Home Printing Your Photos Could Cost More Than Money

A luxury available to us through science and technology is the ability to keep a photographic record of key people, places and events in our lives. The digital camera, home computer and photo-printer have features that enable us to create charming and unique albums, scrapbooks and gifts. Some of us use these features very well, but – let’s face it – most of us don’t.

Some see home processing as a cheap alternative to taking our file to a developing lab, but for others it can be inconvenient and quite expensive. First we must fit this task into our already busy lives, and second, there is the cost of the glossy paper and printer ink or toner. Trying to make further savings by using recycled ink or toner cartridges can void our equipment warranty and produce prints with inferior coloring.

Digital photography also allows us to “waste” shots, because there is no expensive film to purchase. It is literally just a “point and click” mentality where we photograph practically anything because there is no cost. Then we download it to our computers to see if a bad photo can be saved with our photo editing software trickery. It all becomes too hard and we decide to leave it for a later attempt. This is when we become vulnerable to the following scenarios:

1. Leaving the file on the computer to come back to when we have time.

2. Fixing the shot, then being sloppy about where we save it, so it becomes lost in other bad shots we are meaning to delete.

3. Trying to save the photo paper by test printing, but not costing the paper and ink and/or toner used in the test.

4. Not setting up our hard drive backups properly to protect our data.  A hard-drive crash or virus attack permanently destroys all our beautiful memories.

We need to recognise that for some of us, genuine attempts at cost savings in this area are doomed from the start. A better strategy is this:

• Take your camera’s memory card to the print section of a shopping centre or dedicated photo shop.
• If you can, fix the fixable shots with the “do it yourself” equipment.
• Delete immediately any shots that are just plain rubbish.
• Print out the “keepers”, AND have them burned to a disc or other permanent record.
• If you are not comfortable doing it yourself, just leave it all with the experts to be collected later.

You can still save the files to your computer, but taking these steps will ensure that future generations can enjoy your images. Using your home technology haphazardly in your quest to save money could jeopardise your precious memories and result in heartache and tears. And let’s face it, one of the simple pleasures of the past was to hold a wad of newly-printed photos in your hand, and take the time to look through them with a loved one, reliving the memories as you go.