Hobbies And Interests
Pigment Based Ink Printer
If you are serious about printing large quantities of digital photographs onto photo quality paper, you may wish to invest in a pigment based ink printer. These printers use a thicker ink much like that which is used in commercial printing applications, and as a result, they are much more expensive. In addition, pigment based ink needs to be used on a regular basis or it will dry up. Conventional photo printers use dye based ink, which is suitably competent, but not as vibrant as pigment based ink.
Image Preparation
Preparing your image prior to printing makes it much more likely that you will have an attractive print. Excessive sizing or resizing of an image can lead to blurry, degraded images that won't print well. Trying to resize an image outside of the range it was taken for, will also lead to blurry and grainy printed images that are not very attractive.
Using a Software Program
Clean up your images with a software program such as Photoshop before you print them. Check to make sure that what you want to print is attractively composed and will look right when printed out. You may want to crop or color correct the image at this point in order to get the best possible final print.
Make a Test Print
Finally, you will want to make a test print or a work print to determine whether all of your printer settings and color corrections are right and will look good on the finished page. Doing this can help you avoid printing a picture that doesn't look the way you imagined it.