Printing Photo Help/Advice

[Gavlinne]

Hey SCS'ers I need some advice.

I have a lovely new printer, specifically bought to print scrapbook photos and be able to print on 12x12 paper for journaling.

However, I'm a bit lost on the best settings with which to print photos. I take them with my digital camera - which I think is on a fairly high DPI. Should I be printing my photos at 300dpi (I'm printing most photos at 4x6 or smaller).

Keep in mind I'm not printing photos for framing or anything other than creating scrapbook pages.

Suggestions welcome!!!

[lovethebeach]

It depends on the paper you are using and the type of printer you have as to how well your pictures will look. (I do recommend using paper made by the same company as your printer. Especially if your printer is an Epson you should use their paper....I speak from experience on this one. I tried other brands. My pictures just didn't look as good. Most HPs will look okay with store brands but HP paper and Kodak are your best bet. I don't have any experience with Canon or Brothers so I can't help you if either printer is what you own. Believe it or not, the paper really makes a huge difference.)

The size of the photo really won't matter as to what DPI you use. If I am framing my photos, I will print at the highest DPI. For scrapbooks and sharing, I will use the Normal setting - usually 600 DPI. If your camera is at least a 6 MP camera, Normal should be sufficient. Play around a bit to make sure you are happy with the output. That is really what matters most. If they look good at Normal, then I say go for it. Ink is expensive, even in the newer printers. (Sorry for the long post....I print all my photos, too!)

[Gavlinne]

I have an HP printer and am using HP photo paper. I would like a good quality photo, but I'm also trying to conserve some ink because it IS expensive. My camera is old, it only is a 4MegaPixel (I know....a new one is in the works hopefully after Christmas).

That said I do take photos on the highest (4MP) setting. I've been printing them at 300dpi and am getting good quality, I'm just wondering if other people print at a lower dpi and still get good quality or should I just try lower resolutions and see what comes out.

Am I correct in saying the less DPI's the less ink I will use?

[dddddiana]

You should print out several of the same picture at different settings to see what YOU like best. The higher the dpi the more detail there is, regardless of the size of the photo.

You also have to remember if this is for scrapbooking, so you will not want the picture to fade. So the higher the dpi, the less fading and the longer the picture will look good for future generations.

This is also true with your paper quality. The better the paper the longer it will last. It is always recommended to use paper from the make or the printer.