Photography

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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.

This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.

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communick@viewfinder.pro

Home Printer vs Printer Service (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by Seattlekai@alien.top to c/photography@viewfinder.pro

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Hi All. Tried doing some research on the topic of continuing with a photo printing service versus buying a high quality pigment based printer i.e Epson P900 or maybe Canon Pro 300 for something a little smaller. I am an amateur but just really love photography and the artistic expression we all get from the craft. There’s something really special about printing out your photos and seeing the image come back into the real world and make tweaks/edits to how you are shooting and editing. For whatever reason I dont print my work often and thought a home printer would make it more enjoyable and encourage me to print more often.

My big question for those of you out there is your experiences and opinions on the topic and any general advice for consideration. Is getting a home printer worth it or is it just a pain in the ass. I know realistically it’s probably a bit cheaper to use a online service and while there are ton of options for papers and prints, you don’t get the real time feedback/results and it doesn’t feel as gratifying. There are obviously also a ton of monitor calibration variables, ICC profiles, and I assume things that can go wrong, and just general expenses.

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[–] kickstand@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

IMHO, convenience is the biggest factor.

Want to make a print during a party, to give to your guests? Want to make multiple variations of a print to get it exactly right? Want to make a birthday card the morning before you have to go to a birthday party?

Also, at least for me, having my own printer means I make more prints. My (Epson R3000) actually died two years ago, and I haven't really made any prints since.

[–] Seattlekai@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Appreciate you calling this out and honestly it’s probably the big enabler I’m expecting. I love the control you get and just being able to print on a moments notice. Are you thinking about replacing your R3000 at any point?

[–] kickstand@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I’ve been thinking about it for about two years now. Maybe I should look for some Black Friday deals.