alf85 Loc: Northumberland, UK.

I use an Epson P50, and a contraflow unit the i top up from bottles of ink.
I buy Pack's of 6x100ml bottles, that cost around eight pound.
I print mostly A4 prints.
Alf.

Mickey88 Loc: Central Florida

I agree with this way of thinking. When I took a photography course many years ago, they emphasized that unless you had a passion for playing in the darkroom, have pros print your photos... they said stay behind the camera where you are making your money.

I currently have 3 printers connected to my pc, one is an all in one,Canon printer, 2 are Epson photo printers, I use them mostly for printing on cds and dvds. Occassionally I will print photos at home when I'm bored. Otherwise everything gets sent to a lab, I have yet to get prints back that didin't look the way I wanted them to, and I have yet to have anyone complain about the turnaround time for photos, because I explain up front that they will be printed by a professional lab

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

I have had a few Walgreens prints I did not like - they reprinted them for me - Dave

dragonswing Loc: Pa

If I am just printing 4x6 then I will go to the camera shop to print. But I like the fact that my photo printer will print custom sizes so if I do a different type of crop I can print it at home. I can get paper on a roll and print out banner size--can't do that easily at the store.

Gramps Loc: Republic of Tejas--Tomball, TX

Sombody, one hell of a lot smarter than me, once saged something about the difference bewtween men and boys is the cost(and bragging) of their toys".
Then he was interrupted by someone in UHH who reminded the brain trust that if everyone agreed with them, every one else would want their wives.

PCL92

At he club I belong to we tested Costco and a local lab. The local lab did a far better job for a few cents more than Costco. The color reproduction at Costco was not correct. That being said the reason to print your own is the total control and instant gratification. If you are really serious and want to print your own then a Epsom 2880 or 3000 series printer should be looked at. The Canon Pro series is good as well. They print larger and if you want to enter your prints in local contests the larger format print looks better.

Croce Loc: Earth

I quit printing my own about a year ago. I also quit custom houses for anything under 20x30. Which is the largest size Costco will print. Costco gives me results better than most custom houses and it is more convenient since they are just 2 miles from my home. BUT ... There is a trick to getting high quality from them. You must profile your prints to the printers they will use on that particular print and you must specify the paper and you must make sure your monitor is accurately profiled so you can make an accurate soft print. Also make sure, when placing your order to specify that they are not to apply auto corrections or in any way alter what you submit for printing. Do that and you will be very happy with the end results and usually, just an hour later. Someone here mentioned they like to print their own so they can reprint if the print is not correct. If the monitor is correctly profiled and the profile submitted to the printer for the paper being used has been properly soft proofed, the print will be correct. That goes for doing it on your own printer as well as when sending it out.

Croce Loc: Earth

Coach, let me end your quandry. Getting a good print from any source is not simple. If you can not or are not willing to learn how to properly soft proof and profile your monitor and printer submissions, save yourself a lot of money and be satisfied with what the neighborhood vendors put out for you. If you are as you say, technically challenged, save your $$ and your nerves and let the outsiders do it. I keep reading about maintaining control. Hell, I have control having it done outside. If they don't do it right, make them do it over. That has happened to me only once and not at Costco but by a very well respected custom house. They ignored my order to not adjust! If you give them a good file and clear instructions to not alter either your file or media preference, you will get back what you are expecting. Control? Artists ego trip. You always have control if you control it. My 2 cents.

amwalker3 Loc: London UK.

I'd echo that. You'll probably drive yourself crazy getting to grips with colour management. Tons of paper and gallons of ink might go wasted but oh! the sublime pleasure when that one great image emerges from your own printer! I recommend it. But then I'm probably crazy myself.

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

Hi olcoach. I use a Canon Pixma 3 way. This is my second Canon 3-way and I've had excellent luck with both of them.

Yes you can have lots of photos printed for the same money at Costco but then do you have any control? As I see it not really.

I don't do lots of photo printing as in 4x6 but if I did I might opt for the Costco solution as it can get expensive doing it at home.

For me, doing the occasional 8x10 or 5x7 the home method works very well for me.

Good luck

shutterbum

Yes, Costco, et al, probably is cheaper but I lose the creativity there. I can control te crop, color, hue, etc. To me that is worth the extra price, if that is the case.

billybob40

Mick in my case I don't have a lot of money, so I buy printers with CISS ink systems for under $200. With ink to print over a 1000 8x10s I just did a run of over 500 (thats wallet to 8x10s) for a senior at a coct of $20. my cost. I contorl what they look like. I buy paper 1000 sheets (glossy 260g) at $60. that 8 1/4 x 11, get wallet to 8 x 10s. Have 3 Epsons that will print up to 13 x 19s, 13 x 19 cost a buck any where you buy it. Ink cost for it is .25. If any one can do better this let me know Below is some of the prints. I didn't do the photography, great job doing them.

13x19 did the design cost me $1.25


Wellet to 8 x 10


Wellet to 8 x 10

steve40 Loc: Asheville/Canton, NC, USA

Well - the cost of printing is not the object, its the fun. I can watch the ink tanks on my Canon iX6520 printer, emptying with each print. Kind of like a wino, loves his wine. My printer LOVES its ink.

One of my daughters, wanted a picture made of her birthday cake. It was my pleasure to take it, print it (8.5x11), all with in 10 minutes. She proclaimed it, her favorite! birthday present. FUN. :)

Dennis

Some photographer know they can do a better job.
You failed to mention the cost of getting to wallgreens and you didn't put a value on your time spent getting there.
I don't understand why people get into an expensive endeavor such as photography and then complain about the cost of everything. You get what you pay for.

steve40 Loc: Asheville/Canton, NC, USA

Ever since I have been photography, that has been lotsa years now. Outside of my taste for expensive Cambridge Bibles, it has cost me more than my wife did. Which I gave up!, because i couldn't justify her upkeep. :lol:

So you don't like spending money, leave photography alone. I won't even tell you what it cost, to print a 13x19 print with my Canon iX6520.