What do you print your digital pictures on?

[stereomandan]

Just wondering how good digital pictures can look when they are printed out.

What is the standard way to print digital photos?

Is there a recommended photo paper and a recommended printer?

My Lexmark 7200 did a great jog before when I printed a picture to photo paper, but it still wasn't quite up to the quality of 35mm prints.

Any tips or tricks, or hardware recommendations?

Thanks,
Dan

[dennisV]

The best photo paper for me is the heavy kind (thick paper) of photo paper. This gives the best result. I print my pictures on a hp 710c inkjet printer. I used to photograph with an agfa ephoto 1280, but recently I bought a coolpix 995 for use in an underwater housing (diving).

The quality of my printed agfa pics was very hard to distinguish from a real photograph. The Coolpix is even better.

But you must use the real heavy kind of photo paper (satin-gloss, the heaviest kind of it you can find is best) or else the quality just isn't the same.

Good luck

[stereomandan]

Thanks for the info.

Dan

[64Ivy]

As I am just trying to find my way around the digitally photographic world also (I had to be dragged kicking and screaming), I don't think I can be a LOT of help to you but in addition to what dennisV said, always make sure you're printing at around 300 dpi for best resolution and make sure you have good Color Management. That means that the color you see on your monitor will be the same (or really close to it) as the color that comes out of your printer. This is one of the more frustrating facets of digital photography for me (if you don't count Photoshop, which is something else you may want to look into.). I print on an Epson Stylus Photo 2000P, btw, and use their Premium Luster Paper.

[luminary]

I use an Epson 820 inkjet to print the pics from my Oly 4040. It gives superb results. There are several models that Epson has in their Photo Print series that all use the same basic print technology. The 820 is the cheapest and the 1280 is the most expensive. All give very comparable results. The differences between the models are largely extra features.

Typically, you're best bet is to use the recommended paper for your printer. This is almost always the printer manufacturers paper. I use the glossy Epson photo paper.

I disagree somewhat with dennisv. Use the thickest paper that your printer manufacturer recommends. Using a paper that is too thick for the printer can cause problems.

I have full 8x10 prints that are indistinguishable from lab prints unless you get very close (then you can barely make out the dots).

[stereomandan]

What is a good software to use for print managment. I can change the print resolution of my Lexmark up to true 1200x1200 dpi, but will that change the printed image size?

I think I'll also buy the color photo cartridge that uses 6 colors instead of three.

Thanks for the help.

Is Microsoft Photo editor any good for this?

Links to sites that specialize in this information would be appreciated.

Dan

[Guy]

I use an HP 970cxi with KODAK UltraMax glossy. It gives the pictures great depth and is definately photo quality.

[jersey]

I use a HP P1000. Great printer, use hp premium photo paper. Almost impossible to tell the difference between my pictures and actual 35mm prints.