feature is the Auto Enhance button on the front of the unit, which uses Kodak's Color Science technology to fix washed out pictures. The Printer Dock Plus will run you about $200.

Related Articles:

Digital Photography 101: An Introduction

Digital Photography 101: Picking The Perfect Camera

Getting Digital Pictures To Friends And Family FAST!

Digital Photography 101: Getting To Know Your Camera

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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