Digital Photos - You Snapped Them - Now What?

Digital cameras were the number one Christmas gift again this past year. While people are taking more digital photos than ever before, many of them still aren’t printing them.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the commercial where the little boy is caught in mid-air during his jump into the swimming pool because his mother still hasn’t printed the photo she took last summer. They aren’t printing their digital photos for two reasons:

1. The cost of printing them

2. They can’t get them to look good

Many stores are setting up areas where you can print your own digital photos. The problem is that it isn’t cost effective, so you are back to square one.

Most of us have inkjet printers. We just need to learn more about how to use them. We've paid for them, now we need to get them to work for us.

There are many, many brands of photo papers on the market today. Not all are created equal. I found a truly great paper that outperforms everything else I have ever tried. “Photo Lab Glossy Paper” is available at www.printonit.com. It is a true photo weight paper that produces absolutely incredible results. The photos are crisp and clear, and best of all, the paper is water resistant. No more smeared or smudged photos!

It is important to set your printer driver settings for photo printing. Consult your printer manual to find out how to do that. Your results will be impressive.

I checked out the rating on this paper, and when printed with the newer inkjet inks, it is rated for over 75 years indoors under fluorescent lights. That’s a longer life than a traditional photo!

For those of you who wish to print your photos with special effects, printonit.com has other specialty papers you can use. You can print your photo on Artist Canvas and it will take on the look and feel of a painting. Artist Watercolor Paper gives it the look of a professional watercolor. They also have metallic papers and other specialty papers that will give you very interesting results.