Difference between professional printing and printing at home
Photo's are viewed mainly on digital devices these days but we still support the idea of having a few physical prints to hold, look at and pass down to your children. Have you ever printed a photo and thought why does it look so dark/pink/faded? Reproducing an image in print form can achieve such diverse results for so many reasons, some of which we will explore here.
Printing at the local supermarket
Although this might be easy and convenient, the final product will always be less than ideal. The printers within these little kiosks are small and the technology used is quite simple. The paper that most of these supermarket printers use is generally alright - medium grade I would say - but there are better options out there. The biggest issue in my opinion, is that they are designed to add a colour profile to the image to enhance it. For example, when printing a 'snap' from your phone, it might add some contrast, saturation or brighten it slightly to give the final print some 'pop' - that will look great. But this is a disservice to already professionally edited images. All of a sudden they look too bright or too pink or a lot of the details in the shadows are lost. The file you receive from us is high-quality but we can not guarantee the print will look good when using this method.
Printing on your home printer
There are two main types of domestic printers - inkjet and laser. They are great for printing documents but less so for top-quality, long-lasting prints. Results can differ hugely from the different paper brands such as Kodak and Epson, as well as the type of paper for example, gloss, semi-gloss and matt. The worst bit is, it can take a bit of playing around to find the right printer profile to use for the best results but by then you have wasted a whole packet of expensive photo paper (believe me - I've done it!).
Professional Print Lab
By ordering your prints through us and therefore a professional lab, you will be guaranteed to receive the image exactly as it was intended and of a high quality which lasts a lifetime.
This true representation of your picture is obtained through traditional printing methods; just like in the dark room, light sensitive photo paper is exposed to your picture and a photograph is formed. No artificial or unwanted filters are added so it faithfully reproduces what the photographer has created on their calibrated screen. The technology is big and the best for delivering consistent and top-quality results every time.
Through your private online gallery, you can order individual prints from your session or benefit from great savings by choosing our print bundle packages. How much do they cost I hear you ask? See our print prices here.
Written by Eleth Mageehan, (c) 2021, all rights reserved.
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