Does anyone still print?

[realspeed]

Calibration anything is a real pain I found. if you do it in a darked room then in daylight in actual reality means reclibrateing each time or even having a room light on, the ambient surrounding light is different.. Not only that but going to extreme taking the final print out to compare against where the photo was taken will never be the same anyway. daylight changes from hour to hour, so I got rid of my colormunki calibration tool

 

[ssheipel]

Have had a printer for a year or more now. Print many 'keeper' shots -- keep 'em filed (as I do digital prints); friends have many in frames; have sold a few. I prefer photos in hard copy and am happy to store them that way versus just a digital file.

 

[bleirer]

I know my Benq has room for 2 presets you can save to, Cal1 and Cal2. It's easy with one click to switch. So if there is some variation in room light one could for example have one set at 80 cdn for darker environments and 120 for brighter ones. But still the room shouldn't have direct sunlight but also shouldn't be total blackout. I assume presets are common on monitors.

 

[Viathelens]

One printing idea that I use is to periodically make photo books. I use Blurb to create coffee table type photo books with groups of images. It's a fun project and can include text to simply include captions for the images. The Blurb process works well for me because I can store an in progress project on my computer and pick it up later or modify it. It also allows me to create multiple versions such as a good PDF version of the project, a light magazine type version, etc.

I do this routinely. Coffee- table sized with full page spreads. Blurb and LrC.

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[SBurkholder]

Yes. It's an Eizo, so pretty stable, and I calibrate every two weeks. I haven't calibrated the printer, though I do use known papers with profiles for the P800.


Funny that I’ve had an iStudio calibration unit around for the past year or so and had never gotten around to calibrate my P800. I’ve tended to settle on Hot Press Bright as my standard paper that I use. Two days ago I finally took the time to calibrate the printer and compare it to the std Epson profiles for that paper. The difference between the two profiles was subtle. The iStudio profile was slightly more contrasty with slightly more detail on an all white bird. I preferred the iSudio version but when I showed it to my wife she picked the Epson version. She pointed out that the iSudio ver had a slightly blueish cast. I checked the numbers and it did. Adjusted the tone and tint to slightly warmer. Everyone was happy with the result. And I still liked the extra detail that I got from the iStudio profile.

 

[eaj101]

Yes. It's an Eizo, so pretty stable, and I calibrate every two weeks. I haven't calibrated the printer, though I do use known papers with profiles for the P800.


Funny that I’ve had an iStudio calibration unit around for the past year or so and had never gotten around to calibrate my P800. I’ve tended to settle on Hot Press Bright as my standard paper that I use. Two days ago I finally took the time to calibrate the printer and compare it to the std Epson profiles for that paper. The difference between the two profiles was subtle. The iStudio profile was slightly more contrasty with slightly more detail on an all white bird. I preferred the iSudio version but when I showed it to my wife she picked the Epson version. She pointed out that the iSudio ver had a slightly blueish cast. I checked the numbers and it did. Adjusted the tone and tint to slightly warmer. Everyone was happy with the result. And I still liked the extra detail that I got from the iStudio profile.

Thanks for the info. A great example of how 'close enough' often isn't.

 

[ccirelli]

If so, what do you do w/ your prints?

I print less than before, mostly for camera competitions and a few gifts.

I actually print a lot of 4x6's, and some 5x7 and 8x10's. I used to hate (hate) printing at home, until I picked up Canon's PIXMA G620 printer - it's amazing. Effortless wireless printing from my Mac or iPhone, amazing results, and there's just something about tangible prints that I love - it's kind of a sense of completion, if that makes sense. Prints also help me work out favorites for books / galleries, and even just gets my images in front of my eyes / up on my wall, without having to look at a powered screen.

So yes this little Canon printer has been so much fun, and the ink bottles seem to be endless. Totally different world, vs the old expensive fragile printers I used to struggle with years ago.