[Photo-SIG] New Kodak Inkjet printers promise cheaper prints

[Roger Jensen]

I think there is only one valid reason for printing your 
own photos on an Inkjet printer.  TIME!  You can have the 
results when and where you want/need them.  There are many 
places to get cheaper prints via photo labs.  However, as 
others have noted, you must also factor in your other 
costs such as shipping or your time and travel to pick 
them up.  Arguably, you could also get superior quality 
prints through many photo processors than you can on a 
inkjet printer.

I recently purchased the new Epson PictureMate 240 which 
is capable of printing directly from a memory card, or 
even from the camera.  Of course, you can also connect it 
to your PC via a USB cable or use Bluetooth to connect.  I 
have tried all of these methods and still prefer to use 
the cable connection.  I always edit any photo for 
printing because I at least want control of the cropping 
but generally do even more.  I found Bluetooth too slow 
and of course printing from a card often means the photo 
is printed just as it looks from the camera.  However, I 
have found it is also nice to print from the card when I 
do a batch of prints after editing and storing them back 
to a memory card.  This allows printing in an unattended 
mode.  I found this very nice when I print as I'm 
traveling.  Yes, even in my car.

To my weak eyes, the photo quality of the prints from this 
printer are every bit as good as those from a photo 
processor.  Note; we're talking 4x6 prints, here; I always 
get larger prints via mail order.

Someone mentioned that the lifespan of printed photos is 
very short.  According to Epson the life of these photos 
is 60 to 100 years.  I'd love to be around long enough to 
see if this is true.  :)

BTW: My original Epson PhotoMate is available for 
purchase, if anyone is interested.  It still does a great 
job but is slower and does not have the ability to show 
the images on its LCD display like the new 240.

Cheers,
Roger

On Tue, 6 Feb 2007 21:07:34 -0500
  "Mike Nelson" <mike at nelsonusability.com> wrote:
> note that while cheap(er) prints are aslledgedly 
>available (cost cited at 10 cents each), the best prints 
>are still cited at 25 cents each, and that's for a 4x6 
>weenie.  doesn't sound all that exciting, and only 4 
>colors, to boot...
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Lundy" 
><lundyd at dmapub.dma.org>
> To: "Digital Photo SIG" <Photo-SIG at dma.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 8:34 PM
> Subject: [Photo-SIG] New Kodak Inkjet printers promise 
>cheaper prints
> 
> 
>> See 
>><www.dpreview.com/news/0702/07020601kodakallinoneprinters.asp> 
>>for an 
>> announcement of three new all-in-one photo printers from 
>>Kodak that 
>> promise great photo prints at about half the current 
>>cost of printing your 
>> own photos.  I'm not a fan of all-in-one printers, but 
>>I'm eager to see 
>> what they can do.  The first two models are expected to 
>>be available next 
>> month at Best Buy only.  The third model should be 
>>available in May.
>> -- 
>> Dave Lundy <www.dma.org/~lundyd> 
>><www.flickr.com/photos/lundyd>
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Roger

Roger at the-Jensens.com