How to Achieve Lab Quality Print Results For Less

Do you print your own digital photos? In this article I expose the most common myths of digital printing, showing how you can achieve outstanding lab-quality print results, without the high cost.

5 myths of digital photo printing

1. You need an expensive heavily-featured printer. Not true. Printer manufacturers will want you to believe that you need a top-of-the range inkjet photo printer. You don't. It is possible to achieve lab-quality prints using standard low-cost colour inkjet printers.

Choose a printer that will deliver the size of prints you need, and at the speed you need. If you don't need a fast printer or the added features, why pay the extra.

2. You need a high megapixel camera. Yes, it is true that high megapixel camera produces better print results. However, you don't need a high megapixel camera for everyday use and printing. Only if you want to print large-scale: A4, A3 and larger. If you only ever need 6"x4" or A5 prints - you don't need any more than a 3 megapixel camera.

Choose a camera for the output you require. Opt for a high megapixel camera if you want large, very high quality prints. Opt for a lower megapixel camera if you want small prints or want to upload images to the web.

3. You need to use original printer manufacturer's ink. Not true. Inkjet printer ink isn't cheap. However, there are cheaper compatible printer inks and refilled ink cartridges that will do the job just as well as the printer manufacturer - or original ink cartridges. There are also suppliers of genuine brand-name printer inks that retail at a fraction of the price. They're cheaper because either the box is damaged, incorrectly packaged, or not branded.

Shop around for cheaper ink options, including refilled cartridges, compatible printer ink, or suppliers of damaged, re-branded, or re-packaged original printer manufacturer's ink.

4. You can use automated printer settings. Not true. Don't simply accept the automated printer settings. Make sure the printer is set to deliver the results you want. "Maximum DPI" is not a default print option - however your images and photos will look better if you set the quality setting to maximum rather than best. Before you print - adjust your printer settings to get the results you're looking for. If you don't need high quality prints, you can adjust the quality of the print accordingly - saving ink.

5. All photo paper delivers the same results. Not true. It is the paper that makes the real difference. However, there are major differences between premium photo papers. You would think that if you bought premium paper, you would get a quality print. That's not always the case. Most brand name photo papers are only suitable for printing at 1440 and 2880 Dots Per Inch - or DPI. Professional photographers find they achieve far better results by using premium German-manufactured photo paper that delivers over 5000 DPI. Ironically, this better quality paper is often equivalent in price to branded premium photographic papers.

Look out for the highest quality photo paper that enables you to print at 5000 DPI and more. Premium German-manufactured paper has the best reputation in the market for delivering outstanding 5000-plus DPI print results. It is therefore possible to achieve lab-quality photographic prints without expensive cameras, printers, ink, by using premium quality German-manufactured inkjet photo paper.

There are a number of good online suppliers of quality inks and photo paper. I buy my premium German inkjet photo paper, delivering an impressive 5760 DPI, from ink2paper in the UK.

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