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Digital Cameras - PrintingAs the market develops an increasing number of companies are offering printing services and it is now almost as easy for you to have prints produced from photos taken on a digital camera as it is from a roll of film. It fact as technology advances I would say it is even easier to produce standard prints from a digital camera than a film camera. Home Printing One of the many advantages of digital cameras is that it is easy to create your own prints at home. To get the best results you will need a special type of printer, a photo realistic one. These are inkjet printers that are specially set up to optimise the printing of photographs. They can still be used for normal printing purposes such as printing letters. You can pick up a printer for under £100, but as with most things the more you pay the better the quality you get. To get the best results you will also need to use special photo paper. The cost of the paper varies so it is difficult to give an accurate figure, but it may be worth budgeting for around 30p per sheet of A4 size paper. A lot depends on the quantity of paper you buy and the brand of paper. One further advantage is that you can control the number of prints that you wish to make at anytime. For example if you wish to make a single print or reprint you can whereas a retailer may well have a minimum print quantity. You can also buy smaller papers such as 6x4" or 7x5". These are not quite so easy to get hold and although they are cheaper than A4 paper there isn't that much difference in price. If you are looking to create the perfect print then it is also worth looking at dye sublimation printers. These are more expensive than inkjets, but produce a better quality print. You may notice that some digital cameras are described as Pict Bridge compatible. This means that you can connect the camera directly to a printer without using a computer. The printer itself also has to be Pict Bridge compatible. A cable should be supplied with a Pict Bridge compatible digital camera. You then control the pictures that you want to be printed through the camera's menu system. A further development is the introduction of printers like the Epson Print Mate that can accept memory cards. To make a print all you need to do is take the memory card from the camera and insert it into the printer. This printer can produce prints up to 4x6" in size. There is an LCD screen on the printer that walks you through the printing process. You can choose to print just one picture, a selection or all the images on the card. Printing in the High Street This is the largest growth area with regard to digital printing. Nearly all camera shops offer a printing service now. Other shops that have traditionally provided a printing service, such as chemists are also now offering digital printing services. Most outlets allow you to take your chosen images in on either a memory card or on a CD. They will do the rest for you. In some cases "one hour printing" is available. The norm is around two days. Photo Kiosks are springing up too. These are basically machines where you can develop instant prints under your own control. You should be able to find a Kiosk in larger Boots outlets. To produce your prints you insert your memory card into the machine and select the prints that you would like to make. A short while later and hey presto the prints are in your hands. Internet Services Printing via the Internet has become very easy indeed. In fact this is the way I get all my printing done now. The way this tends to work is that you visit a photo printing website such as Photo Box. On the site you will find a page that allows you select photos stored on your own PC and upload them. This is a very simple process although uploading large photos can take a while. You can always leave the process running in the background. Once you have uploaded the photos you would like printed, you specify the size of prints you would like and the quantity of each one. Apart from paying that is about it really. The prints are normally delivered through your letter box the next morning. Prints vary in price, but a 4x6" print can cost as little as 7 or 8p. If you would like to take a look at a website offering the service then I suggest taking a look at Photo Box. I have been delighted with the service I receive from them. The quality is excellent and they are used by many professional photographers. Mail Order Mail Order printing works in a very similar way to Internet Services. The difference being that you select the images that you want printed and download them to a CD. You then post the CD to the mail order company. Again the prints are returned to you through the post after about seven days. Cost of Third Party Printing Whichever service you select expect to pay between 10p and 15p for a basic print. Obviously larger prints will cost more with 8x10" costing over £1. Digital Cameras
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