Nature * Landscape * Wildlife

(e-mail Kevin | go back to the Learning Center index)

Making good photo prints at home...

An inkjet printer is almost a standard feature of home computers these days. While they’re capable of producing stunning photo prints, it’s easier said than done.

Ink ... to recycle or not recycle

	These tiny "ice feathers" are much larger than the microscopic drops of ink from your printer.

One of the biggest pitfalls involves the ink. Sure, the printers go through ink incredibly fast, and replacement cartridges cost a fortune. You may be tempted to buy recycled cartridges to save money, but it’s going to come at the expense of quality. The printing process is hard on the microscopic cartridge nozzles, so if you want photo-quality prints, it’s really best to start with all new parts each time you change ink.

Here's another way to look at it. The next time you make a print, look at how fast the print head glides across the paper. And think about how much wear and tear it must cause to spray tiny dots of ink - a thousand or so dots make up just a one-inch line - at that kind of speed. Recycled cartridges are undoubtedly fine for printing things off the Internet, but if you expect the best print results for your photos, it's best to spend the money for brand-new cartridges.

Paper types

You shouldn’t skimp on paper either, though you can often find good deals at warehouse clubs like Costco. And since their businesses are based on volume, odds are you’re going to get fairly fresh paper stock.

For working up sample photos, I've had very good luck with the Kodak Premium Picture Paper. All of the prints that I sell are produced by professional labs using lasers to expose true photographic paper, but the prints that I make at home on Kodak paper are of high enough quality that some magazines will scan those prints to use with articles. You can truly get professional results.

In addition to Kodak paper, you may want to consider the papers that are made by the same company that made your printer. They know how their printers deposit ink and are the most likely to make flattering papers. Experiment, though. I've found that even when using Hewlett-Packard printers, I like the Kodak paper better.

Adjust the settings

You may also need to adjust the print settings. I've found that printers that are set to use the default amount of ink produce prints that never seem to dry. They're sticky and the ink can flake off. If that's the case with your prints, go into your print options menu and select a setting that uses a little less ink (don't go as far down as draft mode, though).

If you're using Windows, here's how to get into the "Print Settings" box. When you're in your photo program, select "print" from the "file" pull-down menu. You'll be presented with a box, at the top of which is typically the name of the printer you're about to send your photo to. To the right of its name, you should see a button labeled "properties." Click that button and a new dialog box will pop up with various options that are specific to your particular printer. Try switching the print quality between normal and best. And don't be afraid to go to the advanced box to adjust those settings. If your photos are coming out too red or blue, lower the saturation level. If the colors are dull, try boosting saturation. They key is to experiment. Every printer is different.

Don't cut anyone's head off

Framing your prints can also be tricky. Just realize that each of the standard frame sizes has a different aspect ratio. The ratio of their sides are different. An 8x10 is much closer to a square than the more-narrow 4x6. Use the crop and resize tools in your photo program to make sure you’re going to get a print that’s the right size and that nobody’s head gets cut off.

To make sure your image is the right ratio for the form, find the resize option and make sure the "constrain proportions" or "keep image ratio" box is checked. Then type in your desired height or width (pick one or the other) and see what the program changes the other to. If you want to make an 8x10 and the program shows you that you're going to get an 8x10.25, trim a little off the wide end.