Printing your photographs at home fills many with dread – but it needn’t be that way!

After a long debate on our Facebook page recently we spoke to Mark Robinson, PIXMA Product Manager at Canon for his advice on getting started, upgrading and also making the most of the new technologies in home photo-printing.

The ‘What, Who & Where’ of printing

When choosing your printer, consider what it is that you are printing. If you are looking to print large numbers of photos then it will be worth looking at a ‘single ink’ model. Not only will this allow you to achieve higher quality prints, but it will prove more cost effective too, as you will only need to replace individual ink cartridges as they run out.

It is also important to look at who will be printing. Many printers are now positioned at the heart of the home environment with multiple users printing at any one time. With this in mind a Wi-Fi enabled printer is a must, allowing users to print directly to it from computers, laptops and many smart-phones and tablets.

Make life easy with new technology

Make it easy for yourself. Look for functions that save you both time and money. Auto Duplex print is a must for printing on both sides of the page – great for home document printing – while touchscreen controls make it easy to use your printer.

You may have heard about Cloud enabled printers but what does this mean for you? Cloud based printers allow access to a range of online storage and social media sites so, for example, you can print your favourite images straight from Facebook or documents saved on DropBox directly from the printer itself.

Unlock the true potential of your printer by printing remotely via a Smart Device and even take advantage of the opportunity to check your ink levels in-store, handy when you can’t quite remember your ink model numbers!

Talking Ink

Consider the number of single inks your printer has. As a general rule of thumb the more inks the printer has the more faithfully it can reproduce the prints. Single ink printers now offer anything between 4 and 12 ink cartridges, including models with an additional black, grey and Chroma Optimizer; the opportunity to realise deeper colours and more accurate image representation has never been better.

If you are a frequent printer of images then consider upgrading to a printer that accommodates XL ink cartridges. This will provides a more cost effective way to print with ink tanks capable of producing many more prints before needing to be replaced.

Reaching the Print Stage!

Daunted?  We understand! And this is the bit that can put many people off. But fear not, read on for our tips from camera to print!

Having captured that stunning image you will want to ensure that what is ultimately printed on the page does justice to the original image.  Translating the image you see on camera (or saw in real life) into a beautiful print can seem a formidable task, but by mastering some simple workflow techniques, you can keep it simple and still achieve great results:

1. Consider the use of a monitor colour calibration kit to ensure what you see on screen, is what you get in print
2. Use only original manufacturer ink cartridges – refills may be cheaper, but there will be a compromise on quality
3. When submitting an image to print, ensure that you move away from the default settings, allowing you to maximise the quality of your printed image.  For instance, on the printer itself, simply changing the print quality to ‘high’ will assist you in achieving the results that your images deserve
4. Review your images for any general blemishes that will be replicated in print. This might take the form of dust on the sensor that can easily be removed during post-production
5. For any more in-depth analysis and editing of your images then the utilisation of post-production software, such as Adobe’s Lightroom 5 or PhotoShop Elements 12, would be a good step to take

There are also many print driver amends that can be made on your PC/Mac, below are listed just some of the more generic actions that you can take in order to improve the quality of your printed images:

• Ensure that you select the correct "Media Type" for the paper you are using
• Think about customising your “Print Quality”, sliding the “Quality” slider towards the “Fine” setting
• Under "Half toning", select "Diffusion"
• Take “Manual” control when it comes to "Color Adjustment"
• Play with your "Brightness" settings

Paper: Glossy, semi-gloss, matt, or rag?  Endless options!

Start looking at the photographic paper options available and again you will be spoilt for choice! By thinking about how you want your finished print to look and feel, you can produce photo-lab quality photo prints from the comfort of your own home.

Choose glossy or semi-gloss paper for best results on your holiday or family photos, where you’re looking to reproduce vivid colours

For gallery quality - designed with professionals and enthusiasts in mind -  premium papers provide gallery quality results every time. With glossy, lustre, matte and textured ‘rag’ finishes all available, you can find exactly the right paper to match your creative ideas

And finally…did you know? Some interesting print related facts!

• Cloud Printing – As already mentioned, more printers are now offering this function – as long as yours is linked to a network then you can print to it remotely from anywhere in the world via the appropriate app!
• Auto on – don’t forget to look this facility - print directly to your printer, waking it up remotely to print the job – another time and energy saving feature
• Ink status message – on some printers you can even set a message to update you via your smart device, when levels are low.  On some of the latest Canon printers you can even set them to Tweet you!

If you need any more advice on printing your photography at home, please feel free to call one of the Wilki experts, or pop into any of our stores for additional help.  Alternatively please visit the website to see the wide range of printers available. 

Your photographic journey starts here – and we’re with you every step of the way!