Printing... Lab vs. Home.

Howdy folks. I have a few questions regarding printing images at home vs. sending them to a lab.

A friend of mine, who is relatively new to digital photography, is interested in selling prints of his images. My knowledge of printing is very small at best and I have not been able to answer the questions he's posed to me. I'm hoping someone might be able to point us in the right direction.

The question is.... What is the shelf life (for archival or presentation) purposes of images processed in a lab with industrial-grade processing equipment and printed on Fuji or Kodak paper, versus images printed on the highest-quality paper at home with an Epson 2200 or HP 8550 ?

Also- Can anyone recommend a lab in the Boston area?


Thanks so much!

If you use a pigment based printer such as the Epson 2200, 7500, or 9500 and an archival paper the life is very similar to that printed on standard FUji or Kodak photo papers. If printed on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, the life of the lab based print is probably a bit longer but all of the above, if stored properly will last 40+ years before significant fading occurs.

Thanks E.J.. BTW- the lab he is looking at does print on Fuji Crystal Archive paper.

His main concern moving forward is in thinking a pro lab, with the proper equipment (and properly trained people using the equipment), *should* produce better results than he would working at home.

I'm not so sure. I've looked at the websites of many photographers and I get the impression most people are printing at home. Personally, I think I would prefer the ability to tweak everything myself rather than leaving it to someone else.

Is this all just subjective or are there benefits/downfalls we are missing?

Laura Stiefel wrote:His main concern moving forward is in thinking a pro lab, with the proper equipment (and properly trained people using the equipment), *should* produce better results than he would working at home.

That isn't necessarily true since he is leaving things up to somebody elses interpretation.

You must be using a printer with pigmented inks for long life prints with an inkjet printer. Besides the models E.J. mentions there's the Epson 7600, 9600 and 2000P

Prints made with the Epson 2000P, 7500 and 9500 will last longer than prints made on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper because they use straight pigmented inks. Prints made on the other printers use hybrid inks that have a better color gamut and will last about the same as Fuji Crystal Archive paper. You can see printer inks and paper tests at http://www.wilhelm-research.com.

I make all my own prints. If your friend is willing to spend the time and money to setup a calibrated printing workflow. I think his prints will be better than what he can get commercially. That's because he's seeing the output and can controll it to his liking.

- Dan.

I agree with Dan - your friend should decide how much he's willing to invest (in equipment and training) to have ultimate control over his own prints. A lab will not necessarily do it better.
At the very least he will need:

* A good computer and monitor
* Color calibration device (like the ColorVision Spyder)
* Good editing software (Photoshop is hard to beat)
* Good printer (Epson Ultrachrome printers are way ahead of the curve in my opinion)
* To learn color correction and management techniques
* To learn sharpening techniques
* To learn image adjustment (dodge/burn, contrast control etc.) techniques

If he's not using a digital camera, he'll need to start with a good scan. High end scanners are expensive and he may want to start by having a lab produce the raw scans for him.

From all the tests I've seen - Ultrachrome prints on some dedicated papers will outlast any chemical photograhic paper and have a wider color gamut.

Can't help you with Boston. I live where I like to photograph

Guy

Thanks for all the informative replies thus far!

Just to clarify a few things... He's pretty much set on software, technique, and ability to print at home. I think the main issue is whether or not it is ultimately worth putting the time and money into setting up a home printing system. It's coming down to whether or not a lab will do a decent job if given specific directions ( i.e. don't color manage, etc.).

I really have no idea and really appreciate the expert advice.

Laura,

The others have made some valid points. I am the type that wants full control over the final result of my prints therefor I do all mine in-house using an Epson 2200.

One advantage to doing this that has not been mentioned is that once you get your digital file adjusted to your liking for a given image and are happy with the final print you can then print that same image over and over with exacting results. While this should be true for a lab as well, it may not always be as reliable.

I spend a good deal of time making an initial print, and admittedly waste some paper. But once I have it looking the way I want it is just a matter of pushing a few buttons and sending the file to the printer, with full confidence of the final result.