sbohne

When I had 3 studios, I was using LRP in St. Louis. Things went digital, LRP did not. I used a couple of in-state labs, but they went belly up. I then switched to ACI in Iowa, and I was very, VERY happy with them. Since I did my own color correction in the file, I got 8x10 prints for a buck, and I never had to send an order back. Now that I'm retired, I use Wal Mart. Their photographs are printed on Fuji Frontier printers: I put my card into the kiosk, place my order, small prints come to me in minutes, larger prints are ready by the time I can walk to the photo counter. I do not have a Costco within 50 miles of me. I used to print my own prints on a Fuji Pictrography. I sunk thousands into the machine, only to have that company full of weasels discontinue it shortly after I purchased it. What made it worse was that they only produced the materials for a few years afterward, leaving me with a $12,000 boat anchor. For this reason, I never...EVER...will purchase ANY Fuji product, and I would not shed a tear if they closed. I have used Epson inkjets. For all the babble about inkjet prints not being very permanent, I have a photo of my son and grandson on a side table at home. It's 20 years old and looks like the first day it was printed. Just my .02¢.

PS: I am not super fussy, but I don't accept shite, either.

steinr98

This is really a tough question!! I belong to a very large Photo Club- We use Epson printers- We have had the Epson P600(2of them) and one Epson 3880. Yes the print heads will clog but living in AZ where it is "Extremely Dry" the heads will clog easily!. I personally own a Epson P600. So... We have found that we print a small 4x6 Epson quality test print every Monday morning, and this keeps the heads from clogging!! We only use Epson ink. The two Epson P600s have been replaced as we speak with 2 Epson P800s because of the sizing of prints(larger 17X22inches). 2 of our more professionals(who sell their prints on line and in our area)had tried the Canon printers(large format) and found them to be a bit more exaggerated in the red/green end of the spectrum of colors and have gone back to Epson. It becomes a personal choice. Since we started a Monday morning printing test- we have not had a bit of trouble. I also just read recently that if you leave the printer on, it will go into a sleep mode but it keeps the print heads warm and they will not clog so rapidly. I no longer have the articles but there was two articles that I had Googled! The articles also claim that the heads will last longer as the killer to heads is, turning them on and off?? Just repeating what I read. Good Luck!!

Ron Dial Loc: Cuenca, Ecuador

Epson Stylus Pro series. They are becoming less expensive. I think the 4000 series is a pretty good printer. The print heads in the 4000 series and up, are made more precise and have a finer resolution, and better color rendering. Each ink is separate, therefore more expensive, but a better result on a wide selection of papers.

CaptainEd

For home printing, I've been pleasantly surprised by my Epson Ecotank. I bought it for general and business use primarily, but tried a couple of test print on photo paper with really nice results. I would go to an outside printer for anything I planned on lasting years, gifting, or selling. A friend has a Canon Pro 10, and the results are excellent from it. Cartridges aren't cheap though.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

There used to be a very fine pro lab right around the corner where I spent @ 2k per month, mostly on processing. That lab is a thing of the past and the nearest pro lab is only a mailbox away. I have had several of the higher quality Epson printers and am currently using an Epson P800 which I like quite a bit. I make prints mostly because I like the total control of the process it gives me. I use ONLY OEM ink and mostly Red River paper and print in a color managed workspace. If I need very large prints, or very large quantities of prints, I'll use an outside lab. Best of luck. Happy New Year!

sbohne

I haven't sent anything to a lab by mail in nearly 20 years! All via the internet!

nikondoug

Canon PXMIA Pro-10, I have owned this printer for over three years with never an issue. The printer works flawless. I purchase replacement ink from either B&H or Canon. If you are not in a hurry watch for Canon prints to go on sale, you can get great deal. I got two large packs of paper and the printer was less then 50% along with a mail in coupon.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

True here as well; however it's pretty hard to send an actual print back via email! Happy New Year!

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

This is a great discussion!
I just bought a Canon Pixma Pro-100 printer just because. I know it won't be as economical as ordering from Adoramapix, especially with my expected low output, but i love the immediacy of having the printer here, and the print quality is excellent. It was sent with Canon Pro-luster paper. I will let you know in 30 years whether the prints hold up.
I do have one cabinet card photo from the Civil War and one tintype from around that time, plus many cabinet cards from the 1880's and 1890's, and prints from the early 1900's forward. Many are fading but still scannable, many are holding up OK. Dad's from the 1950's are holding up well. The color prints from the 1960s are fading at an uneven rate.
I have scanned many, but my understanding is that digital data degrades faster than prints. Without backup will they outlast me? How about with backup? Who's going to continue to back up my files?
So my feeling about my photos are that they're ephemeral and who knows where they'll be in 100 years?

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Don't know who is the best but I prefer Mixbook.com. They do excellent work, turn-a-round is quick and they are not costly. 4X6 is $0.15. Their website is easy to navigate.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Wilhelm Imaging Research is known throughout the industry for its rigorous testing discipline.

My comments refer to high end inkjet printing using archival materials and pigmented inks. There are SOME dye-based printers capable of 100-year print life by Wilhelm's estimates. However, the 100-year rating commonly touted for silver halide papers is based on a much lower exposure standard. By Wilhelm's standards, the same papers last 20-40 years.

I did my own testing from 2005 to 2010. I took an unprotected 8x10 made on Kodak Endura photo paper on a Noritsu 31Pro mini-lab, using Kodak's full RA-4 chemistry, and an 8x10 made on an Epson 9880 using Epson paper and K3 Ultrachrome inks, and taped them to my office window, where they got full sun during the day. I filed duplicates of them in dark storage at 72F, 50% RH. After five years, the Epson print was virtually indistinguishable from its twin inkjet print. The Kodak Endura print showed quite a bit of fading compared to its twin.

Pro customers who cater to the masses like we did (at Delmar and Herff Jones Photography, both school portrait companies absorbed into Lifetouch NSS in 2011) use silver halide processes because they are CHEAP and the process is CHEAP and FAST. Paper in bulk (i.e. the semi-tractor trailer load!) can be had at prices way under $.25 per square foot. We bought meter-wide by mile long master rolls and slit them down to 500' rolls in various widths.

After 2007, we used Epson printers for prints larger than 30" wide, the throat width of our Durst Lambda. When we first installed the inkjet in 2003 (a 9600) it replaced 12 optical printers that we used for low volume large prints — essentially anything larger than 12x18 inches. It made ALL our canvas prints for senior portraits, because stripping the emulsion off of Kodak RC papers is a royal PITA — we had to make three silver halide prints, just to be sure most of the time we could get one good one without tearing it. The Epson was a one and done... stretch it the next day and crate it for shipment. We also used the Epsons to make large, custom composites for fraternities, bands, nursing schools, senior classes, etc., up to 60x40 inches. We made a few 40x60 senior portraits each year. And we made some 32" x 96" panoramas of groups for schools to display in gyms and lobbies.

Where inkjet really shines is in these situations:

You want local control over image quality, and you understand end-to-end ICC color management practices.
You want a print NOW.
You want privacy, for sensitive legal imagery and such.
You want the widest possible color gamut of any printing process.
You want the best archival print available.
You want to make the largest prints possible.
You want to print on museum quality rag papers.
You want to print on canvas board or roll canvas paper.
You want to make "giclee" art prints for collectors.

Large art museums, top ad agencies, top celebrity photographers, and high end service bureaus such as Nash Editions use them for their best work. https://www.nasheditions.com

Inkjet is NOT:

A way to save money, whether using a $10,000 printer or a $79 printer.
An advisable process if you use a pigmented ink printer, and print less often than once a week.
An advisable process if you don't understand, implement, and commit to proper ICC color management workflow.
Ad advisable process for very high volume work.

patman1 Loc: Pataskala, Ohio

I have always printed my own photos. In the old days I shot mostly B/W, which I processed. I then started shooting color transparencies and loved being able to control the color saturation in processing. When digital became prevalent I invested in a couple of inkjet printers, my favorite being the Epson 1800, gave me beautiful 13 x 19 prints. Last purchase was a Kodak digital printer, loved it when it worked properly, which wasn't too often.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

My choice as well. Affordable and good results, always. For onesies, my Canon printers serve me well.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Longer than what? Inkjet prints made on HP office printers with off-brand inks and plain copy paper? Sure.

Longer than high end prints made on the best pigment ink pro photo printers with OEM inks and archival papers? No way!

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

I use an Epson Stylus Photo R3000 and print anything at home that is less than 13 x 19. I like to print my own work. It also allows me to quickly print up something if someone calls me and wants a photograph. For larger images or other mediums I use Bay Photo.