Calson
Well-known member
I have used a variety of inkjet printers over the years but now only use a color laserjet for in house prints and use a pro lab 100% of the time for wall prints. With a pro lab I get a much more archival print when they use a photo paper from Kodak or Fuji and I have the print mounted by them so no need to have space or the cost of a large dry mount press. I also can use a standard mount board for smaller prints and have the option of Masonite or other material for large prints that need a backing for protection.
The last time I looked at an inkjet printer was when I was doing very large 14x20 photo albums with 20 to 30 pages and printing on vellum paper to be professionally bound by a book binder. For anything else it was far less expensive to have the lab do the prints and then send them to me. For one thing when I was making albums with 20 or more pages I got a pro discount of 40% on the print rate even if each of the pages was from a different image file. I could upload the image files on Sunday and have the prints delivered to my door the following Tuesday.
The only area where it may be advantageous to print your own is for black and white "art" prints on paper where longevity is not important. Inkjets prints are very easily damaged from mechanical abrasion (not unusual with very large prints that are not double matted), chemical contamination (and even prints in frames are exposed to fumes in the air), as well as color shifting over time.
When I shot chrome film and I was making my own cibachrome prints it took me a minimum of an hour per print. When I was using an inkjet printer it was actually taking longer in total time invested in maintaining the printer, checking its calibration, and adjusting for the color balance of the output (and it varied by the type of paper that was used and the color cast in the original image file).
But most of the time I was creating prints or printed materials for commercial use and so I needed to be more of a perfectionist. But I would still recommend looking at the ink costs and whether bulk ink is an option for a printer model, and the cost for head replacement, and any issues with warranties by the different printer manufacturers.
The last time I looked at an inkjet printer was when I was doing very large 14x20 photo albums with 20 to 30 pages and printing on vellum paper to be professionally bound by a book binder. For anything else it was far less expensive to have the lab do the prints and then send them to me. For one thing when I was making albums with 20 or more pages I got a pro discount of 40% on the print rate even if each of the pages was from a different image file. I could upload the image files on Sunday and have the prints delivered to my door the following Tuesday.
The only area where it may be advantageous to print your own is for black and white "art" prints on paper where longevity is not important. Inkjets prints are very easily damaged from mechanical abrasion (not unusual with very large prints that are not double matted), chemical contamination (and even prints in frames are exposed to fumes in the air), as well as color shifting over time.
When I shot chrome film and I was making my own cibachrome prints it took me a minimum of an hour per print. When I was using an inkjet printer it was actually taking longer in total time invested in maintaining the printer, checking its calibration, and adjusting for the color balance of the output (and it varied by the type of paper that was used and the color cast in the original image file).
But most of the time I was creating prints or printed materials for commercial use and so I needed to be more of a perfectionist. But I would still recommend looking at the ink costs and whether bulk ink is an option for a printer model, and the cost for head replacement, and any issues with warranties by the different printer manufacturers.