Is my printer good enough to make quality photo prints?
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Not all printers
are equal. An image may look good onscreen, but not so good
once printed. |
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Some cheap printers
are fine for printing documents but are not capable of photo-realistic
results. |
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If your printer
has a "photo mode" you are set to go. |
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I'm looking to buy a printer - What should I look for?
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You’ll want a
printer with at least four ink colors. |
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You’ll want at
least 600-dpi resolution for consumer-level photo output. |
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You don't need
a special photo printer unless you intend to print a lot of
pictures. There are many general purpose printers capable of
doing a good job. Get one that can print good photos. Epson,
Hewlett-Packard and Canon all make very good printers. |
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File size is very important
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For best
results, try to print photo files with a resolution of at least
300 dpi (dots per inch). Anything less could result in
prints with a noticeable pixilated look. |
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The higher the
resolution, the finer the printed image quality, but at resolutions
higher than 1200 dpi, the quality can become a resource burden
on the computer or printer and actually can look worse than
a 300 dpi! |
Photo print size guide
Use this guide to determine the optimal size to print at, based
on the photo's size. If you decide to print at 5x7 or less on 8x10
size photo paper, be sure to adjust your printer's driver settings
to
center the photo on the sheet of paper.
| Print Size |
Minimum Width |
Minimum
Height |
| 4x6 |
800 |
600 |
| 5x7 |
1050 |
750 |
| 8x10 |
1536 |
1024 |
| 11x14 |
1750 |
1375 |
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Enhance your photos before printing (2nd
Chance restored photos do not need enhancing)
It's a good idea to use a photo-editing program to clean up your
photos before printing. You will want to do some cropping and dust
removal. Your printer will pick up dust spots even if they are very
small. You can also use the sharpening tool to enhance a soft focus
picture.
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Paper - Always use paper designed for printing
photos
You’ll get the best results if you use paper specifically designed
for your printer. However, you can achieve very good results using
other brands as well. Be sure to test a variety of paper types before
buying large quantities.
Here's what to consider when buying photo paper:
Whiteness
Whiter papers produce sharper, more vibrant colors.
Weight or thickness
Some projects (like calendars) require a heavier paper stock.
But most photo printing jobs only need a standard weight paper.
Paper surface
Glossy papers produce vibrant colors but are susceptible to fingerprints.
So matte papers might be a better choice for prints that will
be handled often. Be careful with extremely smooth, shiny, or
coated papers not specifically designed for your printer. They
can cause jams and even repel ink.
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Use your printer correctly
Driver settings
Go into your printer's settings on your PC (Start/Settings/Control
Panel/Printers and Faxes) Make sure your printer is set for highest
quality color photo printing. This may by expressed in dpi, or "dots
per inch". If your printer has a "Quality versus Speed"
setting choose "quality"
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Always adjust
the printer preferences settings to the highest print quality
before starting a photo printing session. |
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Experiment with
all the quality options your printer offers - you may find variables
such as "advanced color settings" that could improve
your printing results. |
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Paper setting
Make sure you’re using the right setting for your chosen paper:
e.g., "Photo Paper." Generally, the paper settings
control the amount of ink that is put on the paper. "Plain
Paper" setting uses the most ink, for example, while the "Glossy
Film" and “Photo Paper” settings use the least. When you find
a setting that works for a particular paper type, save it and give
it a name you can remember.
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Printer head cleaning
It's a good idea to run the printer's cleaner function from time
to time, in order to get the best quality prints possible.
Any streaking or "banding" can indicate a dirty print
head.
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