Introduction:
There are many methods to print your digital photos, it can be print from a home computer, a portable printer, or from your local photo finisher. No matter which method you use, it is very easy to turn your digital photos into prints, whether you do it at home with your printer or at the photo finisher.
Home Computer: 
Once you edit your photos to your liking, you can print the computer from your very own computer. There are a variety of printers available to print your digital photos. It is possible to create good-quality prints from your home printer, but the prints won’t match the quality and durability compared to a photo finisher. There are three types of printers, inkjet, dye-sub, and laser printers. Each of them has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. Also, you’ll also need to know about what type of paper you need to use to make perfectly sized prints. In addition, software is required to make standard prints sizes, I suggest using the programs I mentioned in the previous section. The programs have elaborate printing abilities are, Picasa, Photoshop Elements 3, iPhoto, and even digiKam.
Types of Printers:
Ink-Jet: ($40+)
Inkjet are the most popular types of printers in the consumer market, they produce high quality and affordable prints. You can purchase a high quality ink-jet print for a reasonable price. These printers are capable of producing good resolution, high-quality colours, and are easy to use. Ink-jet printer quality has improved dramatically throughout the years, so if you didn’t like the quality in the past, consider them now. There are some disadvantages to ink-jet printers like; prints can be fuzzy, ink cartridges are expensive, quality will not match the precision of the prints you get from the photo finisher. The prints can be fuzzy because of the print head; therefore you should clean the ink nozzles occasionally. Printing colour pictures use a lot of ink, this means that getting a new set of cartridges can cost anywhere from sixty dollars and up. No matter what, your prints from ink-jet printers will not match the quality from a photo finisher because they have a better method of printing. Overall, you shouldn’t use an ink-jet for keep-sakes, but it should do the job for any other prints.
Dye-Sublimation: ($600+)
Dye-Sublimation, or dye-sub, printers are just starting to enter the consumer market. Although, these printers are expensive, they produce wonderful high-quality prints. Many manufacturers have begun to offer consumer-grade units for about $600 CDN. They can produce high quality prints ranging from 3 x 5 inches to 8 x 10 inches paper sizes. The problem is that they cost a lot for the ink, don’t print text well, and only the most expensive models are capable of printing 8 x 10 prints.
Laser: ($500+)
There are two types of laser printers, black and white or color, both aren’t recommended for high-quality digital photo prints. The black and white pictures are produced by using more dots in darker areas and fewer dots in lighter areas. Colour laser prints are good, but they were designed to print office documents and not photos. Furthermore, the toner and drum for the colour laser printers can cost up to five-thousand dollars. Not only if the material expensive, but the printer costs anywhere from five-hundred dollars to about two-thousand dollars.
Photo Finisher:
Nowadays, you can get the same quality prints, or better, from a photo finisher, from the place you get your conventional film prints. They come from the same types of printers and look, feel, and are as durable as the regular film prints. Instead of printing from negatives, they print directly from your digital file, this means, you’ll get won’t get any quality loss.
Choosing a Finisher:
There are numerous digital photo finishers on the market today. I suggest going to the ones you liked when you processed your film pictures. If you want to check for quality of the photo finisher’s prints, use the same image and print it at a selection of photo finishers. This way, you can tell how much it costs, the quality of the prints, and the time it takes to print the photos. Some photo finishers even allow you to upload your pictures from home and then pick it up at the store. Use the chart below to decide on the size of the prints your camera is capable of producing.
Conclusion:
If you are making prints for the purpose of sharing and not expecting the prints to high-quality, then you can print at home. Otherwise, I suggest getting prints from a photo finisher because t hey produce high quality prints on nice paper for a decent price.