Digital cameras forum: cost to print

If you use a high grade Premium Photo Paper each sheet costs $1.00.
Plus the costs of color ink your estimated cost/print is $2.00 +.

In this respect you should check at places like Walmart, Costco or OfficeMax as they should offer such enlargements from a digital file.
It may not be much more.
Premium Photo Paper

I can't find a really good analysis of the cost of printing a digital photo on color inkjet vs. color laser vs. dye sub dedicated photo printer. Assumedly the lasers should be cheapest (page print costs), followed by the inkjets, and finally with the dye sub printers being most expensive on a page by page cost.

To further complicate, in the category of inkjet printers I have heard that the HP is the most expensive and that the Canon and Epsons are cheaper.

If anyone knows data, or where I can find it, that breaks down the number of 4"x6" photos that can be printed before the ink cartridge (toner/dye sub film) has to be replaced, cost of photo paper, etc... Including HP vs. Epson vs. Canon inkjets as well as Lasers from a number of manufacturers and finally dye sub costs.

I am really concerned with long term costs as I have around 500 to 1000 digital photos I need to print from 2 years of traveling around the world.

Thank you very much in advance.

Thanks for the advice. Went to Costco and at $0.19 per print they seem to be pretty good quality.

I was wondering are there any printing cost numbers for the Canon i9900 vs. Epson 2200 (photo / mixed color graphics)? Have heard that the Canon ink cartriges are really cheap but then recently read a review that rated the photo costs for the Canon to be higher than average.

Girlfriend is a graphic designer so even with costco doing my pics I need a printer.

Thanks

When I bought my Epsom R800 it was a toss up between that and the i9990. The cost per page, based on reviews I read, was pennies less for the Epsom. The Canon could do more as far as print sizes, but there are variables when you look at ink and paper. I like to use Epsom paper with Epsom ink. But the costs of ink from one machine to the next can vary widely as can the paper. So I think it is hard to say unless you look at all these variables.

I'd research reviews and see how they compared in real tests and factor in what paper you expect to use and what size prints you'll want.

It's going to be tough to pinpoint a precise price. Ilford Gallery paper (very nice but not and archival brand) at Sam's is $23.22 for 100-8 x 11 and Canon carts from Ink Grabber are $2.75 ea (need 6 on the Canon). The Epson printer tends to clog a great deal more than the Canon and requires more clean (waste of ink)

Hi! Sam's Club and Costco have awesome prices for film developing. An 8x10 is well under $1.00 (I want to say 59 to 89 cents). Their prices for 4x6 prints are also great - always under 20 cents, and sometimes less (depending on what part of the country you live in).
Sam's Club allows you to upload your pictures from home and pick them up in the store in an hour (or you can pay to have them shipped to you). Costco only does this is limited areas.
Snapfish also seems to have good prices on developing.
Good luck!

I calculate the cost of injet printing an 8 by 10 color photo at 80 cents. This is based on premium glossy photo paper and a refurbushed color cartidge purchased on line. I did not include cost of the printer or computer as they are a given===

on your printer.
Ink costs are different depending on printer. I have found that the multiple inks in a single cartridge to be more expensive than the single ink/single cartridge.
Plus, you can get more ink life if you have more colors. If you have a printer that uses 8 cartridges, they will last longer than a printer that uses 6 cartridges (less color interpolation if you have more colors)
But, with services offering 4X6 prints for 0.19$ per print (Costco offers this price) It really makes no sense to print tons of pictures yourself.
And you can have a whole 'nuther conversation on nothing but paper! Suffice it to say that it can get expensive to print hi-quality pictures...
Ed
web/gadget guru

This can vary quite a bit...I have found that ofoto.com is the cheapest and most reliable at about 4 bucks roughly...and they're always having sales

I am the "unofficial" family event photographer. I have found the best way to share photos with everyone is to upload them to Ofoto (or one of the other similar services) and then invite all interested parties to view all the photos that were taken at the event/trip, etc. (Ofoto sends an email to them with a link.)They can then pick the photos they want and order the number and size they want. It works great for my clan, especially since it is so easy for me. I do them the favor of editing all the photos with Photoshop before uploading, so the photos they have to choose from are nicely cropped and tweaked.

These days, prices for real photos from a lab are cheaper than home printing, are of a better quality and will last longer without fading. Home photo printers are also pretty cheap, but the real money is in the consumables, that is, the ink. You will find you won;t get many good quality 8x10" photos from the average printer cartridge.
The cheapest I have found is at www.digitalprints.com.au, where you can upload photos and get and 8x10 or 8x12" for only $3 AUD, and mini poster prints of 10x15" are only $5 AUD

I use to own a.lexmark Z42 and the color cartridge lasted me about two years the replacement cartridge was about 60 dollars CDN and the black cartridge was abit less . when I purchased a new multi function I looked at the page yield and they all showed higher with lower cost per page. I chose the epson CX4600 and boy did I get a shock . After a week of minimal text printing the all the ink levels started to drop after 4 month I was replacing my 1st set of cartridges Cost $18.99 each for color and $36.00 for black . total cost about about the same as the lexmark and of course Epson like most printer companies recomend to only use there inks or damage may be done to the print heads . Well here I am 7 month into the first year Halfway through the second set again minimal printing mostly text . now I am trying to get a hold of Epson I want my money back . but there customer service does not seem to exist . My recomendation would be an HP or lexmark as you can refill the cartridges without fear of damaging the heads . as you would have chucked them along with the cartidges and cannon the head can be replaced for about $60.00 cdn. You cant replace the epson heads so they are definatly a disposible printer . Reguarding Epsons high ink usage search ''high ink usage Epson '' and read stories from others that are having the same problems. DON'T BE FOOLED