photoprinters are they worth having?????? I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I...

out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

out4life2016 wrote:

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

Only you can know if its worth the expense of the printer, paper and ink. I guess it comes down to how occasionally occasionally is, and how much the convenience is worth to you.

JR45 Loc: Montgomery County, TX

out4life2016 wrote:

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

The answer to this is how you feel about your work product. I print maybe four or five of every two thousand I take for my personal use.
I will print pictures for relatives and friends that request them at cost.
I was able to pick up a Canon PRO-100 on sale last year at a cost of $ 85.00 US on sale, after rebates. I felt this was reasonable for my use.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

out4life2016 wrote:

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

Out, welcome to the Hog!
That depends on how occasionally and how big?
What I'm hearing is probably not. If you're looking at small printers of say $300 dollars or less, they are the most expensive to operate.
Printing at places like Costco is pretty cheap for an occasional print, big or small.
There is of course a convenience to having your own printer but there are the inherent costs that go with it, and that's assuming you have no problems!
If you were printing a lot and as big as 16x20 and making a little money with it then it might be worth it because a printer that size is economizing everything because it uses big inks and the paper comes on a roll. It will do a 1000 prints for less than at Costco and that includes the cost of the printer! AND you can use Art papers!
Your gonna get LOTS of pros and cons...., good luck!!
SS

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

out4life2016 wrote:

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

Not unless you:

Print often
Print BIGger than 8x10
Calibrate and custom profile your monitor with a hardware/software solution
Need maximum color gamut
Need maximum print permanence
Don’t care about cost
Don’t use cheap inks
Need to control everything
Can’t communicate with a good pro lab

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

out4life2016 wrote:

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

As long as you are ok with a 13x19 max print size, a Canon Pixma Pro-100 is excellent. I have a large whiteboard next to where I work, and keep cycling prints up and down, depending on what trip I've been on. Very relaxing to look on what you've done. Much more satisfying than on a screen.

Steve DeMott Loc: St. Louis, Missouri (Oakville area)

out4life2016 wrote:

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

B&H has the canon Pixma pro-100 for about $360 and 50 sheets of Canon Photo Paper Pro Luster plus free shipping. Canon is giving a rebate of $250. Cost of printer $110.00. Offer ends May 30/31. I just couldn't pass this one up. On my door step in 3 days.
Canon inks are about $125 for the set of eight plus a free value pak of paper.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

out4life2016 wrote:

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

Only if you think it is...

OviedoPhotos

One bad thing about owning your own printer is that even unused ink is consumed. Recently I needed prints really quickly and was not at home. I went to a CVS and got 4x6's for 33 cents each. 8x10's were on sale for 1.40$

Ink for my printer costs about 99$ and although it gets used its not that often.

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

Depends on how much you print and how much money you can afford to burn through. There are many quality labs out there dying for business.
If you buy an inkjet, you will need to use it frequently to keep the heads from clogging up. I had to throw away an Epson 4900 because I didn’t use it enough. Heads got blocked and it would have cost more to replace the printer heads than to buy a new one. Also cost $1,000 to fill it with ink and paper. I have always owned my own printers, until recently. Places like AdoramaPix, Costco, Whitewall and others make it super affordable to have someone else do your printing for you.

par4fore Loc: Bay Shore N.Y.

out4life2016 wrote:

I have been thinking about buying my own personal photo printer. I typically don't print many photos but occasionally I capture one that I want to blow up for the wall. I have been using the local printing shop. Is it really worth the expense of paper and ink????

Better to upload to a printer service then spend $ on archive inks.

TJBNovember Loc: Long Island, New York

Gee I hope so, invested in two.

out4life2016 Loc: Bellingham, Washington

Thank You all for your advice and suggestions on this subject. I have decided after listening to allcomments and sleeping on it that a photoprinter is not the best way to spend my money. Since I mostly print in 8x10 and typically only about 10 photos a year its cheaper for me to just continue using the local lab and paying them 1.59 per copy plus there if I don't like them I don't have to take them. Happy Shooting

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

I recently got the Canon Pro 100 with the $250 rebate and free paper. I am completely satisfied with the printer. I have done the monitor calibration, and use the proper print profile, and the printed pictures are wonderful. I don't print for anyone, only what I want, when I want. I usually only do 4x6 just to see how it comes out and as part of my skill building in cropping and post processing. I tried going to Walgreens, it became a problem with the store I was going to because they did not always have someone there. I tried sending pictures ahead of time, and often it would take over 24 hours. Costco is 10 miles away, not going to drive that far to get a few pictures. Everyone's needs and interests are different I suppose, but having the ability to print the picture I am working on right now is well worth the few extra pennies per picture.
By the way, I am on my third box of 4x6 printer paper without changing any of the ink cartridges, over 200 prints. I did see one is nearly empty.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I could never justify the cost of the printer (over a thousand), and especially the ink in some of the higher end printers (a FEW hundred for a set of cartridges!) Definitely NOT cost effective for me since I'm not made of money!
It's MUCH less expensive for me to send the work to a lab (I use my local Costco) than to keep buying a ton of ink. I will print an occasional 5x7 or 8x12 myself, but even with an ink set costing $75, I'll still send multiples to Costco. I do print more 4x6s, but still, not a lot.