Non-motoring > Dedicated photo printer vs online prints.	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Fenlander	Replies: 30

New Mon 2 Aug 10 11:53   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Fenlander

Any thoughts? We have used various full sized printers to do our photos over the years... in truth we only print a few a month. Now the good lady wants to get the last 10yrs of digital images sorted and a selection printed for filing into albums. I guess we're talking 1000+ prints. I wondered about buying a small dedicated photo printer around £100 (6x4 is fine) but of course loads of folks offer online services. I did use the Sony print service one years ago and the results were excellent. Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 2 Aug 10 at 11:55 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 12:06   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Skoda

My Canon photo printer (wasn't a cheap one either) gave up the ghost after circa 500 prints. Was still under warranty but i was bored of the faffing about with it (less than ideal system) so i've switched to online prints and let someone else worry about it all. Snapfish/HP are cheap (it was my virgin broadband put me onto them) but not as good quality as Asda i've found (i think they're all kitted out by Kodak?). Would be interested to hear other's recommendations. Last edited by: CraigP on Mon 2 Aug 10 at 12:06 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 12:15   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - henry k

SWMBO wanted a few 6 X 4 prints so I tried out Kingston Boots offerings. Both units were pop in your recording media and use the touch screen. The "instant" prints were not very good. The "one hour or 24 hour" units link to the big printers that have always been there and therefore produce a much better quality. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 12:26   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - R.P.

Photobox is very good. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 12:36   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - VxFan

>> Photobox is very good. 2nd that. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 12:48   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Mike Hannon

I bought an HP photoprinter/scanner about 18 months ago. It's disastrous - I've never seen such horrific ink consumption or such expensive ink either. I Now just go to the supermarket and get prints done on the spot. I don't know if you can do this in the UK but over here you can use 'Bluetooth' to point your phone (with camera!) at a 'photo-me' type booth and in a couple of minutes you get your prints. My pal, a world-acknowledged camera expert, now only bothers to use the camera in his iphone. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 12:50   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Fenlander

Thanks. Yep my worry is with the hassle of printer reliability/ink costs/paper costs which as you say is someone elses problem if you use an online service. If the quality is good then Photobox looks OK on prices... first 40 free then 5p a print at the quantity we need. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 13:08   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Hard Cheese

Photobox offer a good service as do many High St stores many with high quality instant print kiosks. The key factor though is that DIY photo printers are more costsly per print than online or instore. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 13:14   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Iffy

...first 40 free then 5p a print at the quantity we need.... If my arithmetic is up to scratch, the OP will be paying £48 for 1,000 prints. Looks like a bargain to me. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 14:41   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - rtj70

£48 sounds very good value for 1000 prints. You'd spend more than that on ink and paper. And you'd need a printer to start with too. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 15:14   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - car4play

Yes and they also seem to have a bundle price of £20 for 250 standard prints by entering the bundle code at checkout. That would make it only £40 for 1000. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 15:03   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Tooslow

That's a bargain price. Wife gets a batch of about 100 printed each year, in between times we use the printer for the odd one. You'll be hearitly sick of printing by the time nbr 100 comes off never mind 1000. Just make sure you're happy with the company before you commit to 1,000. Just to throw a fly in the ointment... has she seen those photobook things? Nice, but expensive. JH Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 14:20   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Zero

>> >> Photobox is very good. >> >> 2nd that. 3rd that. Home Photo printers are slow, expensive on ink, and unlike the dye sublimation printers the online boys use, the ink has a tendency to fade and discolour. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 15:17   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Hard Cheese

>>and unlike the dye sublimation printers the online boys use,>> Some use dye sub though many, including I believe Photobox, use silver halide photo paper. Writing images onto photo paper via a laser offers superb quality and permanence. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 20:46   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Kevin

>Photobox is very good. Photobox are the best I've come across for price, quality and service. Been using them for years with absolutely no complaints whatsoever. Upload your files before noon and they usually arrive next day. No need to reduce file size. I have an Olympus dye-sub and a Canon MP980 which are useful for one-off jobs but 1000 prints would be awfully slow and expensive. I don't think you'd be disappointed with Photobox. Kevin... Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 21:06   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - VxFan

>> Photobox is very good. >> Upload your files before noon and they usually arrive next day. I finished uploading the photos I took at my parents 50th wedding anniversary and placed the order (some 200+ photos) at 02:00 on Saturday morning. Email confirmation from them at 07:00 to say they had been dispatched and they arrived Monday morning. This was a couple of years ago, so it's good to hear the service they provide is still excellent. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 13:18   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Focusless

Isn't the main problem with DIY that the photos fade relatively rapidly compared to those produced by a 'proper' development process? Or is that no longer true? Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 15:46   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Fenlander

OK seems Photobox online is the way to go. I'll have to batch them though thinking about it. Wonder if you need to reduce the file sizes before uploading? Most were taken on 5mp and 8mp cameras... last year or so up to 12mp. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 15:49   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - rtj70

This is when you realise taking a memory card into a shop is easier. I would not reduce the file size because that will reduce the quality. Although doing 6x4 does not need 12MP resolution that's for sure. My Sony DSLR produces around 3-4Mb files per picture. My newer 12MP Panasonic around 5-6Mb. Assuming it's only 4Mb then that's 4Gb to send. That's not that much really if you have a decent upload speed with your ISP. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 15:53   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - rtj70

Don't forget to factor in the cost of delivery. Especially if you order in separate batches. I think I'd personally double check the cost at my local Tesco and try them out with a small batch to see if quality vs price was acceptable. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 16:47   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - AshT

A second vote for Asda - 6x4 prints cost about 20p in my local store using one of their self service machines, and the results are very good. I had some photos of the kids printed out at 8x10 recently for the grandparents, and the print quality was excellent. You can upload photos to www.asda-photo.co.uk for printing and collection in store, but I usually use the self service machines - very straightforward, and the staff are always helpful if you need them. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 16:54   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - teabelly

photo.jessops.com/photo-printing.html Jessops have a variable length printing option so you can avoid cropping if you use their software to upload your prints. Did find a review of photobox saying their print quality wasn't very good. Not been my experience but I haven't used them for a while. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 18:47   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Tooslow

I find some Jessops prints to be a bit over saturated, at least on 6*4. I've used Peak Imaging and was happy with the results. I have no idea if their price would be competitive for that sort of run but somewhere along the way, as the price goes down, the quality will have to do likewise. JH Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 16:47   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - teabelly

The cost per print on a photo printer is wayyyyy more expensive than photobox would be for the same number! I think photobox are daft cheap like 4p a print so 1000 would be £40. I have a canon selphy which I bought for photo prints and it works out about 40p a print. I rarely print many and would use photobox for any amount above 5 as it is cheaper even including postage. The only good bit about a home photo printer is you can have a print instantly rather than having to wait a whole day or two :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 17:14   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - rtj70

Tesco's website said from 5p a print and you can have them sent to a store for collection. I wonder if the store does the actual printing. Upload limits file size to 6Mb though. If anyone has a Mac and wants an AppleScript applet/service that resizes batches of photos easily let me know. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 17:58   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - CGNorwich

Nearly all online printers have some sort of introductory offer. By judicious swapping about you should be able to get several hundred free or postage only cost prints Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 18:33   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - FotheringtonTomas

Use Aldiphoto. Was not so good a couple of years ago, but now it's great - cheap, too. Don't waste your life using your own printer! Last edited by: FotheringtonTomas on Mon 2 Aug 10 at 18:34 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 18:50   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - Stuartli

Asda has a good reputation in my area, although I've not used its service as I print my own. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 19:03   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - AnotherJohnH

Anyone taking a memory card to a third party for printing should make sure their antivirus is fully up to date with latest definitions, before you get the card back. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 19:36   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - rtj70

Good point. In fact if you've only copied on pictures then format it in the camera and therefore no risk of viruses. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 2 Aug 10 19:36   Dedicated photo printer vs online prints. - The Nut

Used Asda's 1 hour and 2 day service when we've had alot to print and found them to be excellent quality prints. Don't know how it compares cost wise to printing at home but it's much easier especially if you only have an A4 printer at home. Reply to this message | Report message