RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

Who even prints pictures anymore? one answer Rodeoman

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The electronic billboard has led to a proliferation of displays that grossly violate basic billboard message design “rules”. Clearly they’re just lazily using their pop up ads and loading those into the billboards.

Some are not only too cluttered but also unreadable at night due to their overly bright backgrounds.

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

It depends on what you want to do with your pictures. If you just want to look at them on your phone, it doesn't matter what you use.
But if you want to put it on your wall, then it does matter.

hrblaine

And back in the day, did you see any difference between 35mm and those little point and shoots?

I thought not. "Just different types of cameras," right?

Harry

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Comparing DSLRs and Cell Cameras.
You're changing the recipe using Instamatics.....
Why don't you throw a Minox into the stew.
It's just a different type of camera...

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

A few people occasionally print a photo here and there, but not many. I have 3,294 of my "favorite" photo's on display at the touch of a button on all 4 of my big screen TV's. This is a very small percentage of all my pictures. I can't recall how many printed pictures I have hanging on my walls, not many and the largest are 16x20. None are from cell phones because when I was printing photo's I wasn't using a cell phone for photo's. I'm pretty certain cells have enough resolution for a 16x20, but the ones I have hanging are not going anywhere. I do have some 8x10's from cells, and they look just as good as from any other camera I own.

Not saying there is anything wrong with printing photo's, but what on earth do you do with all those prints, or don't you take many pictures?
How much wall space and table top space do you have?

My kids, both in their mid 30's don't even own a printer. They take LOTS of pictures, all with cell phones and if they happen to want a print, which is rare, they send to out to be printed I guess.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I primarily display my good pictures on big screen HD TV. I have a few prints hanging around, the biggest are 16x20. I've never sent a cell picture out to be printed at any size, but would be surprised if I couldn't get a good 16x20 out of a 12MP cell phone pic. I just looked and I have printed a very nice 11x14 photo that is just 4MB.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Perhaps, but the cluttered, overly bright issue is not a technology issue. My 55" TV's display my photo's perfectly. If I make the image too bright, or too cluttered with small print, or incorrectly sized, it's not the arrows fault, it's the shooters. If it's a problem, adjustments can be made with a few clicks of a button.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

So true... There are certain characteristics of each medium. If a designer ignores them, they quickly create a mess. Stadium jumbotrons wind up with unreadable clutter, too. What works on a computer monitor fails at 300 yards.

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

I think you describe the photo world today. For that reason, I think at least 95% of the camera and lens market is wasted. Professionals may need to meet any customer demand, but everybody else is wasting money for top gear. It is like spending $3000 for an outdoor grill you use once a year (or not). (I have a smoker that will cook two 20 lb turkeys. It has been in the shed for 12 years.) If people want a sofa size wall photo, they can call a pro--cheaper than a pro camera outfit. Of course, amateurs may not spare expense when we dabble--we do it from love of the art.

petrochemist Loc: UK

I certainly print, it's very hard to exhibit at the local venues without having mounted prints. I think 20 prints should cover my share of next months exhibition, but I'll probably print nearer 50 to select the best ones.

RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

I understand where you are coming from? Storage room can be a problem, fortunately I have the room. Most of my prints are in albums divided by subject, family, events such as day trips, longer vacations, etc. I take a lot of photographs and am trying to be much more discriminating in both what I shoot and what I keep. I probably have a different attitude toward prints than many of my fellow hogs. I have been working on the genealogy of my family for over fifty years and am fortunate to have many images of my immediate and more distant forebears. I have these because they were printed. I fully understand that images on a digital media are much easier to share back and forth with others in the present world. I also do not think these images on digital media will be available to great grandchildren a hundred years in the future. For that, I would trust the printed paper image stored in an album or a shoebox more than an SD card, hard drive or the cloud. I suspect many of us printer types could be more discriminatory in what we put to paper and could keep what will remain in the present on a digital media of some type. On the other hand, I would hope that you (or others in your school of thought) would have family pictures, or photographs of your home and other aspects of your daily life that your descendants would appreciate. You also, no doubt, have made a body of work, apart from the family and related images, that deserves to be carried into the future.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I didn't say nobody prints, I said few people print today. Of the billions of people taking pictures, a few still print, that would be in the millions I'd reckon. Still, investing in a photo paper company might be a tad risky if your looking for growth. Investing in photo printing company might not be a good idea either. Every year fewer and fewer retailers offer photo printing. Not long ago Sams Club had print services at their store now it's history. Yes, there will always be a niche market for hanging a handful of pictures on your wall, but just niche. Photo Hut is LONG gone...

Before digital, everyone printed their pics, a few did slide shows. Today, not many print. If you display your photo's on your big screen TV you will see that services like Amazon Drive and it's FireStick Photo app has successfully replaced 35mm slides as a simple, and MUCH better method of displaying ALL your masterpieces. It's also better than a bunch of shoe boxes full of deteriorating photo's waiting for someone to dig out one day in the distant future.

My wife dug out her shoe boxes a few years ago with photo's unseen for 40-100 years. I quirky scanned the keepers to digital, edited out the deterioration best I could and the good ones now join my other masterpieces in TV wonderland...

Today photography is digital, and so is photo display and storage. It's all good, so no reason to complain, and every reason to embrace it to your advantage.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Yes, true. but lots of exhibitions and competitions are now done digitally over the internet. The hog itself is for exhibition and has competitions, but so do many others. Flickr for example has contests, as do many others. None of these will accept mounted prints

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I don't print unless I'm hanging it, giving it, or selling it.
Not enough wall space. We have other artworks too.