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#11 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Indian Rocks Beach, FL
Posts: 4,036
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It is actually hard to calculate. In all the reviews I’ve read Canon printers use half the ink of a comparable HP and considerably less than Epson, but the Canon paper is pricier. You have to run more cleaning cycles with Epson than Canon and usually none at all with HP, so the HP can actually be cheaper if you don’t print that often and print only a few pictures. If you use factory ink and pre cut 4 X 6 paper it is either a wash or pricier to print your own according to who’s calculations you use. My guess is that it costs more to print your own that way.
I prefer to keep my prints in the 3 X 4 ratio of my camera so I print 4 X 5.33 prints. I can fit four of those on a single sheet of Red River paper and set my trimmer to efficiently cut them out. Since I refill my photo printer cartridges with quality ink a 4 X 5 1/3 costs about 5c or less according to which sale I hit at Red River. I actually print things to pass around at 5 X 7 and pay about 10c each for them. If you use non-factory ink and/or paper you have to profile the printer for them, but it is worth it to me. Quote:
I have a good wide format photo printer and it is really hard to see any improvement over 180 PPI and you absolutely can’t see improvement over 250PPI. Any inkjet on the market is well past its ability to improve with increased pixels if you print an 8 X 10 from a 5Mp image. Quote:
Epson has a couple of current printers that use pigmented ink. I haven’t seen tests but I would guess they have fade characteristics similar to the photo process. If you print yourself it is a piece of cake to just print another if a print on the wall fades. |
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#12 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 186
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I was just reading an old issue of PopSci and it said that printing at home can cost anywhere around .56 per print at home while other places are around .20 (Average). Thanks for all the info.
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#13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 382
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I've had great results printing pictures at Costco. I'm looking at the wall behind my computer now, where there are 2 8x12" prints and one 12x18, all of which look stunning (and the limiting factor in quality seems to by my camera, not the printing).
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#14 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 22
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Just gut off the phone with the imaging experts (yes, that’s sarcasm) at my local Costco (in Gaithersburg MD) and they have the Noritsu 3101 (at least that is what someone read off the side of the big white machine) not the 2921DLS. It does 12 x 18 which is good, but in speaking with the tech (and this guy was handed the phone when the other one did not know what the word resolution meant) said it can handle images up to 1200 x 1800. I did not get very far with him, he just kept saying anything larger would slow down their computer of freeze it. I guess the only way will be to save an image at various resolutions and see what they can print, and if appears to down sample the image. Any better Ideas?
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#15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 5,803
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Unfortunately, that might be all you can do.
I heard an interesting dicussion where some pros where printing at Costco and complaining about the quality. The final result was this. Costco might use "professional grade" equipment but they don't have "professional grade" employees (in this area), so expect them to make mistakes, do something funny or print it on a different printer or paper when you least expect it. Do deal. You're getting an amazing deal for the price, but what you get probably won't be as consistant as if you went to a real print shop. Eric |
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#16 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: 39.18776, -77.311353333333
Posts: 11,599
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You control the IN/OUT (ie garbage in / garbage out). It's all automated... they are only experts at scanning their Costco card and accepting the pre-payment to let the order through! ![]() Quote:
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#17 | |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 55
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One word: TRASH. Yeah. They use the Kodak / Fuji paper. That is it. why? maybe they use cheaper chemicals. maybe they do not perform the required maintenance on their printer. maybe the cashier-cum-tech does not know how to tweek the machine for best ouput. The only one who did a decent job was YorkPhoto found at www.yorkphoto.com for 19c a print. not bad. |
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#18 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: 39.18776, -77.311353333333
Posts: 11,599
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Costco is really 19c a print and their turn around time is 24hr with no shipping & handling charge plus if you don't like any print, they'll credit you! ![]() |
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#19 | ||
Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 55
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100 4x6" prints $19.00 (19¢ per print) 250 4x6" prints $45.00 (18¢ per print) 400 4x6" prints $68.00 (17¢ per print) AND York Triple Guarantee of Excellence. This guarantee assures you that if you are not completely satisfied with your pictures, we will: refund your money give you a free replacement roll of film give you a coupon for free processing |
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#20 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 186
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York looks pretty inviting. But, I prefer 30 mins for my photos instead of waiting a few days. If I want to do that I'll just go back to film
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