How to create great-looking prints from your digital photos.
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According to the latest statistics, roughly half of all Australian households have at least one digital camera. It's difficult to estimate just how many digital photos are taken because some photos get deleted before anyone else sees them, while others never move beyond the photographer's computer. This is one of the great benefits of digital photography: you can print only the shots you want.
But, how often do you print your digital photos?
Several factors are likely to influence your answer:
- Whether you like to share your images as prints;
- Whether you prefer to store your photos in albums or enlarge them for display;
- Whether there's a retail outlet you can visit that offers quality prints cost-effectively; and
- Whether you have a home printer.
Home printing has become much more important due to the introduction of a number of affordable, easy-to-use printers. On current estimates, roughly half of all digital photos printed in Australia today are printed at home. Average prices for photo printers have also fallen significantly, according to industry statistics. This drop in price is due to a number of factors, including increased distribution through large chains and bundling of photo printers with digital cameras and consumables.
Direct printing technologies are now well-established and most home printers have slots that accept all popular memory cards. Home printers also come with USB ports, making it easy to connect a digital camera for direct printing. The process is simple enough for raw beginners to accomplish and the results can be remarkably good.
Another reason for the growth in home printing is that modern printers can deliver photo prints that look every bit as good as prints from a photolab but last a great deal longer. Imagine being able to produce colour prints today that your great-grandchildren can enjoy! That's a reality with some home printers.
For enthusiast and professional photographers, new technology has also brought some significant advantages. Today's desktop printers can deliver prints with real pizzazz! Photographers have never had better control over the way their images look when they are printed and print quality has never been better. Your digital images can be turned into superb colour prints as well as true black-and-white prints with outstanding detail and tonal fidelity. You can also apply a wide range of colour tones and effects to make your photos even more exciting, and making poster-sized prints has never been easier, more rewarding or more affordable.
This fourth edition of our popular Printing Digital Photos covers all the changes that have occurred in the past year and provides digital photographers with advice on how to get the best results when making prints at home. Like the other guides in the Photo Review series, Printing Digital Photos is a key component in a three-part package that aims to help photographers to maximise the opportunities digital photography presents. Its companion Photo Review Australia magazine, which is published quarterly, carries reviews of the latest imaging products, inspirational portfolios and features on shooting and editing pictures. The Photo Review website you're now on keeps you advised about new products, often ahead of their local release. It also provides comprehensive equipment reviews, information sheets on specific product categories and tips on buying and using digital cameras, along with links to software you can download. You can also locate Australian retailers that offer good deals on equipment purchases and have knowledgeable staff to help you make the right buying decisions.
There's a wealth of choice in today's printer market and every digital photographer should be able to find at least one model to meet their requirements. In fact, some households may end up with several types of printer that are used in different circumstances. For example, the convenience and cost-effectiveness of a dedicated snapshot printer is great for families that like to make snapshot-sized (15 x 10 cm) prints for sharing - especially if it can produce long-lasting prints. ... [more]How Many Inks? The simplest printers use four ink colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Such printers are commonly known as CMYK printers, the 'K" standing for 'key' and representing black. In theory, all other colours can be produced by combining these four colours in different proportions. However, it is almost impossible to produce inks that are totally colour-pure so printer manufacturers have developed ink sets with increased colour and tonal accuracy. ... [more]All printers come with software for producing prints. This bundled software usually reflects the price and functionality of the printer and always includes the printer driver and an editing application. An online instruction manual is sometimes provided. The functionality of the software usually reflects the price and complexity of the printer, with entry-level printers providing very simple editors, while printers designed for serious amateur and professional photographers come with more sophisticated products like Adobe's Photoshop Elements. ... [more]Keen photographers quickly outgrow the basic software applications and want more control over the adjustments they can make to their digital photos. At the same time, families may also look for applications that extend the range of things they can do with their digital pictures. Fortunately, both groups are well catered for and there are lots of programs to choose from. In this chapter, we'll look at some of the best. ... [more]Editing is the aspect of the workflow most subject to the photographer's whims and level of expertise. It is easy to destroy a good image with excessive and inappropriate editing - but impossible to turn an inferior shot into a great-looking print. When editing images, make adjustments on a copy of the image file, keeping your original shot archived so you can return to it if the adjustments you apply don't produce the results you want. If your software supports layers, make adjustments on an adjustment layer to see the effect they have before committing to them. ... [more]Serious photographers with high-quality, dedicated photo printers need a working knowledge of colour management and digital workflow strategies to obtain the best prints from their digital images. The term 'workflow' in this context starts with image capture and extends through a chain of devices and media that include your computer monitor, editing software, printer and the paper you print on. ... [more]As we've covered printer drivers in Using Printer Drivers and Editing Software, this chapter is devoted to using paper profiles. When you buy an inkjet printer, the driver software contains pre-loaded ICC profiles for papers suitable for use with that printer. Paper profiles can also be found in the Technical Support section of the printer manufacturer's website under Inkjet Printer Drivers. Most manufacturers update them regularly as new products are released and existing products are improved. However, only papers produced by (or for) the printer manufacturer and sold under the manufacturer's brand name are profiled. ... [more]Many digital cameras - notably digital SLR models and high-resolution fixed-lens cameras - allow photographers to record images in the raw file format - as well as the universal JPEG setting. (Some also support TIFF file capture, but this is becoming rare.) By definition, a raw file contains the data as it is collected by the image sensor, without any subsequent processing. Raw files also contain image metadata (camera settings and other technical information), which can be viewed and used by the photographer - provided they have the right software. This is normally supplied with all cameras that support raw capture. ... [more] |