Calling those who print

[Ken Miracle]

Hi folks.

I have questions, if you don't mind:

1. Do you home print or store print?
2. If you home print, what do you print on (hardware) and how do you mount?
3. Is home printing worth it financially these days, or is it more hassle than it's worth?
4. I rent my apartment and want to put some photos up but don't what to have holes all over my walls: what mounting and hanging solutions do you recommend? I'm guessing foam board is the lightest option.

Thanks in advance.

I print at home once a month. For our camera club print night, for albums and a few mounted cheap frames in 8x10 to 12x18 for my office and bathroom bird trophy walls. I keep it simple using the print module in Light Room Classic and use color matching from LRC not from Canon using a Canon Pro 100 (no longer made) very easy and very nice prints.

For items I have on display as I did recently as artist of the month on a 60' Art Wall at a large Regional Medical Center (took 39 prints) I have them printed on metal, light easy to deal with and hang and look great and sell well.

I also live in a rented apartment and they said no problem with as many nail holes as needed I have a lot of metal prints on my walls and they are light and easy to hang.

 

[JoelKlein]

I print at home once a month. For our camera club print night, for albums and a few mounted cheap frames in 8x10 to 12x18 for my office and bathroom bird trophy walls. I keep it simple using the print module in Light Room Classic and use color matching from LRC not from Canon using a Canon Pro 100 (no longer made) very easy and very nice prints.

For items I have on display as I did recently as artist of the month on a 60' Art Wall at a large Regional Medical Center (took 39 prints) I have them printed on metal, light easy to deal with and hang and look great and sell well.

I also live in a rented apartment and they said no problem with as many nail holes as needed I have a lot of metal prints on my walls and they are light and easy to hang.

Doesn’t metal add a glossy look?
I like the luster look

 

[JoelKlein]

4x6 what? Cm, inches, feet? The 17" Epson P900 is about $1100+ paper and ink after the starter cartridges.

4x6 & 5&7 inches

 

[Ken Miracle]

Doesn’t metal add a glossy look?
I like the luster look

You have choices of finishes depending on who you use. I use McKenna Pro. It depends on the image whether I use their gloss or semi gloss finish depending on the subject. I use semi gloss the most now. If you have never tried a good print on metal you might want to try it.

Most of my home prints are done with Canon pro luster (similar to McKenna semi gloss, and some on Canon Platinum more like McKenna gloss, and a few on Matte no equivalent on metal.

 

[Mal Paso]

I see lots of bad reviews on the Epson SureColor P900. Seems like a quality control issue or bad design.

Which alternative is out there?

What kind of problems? I've had the P800 for 5 years now with few problems.
HP is completely off the list after they burned me on a "Pro" printer. Never Again!

 

[Activert]

I see lots of bad reviews on the Epson SureColor P900. Seems like a quality control issue or bad design.

Which alternative is out there?

i havé so many friends photographer that they use it and they love it. I have been using it a lot since two weeks and I am very happy with it as machine and with the photos print

 

[Activert]

How do you make a calendar? It’s a full fledged binded booklet with lots of details to fill in, not just the photographs on top.

i Am working with the help of a friends who owns a print shop to produce my own calendars sheet and than print the photos and put it together. there Not going to be ready this Christmas but I will make them for 18 or 24 months. I have not decide yet. This year it is going to be personalized gift for friends and family ( as practice) and next year, it might be something else and maybe better

 

[bleirer]

A lot if the printing houses and drugstores, big box stores, etc, have calendar templates that offer choices of layouts and return a nice bound calendar.

 

[JoelKlein]

What kind of problems? I've had the P800 for 5 years now with few problems.
HP is completely off the list after they burned me on a "Pro" printer. Never Again!

Read on B&H reviews

 

[JoelKlein]

You have choices of finishes depending on who you use. I use McKenna Pro. It depends on the image whether I use their gloss or semi gloss finish depending on the subject. I use semi gloss the most now. If you have never tried a good print on metal you might want to try it.

Most of my home prints are done with Canon pro luster (similar to McKenna semi gloss, and some on Canon Platinum more like McKenna gloss, and a few on Matte no equivalent on metal.

By biggest concern when thinking about home printing wall hangers, is the hanging itself. I HATE glass frames.. I use WHCC for fine art, and a 3mm back. Then I can hang it.

Your talking Metal printing, I’m very curious to learn more.
Which printer would print on matel? How thick is it? How much are the sheets? Etc etc etc.
Thank you!

 

[aolander]

By biggest concern when thinking about home printing wall hangers, is the hanging itself. I HATE glass frames.. I use WHCC for fine art, and a 3mm back. Then I can hang it.

Your talking Metal printing, I’m very curious to learn more.
Which printer would print on matel? How thick is it? How much are the sheets? Etc etc etc.
Thank you!

He talking about Chromalux aluminum prints. This is a dye sublimation process and isn't done on a home inject printer, although you can get dye sub printers or modify some printers to print on the transfer paper. Need a heat press, too. Not an easy process.

ChromaLuxe Metal Prints

ChromaLuxe is the global manufacturing leader of premium dye-sublimation wood and metal prints for photographers and artists.

www.chromaluxe.com

 

[Mal Paso]

Read on B&H reviews

Wow! You are absolutely right! The P900s are selling for about the same price as the P800 did 5 years ago, they should have raised prices enough to build a quality machine, now they can't keep up with repairs. I can do without Violet if there are that many problems.

 

[Ken Miracle]

By biggest concern when thinking about home printing wall hangers, is the hanging itself. I HATE glass frames.. I use WHCC for fine art, and a 3mm back. Then I can hang it.

Your talking Metal printing, I’m very curious to learn more.
Which printer would print on matel? How thick is it? How much are the sheets? Etc etc etc.
Thank you!

I do not print on metal as noted I get mine from McKenna Pro https://mckennapro.com/

 

[KurtH]

Great thread, so many opinions and preferences!

To print or not to print (yourself) is like anything else in life...I can always pay someone to do anything for me, or I can do it myself (for cost savings, quality preferences, or any other reason in the world).

For me, I prefer to print my own photos to display in my house and for gifts to family and friends (I'm not a professional). I also print my own birthday and Christmas cards with some of that years pictures or old family photos that I've touched up. It's the whole process of planning a trip, finding the spots, all the actual photography stuff, post-processing the pictures, and of course printing to my liking....that I absolutely love!

I've been using the P800 for the last 5 years or so for my good stuff and an assorted list of cheaper printers for my everyday cards/gifts, etc. (currently using the Epson ET-8550). I just dumped a newer HP printer because of support and setup troubles (another topic for a long thread).

For hanging and displays, I've been using 1/4 inch foam flat board with adhesive, cutting everything to size with a Logan Mat Cutter (pictures shown below).

Some would say that's a pain in the a*# and too much trouble, but I would say it's the same type of choice with photography and pictures. I can pay someone to take pictures for me so I don't have to spend a bunch of money on photo gear and spend all that time taking the photos.....or.....I can do it myself for the enjoyment of the journey and having the end products that include all the memories, good and bad.

Again, great thread. I enjoyed reading everyone's take on the subject!

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[JoelKlein]

Z9 battery is part of the cutting process

 

[KurtH]

Z9 battery is part of the cutting process

Ha! And my phone tripod clamp, some cords, and lots of dust....and that's after I cleaned the table a bit for the picture

 

[O]

Great thread, so many opinions and preferences!

To print or not to print (yourself) is like anything else in life...I can always pay someone to do anything for me, or I can do it myself (for cost savings, quality preferences, or any other reason in the world).

For me, I prefer to print my own photos to display in my house and for gifts to family and friends (I'm not a professional). I also print my own birthday and Christmas cards with some of that years pictures or old family photos that I've touched up. It's the whole process of planning a trip, finding the spots, all the actual photography stuff, post-processing the pictures, and of course printing to my liking....that I absolutely love!

I've been using the P800 for the last 5 years or so for my good stuff and an assorted list of cheaper printers for my everyday cards/gifts, etc. (currently using the Epson ET-8550). I just dumped a newer HP printer because of support and setup troubles (another topic for a long thread).

For hanging and displays, I've been using 1/4 inch foam flat board with adhesive, cutting everything to size with a Logan Mat Cutter (pictures shown below).

Some would say that's a pain in the a*# and too much trouble, but I would say it's the same type of choice with photography and pictures. I can pay someone to take pictures for me so I don't have to spend a bunch of money on photo gear and spend all that time taking the photos.....or.....I can do it myself for the enjoyment of the journey and having the end products that include all the memories, good and bad.

Again, great thread. I enjoyed reading everyone's take on the subject!

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Nice

 

[Whiskeyman]

Z9 battery is part of the cutting process

There might be a built-in battery charger with that mat cutter model.

Read on B&H reviews

I do not implicitly trust online reviews like these on any product, either positive or negative. I read some of these reviews and I've seen these problems on the P900 and other models, as well. Sometimes, the problems I read about in the reviews are user error, such as loading the paper so that the wrong side is printed upon. Some of the problems could be from bad paper, that is not cut straight, or is good paper that is not suitable for the printer, or the current printer settings being inappropriate for the paper. If the SC-P900 (or any other printer) were really that bad, it wouldn't be on the market any more.

Yes, you may be inconvenienced by some paper handling requirements; I know I am with some paper types and some paper sizes. The end product is still worth it for me. And some other printers have the same, or nearly the same, handling requirements.

I bought an Epson SureColor P900 two weeks ago. I am still learning by using different sample of papers. I love the process and it is really rewarding to see our work on paper. I decided this Christmas that all my gift will be my prints. I start making cards, calendar and big prints and I am having fun doing that.

Are you using Epson Print Layout software when printing? If so, great! If not, I suggest that you try using it to print your photos. There's a bit of a learning curve at the beginning and when trying something new, but it opensup a lot of possibilities with this printer.

 

[BlackRockArt]

The retailers near me that offer photo printing (Walgreens, CVS, Office Depot, etc. ) all use injet printers. None of them use the process that you've described. I'll look for a place that produces c-prints, as I'd love to compare the quality of my prints to those; it sounds intriguing.

That's interesting. Here in California, Bay Area, Walgreens and CVS use dye-sublimation printers, namely Fuji Frontier, or Noritsu dye sublimation; the quality is akin to lef over MacDonald's hamburgers.

What papers are you using with your P900 and what kind of images are you printing?

I still use Canon Premium luster or semi-gloss papers, these two are safe for a variety of photos, especially for portraits; I would switch to high gloss for astrophotos every once in a while.

Once I run out of Canon papers, I would look at Red River; our local clubs recommend it.

Oliver

 

[Whiskeyman]

...Once I run out of Canon papers, I would look at Red River; our local clubs recommend it.
Oliver

I am a proponent of Red River Papers. I'd suggest that you order several of their sample packs. The specific ones I've used are the Fine Art & Photography Discovery Kit, the Photography Exploration Sample Kit, the Fine Art Inkjet Paper Sample Kit, and the Photography Inkjet Paper Sample Kit. I've also ordered several individual sample sheets from the "Build Your Own Sample Kit" when they weren't available in any of the previously mentioned kits.

After getting the sample kits, I initially selected two very different photos, one very vibrant and the other less so, and printed each photo on every single paper from the sample kits. I keep these prints in an Itoya multi-ring binder so that I can easily review and compare the "look" of any particular paper for each type of photo. Recently, I've ordered the same samples and now am in the process of doing the same printing for two new photos. I'm also now in the process of sampling the new Palo Duro Metallic Canvas and the Palo Duro Gloss Canvas, which samples ar in 17-inch rolls.

 

[Activert]

Are you using Epson Print Layout software when printing? If so, great! If not, I suggest that you try using it to print your photos. There's a bit of a learning curve at the beginning and when trying something new, but it opensup a lot of possibilities with this printer.

yes that what I am using.! Thanks for your recommendation and also for your whole reply

 

[markymark]

Hi folks.

I have questions, if you don't mind:

1. Do you home print or store print?
2. If you home print, what do you print on (hardware) and how do you mount?
3. Is home printing worth it financially these days, or is it more hassle than it's worth?
4. I rent my apartment and want to put some photos up but don't what to have holes all over my walls: what mounting and hanging solutions do you recommend? I'm guessing foam board is the lightest option.

Thanks in advance.

I think there are people that enjoy the whole printing at home process, but for ease & convenience sending it away is a lot less hassle & seems to be cheaper.

 

[JoelKlein]

I enjoy a high quality print.
I’m old school with this, printed at home is very expensive and time consuming, calibration, etc. you need a dedicated room for it, Vs. sending out to WHCC I get a top end lab printed 5x7.

Turns out I’m wrong… by reading here.
I could get a better print at home, no need for a dedicated room, and a small footprint pixma pro 200 will produce a better 5x7 compared to WHCC, with almost no maintenance and reasonable priced

 

[DRwyoming]

Turns out I’m wrong… by reading here.
I could get a better print at home, no need for a dedicated room, and a small footprint pixma pro 200 will produce a better 5x7 compared to WHCC, with almost no maintenance and reasonable priced

I wouldn't state it quite like that.

I ran and maintained a very good home printer for years (Epson 4800) and yes if you do everything right you may end up with prints as good or perhaps theoretically even better than a high end lab but that means a lot of things like accurate color profiles for your printing processes including the papers you use, gamut checking your images prior to printing them, good maintenance of your equipment (if you don't print nearly every day or at least very frequently expect to spend a lot of time unclogging print nozzles) use the highest grade inkjet ink, paper, etc. If you don't do those things then prints from a good lab will generally be much better than home prints.

Bottom line, if you want to meet or exceed the quality that you get from a good print lab expect to spend some time diving into things like process profiling, soft proof profiles and spend a fair amount of paper and ink learning how to get the most out of your home printer. I really enjoyed that process but many photographers would prefer not to deal with all of that. If you just want to send files to a printer and not worry about things like process profiling then you'll likely get images that aren't nearly as high quality as what labs print every day.

Printing is a big topic and doing it well is a deep rabbit hole to dive down. It can be very satisfying but working with a good lab offloads most of that and lets us focus on the photography part. If you want to dive down the printing path, that's awesome but don't expect to purchase a printer and just spit out great prints with colors and tones that match your photos without a fair amount of effort learning all the steps involved in high end printing. Sure printing snapshots is easy but high quality printing requires some learning and effort.

 

[JoelKlein]

I wouldn't state it quite like that.

I ran and maintained a very good home printer for years (Epson 4800) and yes if you do everything right you may end up with prints as good or perhaps theoretically even better than a high end lab but that means a lot of things like accurate color profiles for your printing processes including the papers you use, gamut checking your images prior to printing them, good maintenance of your equipment (if you don't print nearly every day or at least very frequently expect to spend a lot of time unclogging print nozzles) use the highest grade inkjet ink, paper, etc. If you don't do those things then prints from a good lab will generally be much better than home prints.

Bottom line, if you want to meet or exceed the quality that you get from a good print lab expect to spend some time diving into things like process profiling, soft proof profiles and spend a fair amount of paper and ink learning how to get the most out of your home printer. I really enjoyed that process but many photographers would prefer not to deal with all of that. If you just want to send files to a printer and not worry about things like process profiling then you'll likely get images that aren't nearly as high quality as what labs print every day.

Printing is a big topic and doing it well is a deep rabbit hole to dive down. It can be very satisfying but working with a good lab offloads most of that and lets us focus on the photography part. If you want to dive down the printing path, that's awesome but don't expect to purchase a printer and just spit out great prints with colors and tones that match your photos without a fair amount of effort learning all the steps involved in high end printing. Sure printing snapshots is easy but high quality printing requires some learning and effort.

Okay. That is helpful.
Let me repeat, and tell me if I have it right. don’t cheap out on supplies.
So,
I have calibrated BenQ’s photographers edition.
Save JPEGs with ICC profile Adobe 1998.
Load it in the manufacturers software.
Use manufacturer recommend ink.
Use quality paper.
Use it almost every day.

3 questions:
1) Which printer?
2) Which paper?

I’m would use it mainly to replace WHCC 4x6, 5x7, and occasionally 8x10

3) I like borderless prints, is a cutting board a requirement? That’s what I’m the most afraid…