Fuji Frontier or Noritsu versus desktop printing

[Chuck Snyder]

I haven't tried the commercial print machines you're describing yet 'cause
I'm used to watching the 'technicians' at my local drugstore use their
expensive machinery badly on print film. Maybe there's no analogy. Are the
digital printing machines set up to take what you give them (presumably, a
carefully edited image from Elements!) and have no untrained individuals
intervening in the process? If so, it may be worth a try.

I also think you're a little off the mark on 'decent printer' cost - at
least the initial outlay. Some of the Epsons and Canons in the $200-300
range are excellent. Having said that, the paper and ink costs can eat you
alive, but if you define your hobby as all the way from conceiving an image
to taking the photo, through editing, printing, matting, and
framing....whatever floats your boat!

[Susan S.]

If I could find a place using Fuji frontier (they have them in Sydney and Melbourne, but there isn't anywhere using them in Adelaide as far as I know) and at those sort of prices - well I would be doing it like a shot! If the colour came up the way that I wanted it to. Do you need colour profiles embedded to get a good result, or just a well callibrated monitor?

Having said that the advantage of printing myself is control and speed. I get good accurate colour on my prints, and I can print out an 8x10 of my sleeping daughter and have it in a frame before she wakes up....less than twenty minutes later! (she was vastly amused by this!)

susan S

[Beth Haney]

I need to get my rear in gear and get a CD with some "sample" pics to our local camera shop. When I was in there a couple of weeks ago they'd just taken delivery of a Noritsu. I think it'll be a little more expensive than Walgreens, but depending on what I want to print it might be worth it. Should I ever get around to doing this, I'll let you know how it turns out! I still want to experiment with some Costco prints, too. Just been too busy doing other stuff lately!

[Leen Koper]

A good reason to do your own printing might be the prnter profiles. When you carefully calibrate your system you will get constant results. I tried some prints at an amateur lab with , but although I always work with embedded profiles, the prints showed a variety of densities and colours. My pro lab however -and my Epson printer- always produce flawless results.

Leen

[L Miranda]

I haven't seen prices like that (19¢ for 4x6, $3 for 8x12) either locally or online. That's worth jumping at!

Where does one find these Noritsus, and can you tell by looking at them? Are there different models that give different results? Is this something I'd find at Target or a high-end photo store?

[Schraven Robert]

In my opinion shops where you go to
to get your pictures developed are a thing of the past. Removing exactly this link in the whole chain of events and of course having enhancing software like PE is what makes (digital) fotography much more appealing to me. Not even a Fuji frontier or a noritsu would get me back into shops to get pictures processed and wait and wait and wait.
I don't even want to know.

Robert

[L Miranda]

Oh, when he said digital prints, I assumed he meant from digital sources (e.g., Elements) but maybe it's just from negatives.

[Beth Haney]

No, the subject was printing from digital sources, such as cameras or traditional prints that have been scanned and digitized.

I see a place for both. I have some prints that I'm perfectly content to create on my inkjet. There are other pictures - particularly those that I've scanned and retouched - that I want to have more longevity than what most printers can now offer. That's changing with new technologies for inks and paper, but in the meantime the life expectancy isn't as good as what I'd want for some things.

[Leen Koper]

The longevity of these prints is the same as those of prints from negatives. It 's the same paper and the same chemicals.
Professional labs use "long life paper", guaranteed for 60 years or so. Just like Epson guarantees for pigment inks on their paper.

Leen

[Beth Haney]

I still haven't found anything for $.19! The best I've seen so far is Costco at $.29, and I think there's some kind of a minimum or basic charge. I haven't gone that far on the website, and the b & m Costco that's closest to us doesn't offer digital photo services.

So, pevincent, where are you getting $.19 prints? Hey, Portland ain't that far! :)

[Jane Carter]

Here is a beginner question again: When I registered my PSE with Adobe, I was given the opportunity of joining Shutterfly. I did, and started a small family album.
Then found that I could have them print my pictures for a very low price, on photo paper. I just uploaded several more last week to my album that I wanted printed, selected them, and ordered.
(I do make prints on my Epson, but they don't last long even when I stuff them into plastic.)
The last ones were 4 pictures of one grandson, and it was about $3 or $4 including shipping. They arrived in the mail 4 days later.
Is this what I should be looking for? I am completely satisfied with their prints, speed, and their price.
I think their service is great. Factor in your gasoline, your hassle of shopping, and your driving time, and I think that Shutterfly has got it won.
Jane

[Ken Head]

The newer Costco stores have the Noritsu QSS-3101. You submit your print job through a terminal accepting the different media. The price is 19 cents for a 4x6. You get a proof sheet and they use Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper. For some good information see <http://www.drycreekphoto.com>

[Chuck Snyder]

Ken, thanks. They've started building the first Costco in the area (this is
Sam's Club country), so I'll have to wait to see that. Does that imply that
there's no human intervention after you submit your photo through the
terminal? If so, I'm very interested; if not, then I remain very concerned
about adjustments they might make. After painstakingly working to get just
the right effects, I'd hate it if someone pushed the Auto Levels button and
made my image 'normal'....

Chuck

[Ken Head]

Both these printers ignore embedded profiles so you should use soft proofing and converting image files to a printer profile - both short comings of PE2. For more detail see the website I referenced.

[pevincent]

The Dry Creek website listed above is the best source of information on how to profile for the particular digital mini-lab you are using. They maintain a free database of lab profiles for labs throughout the US and world. In my area, they have profiles for all the local Costco stores, several Walmarts and some other labs.

Its easy to obtain a profile for a new lab that's not in their database. You download a testfile from the Dry Creek site, and ask the lab to print it with no adjustments or corrections. Submit the print to Dry Creek and they will scan it and prepare a printer profile for the particular paper. The profiles are offered for free. I'm partial to Fuji Crystal Archive, and all my local mini-labs have profiles for both flat and glossy versions available.

The Costcos in Aloha and Tigard (Portland suburbs) do an incredible job on 12x18 prints (5400x3600 originals from scanned medium format negatives), but the turnaround is usually 1 day. The Walmart store in Woodburn, OR has a beautiful, brand spanking new Frontier that is hit or miss, depending on the technician. Generally, they'll do an 8x10 print while I shop. Color is perfect using my default color space. But, I've found that if the technician on duty gives me a blank stare when I ask if they can send it through without correction, its best to ask that they leave the job for one of the other technicians. Note: These big prints become habit forming. You've been warned. : )

[Chuck Snyder]

>depending on the technician<

You said the magic words.....I think I'll stick to my inkjet until they get
the people out of the process and I can put my CF card in at one end and
have the picture spit out the other end.....

Thanks for the info, though!

[Schraven Robert]

I am on Chuck's side.
Although, over here we are right in the midst of the summer holiday season and a newspaper reported that photoprinter shops are having a hard time keeping up with processing people's digital prints wholly due to the fact that the digital camera is such a succes. People just take pictures of everthing!
The paper reported further that the photoprinter shops now had to double their response time. It will take now 6 instead of 3 days before you get your pictures back.
I guess I was wrong and photoprinter shops are not (yet) on the way out.

By the way I am not aware that over here in Holland the majority of people seek out shops that have these fancy photoprocessing machines. Dutch as you all may know, are in their actions and decisions very much driven by low prices.

Robert

[Leen Koper]

Funny, Robert and I are living in the same country, but obviously we read different newspapers. Yesterday the header of an article in our regional newspaper read about a boost in sales of digital prints. According to the author the local labs that went digital delivered more prints (both analogue and digital) than ever before due to the increase of digital images.
;-)

Leen

[Schraven Robert]

Leen,

You should read item 19 of this thread. We probably read the same national newspaper.

All I am saying in addition to you, is that the boost in prints is not quality lead. I am not in the photo business like you are but here in Utrecht I don't see any picture (re)printing shop advertising with the type of printer as a mark of distinction. This prompted me to state that competion in Holland is mainly price driven.

Robert