The Letterville BullBoard: OUTPUT from a digital camera

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Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :

Hi guys,

I'm ready to dive into the digital camera world. I'm now wondering, when I take these fabulous family pictures, what's the best type of output so I can freely distribute the latest and the greatest to grandma?

We recently took our little guy to visit Santa in the mall. (once upon a time I swore I'd NEVER stand in one of those lineups...) The pictures were digital and the output was like photo quality, photo paper, etc. I'd think this setup would be abit pricey for a home office.

Are there any tips on prolonging the life of a print done on a bubblejet printer as well?

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Graphic Impact
located in BC Canada
gisigns@sprint.ca

Season's Greetings everyone!

Posted by Vickie (Member # 475) on :

Donna,

The HP PhotoSmart printer prints photo quality prints onto photo paper. Looks just like real photographs.

OfficeDepot used to sell them for less that $200.

Vickie

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Vickie in Florida

Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :

There are differing qualities output from digital cameras. Even the high end ones have different models that provide different results. The best ones can be down-tuned for internet sharing, and still do near 35mm for grandma.

We bought a cheapo a few years ago, and find it adequate for shooting a building and applying a sign over it as a sales tool. For the kid photo's I find it less than desirable.

Whatever you get will be old fashioned in three years, so spend accordingly.

Oh, often there are some good deals on used and refurbished on the internet auctions.

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The SignShop
Mendocino, California
"Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"

Posted by Larry Elliott (Member # 263) on :

Donna,
There's no 'cheap' way to do digital prints,
the most economical photos are still done on conventional film and commercial processing. Next up the list is inkjet on photo-quality paper, the paper, (8-1/2x11) will cost about a dollar each (in quantity) and the ink will cost 30 to 50 cents per print. Not too bad a price for doing your own and in the long run it's less than the materials and chemicals in developing and making your own color prints from film AND A WHOLE LOT EASIER. You wont get the results that you are used to from film prints, the digital camera is still not up to being a simple point and click device. It's like a scanner, you're not going to capture ALL the detail and running dogs and bouncing children and other action shots will be a total blur. I have a fairly good digital camera (Olympus-600L) that I use almost daily, 'staged shots' are beautiful with proper lighting and we use them in brochure and catalog jobs but for general use as a snap-shot camera the photos suck. Don't mean to burst your bubble just want you know there are drawbacks with digital cameras unless you want to spend up to 3 to 5 grand for one with a faster 'film' speed. If you plan to do photos of family gatherings over the Holidays, by all means take your standard film camera too or you may not have any shots worth printing. On the plus side, you can do wonders with the images after you download to your computer, you can't replace what the camera didn't capture but you can 'enhance' the color, contrast and sharpen them a bit.
Go for it, you'll enjoy it if you like to play with digital images as much as I do.

Larry Elliott......

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Posted by Ross Luckhurst (Member # 703) on :

Hi Donna;

As far as cameras go, I'd look for the highest resolution and price point you can afford, ie bang for the buck. Appy just bought one that sounds nice, 1024 X ??? I think. Still looking into digital cameras myself.

For output, consider an ALPS printer with Dye Sublimation, ie MD-1300 or MD-5000. It does awesome photoquality pictures in Dye Sub mode, and you can use it for printing on vinyl for bumper stickers, print T-shirt transfers, waterslide decals, and dye sub transfers for mouse pads, coasters, puzzles, and mugs.

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Ross Luckhurst
AKA Scolt on Chat
DIGISIGN
Woodstock, Ontario, Eh!
digisign@netcom.ca

Posted by Dana Aaron on :

Hey, Donna, I have a HP PhotoSmart printer. Does a fabulous job. Make sure you get the HP glossy photo paper. Keep an eye out for specials.

One thing, tho, to keep in the back of your head on this color printer thing...

If you already have a color printer, try some glossy paper thru it and see how it goes. If you want to add another printer for photos, great, get the PhotoSmart.

The PhotoSmart Printer is specially designed for PHOTO printing... prints up to 8x10. Great printer for that and some other stuff BUT doesn't work well with the iron-on transfer paper, and won't work for labels, cards, etc, where the sheet is set up automatically in the computer. So if you plan on doing that stuff, too, you won't want the PhotoSmart as your only color printer.

I have had mine for a year, and really like it, until I tried to print labels... bummer. But all my Dad uses his HP 722C for is photos, so we are packing ours up and trading.

Have fun!

PS - For saving photos and album stuff... check into the acid-free albums and such. Did my wedding album in Creative Memories stuff and turned out GREAT and everyone who sees it, loves it, and it was FUN, too!
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Dana Aaron
Sign-A-Saurus
Nevis, MN
ICQ# 37949659

It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats.

[This message has been edited by Dana Aaron (edited December 15, 1999).]

Posted by carlos herrera (Member # 503) on :

just in case you didnt know, a bubble jet printer is the same thing as an inkjet printer. it is jsut Canon's trademark name for tehir machine. you should be able to use any inkjet paper on it and get good results.
ive found some of the best paer around is the epson photo quality glossy paper.

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Carlos Herrera
*SignLizard* on chat
Visionary Signs
Carson, CA 90745
310-886-4581 Page
VisionSgn@cs.com
"SIGNS DONT COST MONEY, THEY MAKE MONEY"

Posted by Dana Aaron on :

hehe

shoulda wrote that post now, instead of earlier...

yepper, that PhotoSmart works great... when it works!!! HAHAHA decided to have a massive brain fart on me tonite, and won't see one of the cartridges anymore...

what a royal pain...

oh well, you might wanna just stick some glossy paper in the printer you have now...

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Dana Aaron
Sign-A-Saurus
Nevis, MN
ICQ# 37949659

It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats.

Posted by BruceWestfall (Member # 43) on :

My guess would be that if Grandma wants pictures, take the Pentax out and go thru a roll of Kodak film. I'm a gadget freak personally. Love the stuff. Just got an Olympus digital camera and think it's great! But it's good for what it does, and I'm keeping the old SLR. 4 bucks for film and 3 or 4 for processing are better than messing around with a printer that runs out of cartridge tommorrow when you need it for a presentation because it took 3 tries to get Tommy's picture just right for Grandma.

Just my slant, but I'd REALLY love to stuff the guts of the digicam into the Pentax and have the best of both worlds....

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Bruce Westfall
DeSigns Unlimited
Glouster, Ohio
bruce@frognet.net

Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :

Donna

We have the olympus 500 camera which I like because of the SLR capability(looking through the eye piece and seeing through the camera lens. It has a maximum resolution of 850,000 pixels which by todays stats isn't that top end any more.

I think with the higher resolution cameras the weak link is the printer. I am more concerned with color than what you can suposedly get as far as resolution from a bubble jet printer. We also use a HP deskjet 1120C which is a fairly high end bubble jet printer.(or was) i like the 19" X 12" I can get out of it.

The camera has three resolutions low med and hi res depending on how much memory you want to use and the level of definition you want. It has removable chips which slip into a floppy attachment and from there downloads easily to what ever program you want to use. ie corel photopaint or adobe photoshop or what ever.

I love it and the quality I can get out of the system. I believe it is better quality than scanning a regular photo in and I have a pretty good scanner too (HP 4C)

Digital cameras certainly wouldn't be what I call fast as far as locking on a subject and taking a picture (something you might miss when taking a quick shot of Cody) but then again they are definitely great in low light situations without using a flash. I used mine today outside and you know what a grey rainy day it was. photos turned out fabulous on low resolution.

I love mine but I also haven't quit using my conventional camera completely.

If you want me to come and help you spend lots of money I'll be in Abbostsford starting on Wednesday next week!!! hahaha

have fun buying a camera and taking pictures of Cody, and Mike and the horses and the farm and grandma and signs and the shop and yourself and ....

-dan

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Dan Sawatzky
Sawatzky's Imagination Corporation
Chemainus, British Columbia
dan@imaginationcorporation.ca
www.imaginationcorporation.ca

"Back in beautiful British Columbia and lovin it!"

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