By MARYANNE MURRAY BUECHNER	E-mail this article to a friend

To print photos up to 8x10,   make sure you set the picture   resolution to at least 300 dpi. SCOTT BELLINGER

January 16, 2004
For true shutterbugs, there's nothing more liberating than making the switch from a regular film camera to digital. You can snap away until you've got the shot you want, and then get rid of the junk. Nothing is wasted — except, perhaps, the camera's battery life and the patience of the people around you.

But when it comes time to print these prize shots, it's easy to waste paper, ink and time you'd rather spend watching Rich Girls. Here are our tips to make sure your photo-printing experience goes smoothly:

• Be sure that when you are uploading your images from the camera to your PC, you are copying them at full resolution, because that's the version you'll want to print. Some programs are set to automatically down-size the files to make them easier to e-mail to friends and family. You can do this yourself later in an editing program. (Most run $29 to $49; Photoshop Elements, a good one, costs $99).

• If you're not sure whether your image is print-worthy, right-click the file and view its Properties. File size is a good guide: if the image is around 100 kilobytes, that's on the small side, meaning it won't print well even at 4x6; 400K (or thereabouts) generally holds up nicely at 8x10. A more precise way to determine image quality is to look at the pixel count, usually expressed in width times height. You should be able to get this information by opening the image inside a photo-editing program. A count of 1600 x 1200, for example, which comes out to around 2 million pixels, should work well for most print sizes. (There are lots of other possible combinations; do the math and see where you come out.) Another indicator is dots per inch (which is really pixels per inch): 72 dpi is preferable for emailing and viewing on a computer screen, but you want at least 300 dpi for printing up to 8x10. Any of these values will give you a sense of what to expect. (Note: "Resizing" reduces overall resolution by removing some picture data; it does not dictate actual print size.)

• Your digital images reside on your computer as jpegs, a universal file format. Jpegs are easy to view, print and share online. But each time you edit a jpeg image and resave it, a tiny little bit of picture data is lost. Do it a dozen times and print quality will start to suffer. Try to make all your changes like fixing red-eye in one or two sittings, and save the corrected image under a new name to retain the original.

• Before you start each print job, check the printer settings (or preferences) to make sure you have selected the proper print size and the type of paper you are using (premium, glossy, semi-glossy, matte, plain). For best results, use Canon ink and paper with Canon printers, Epson ink and paper with Epson printers, HP ink and paper with HP printers and so on. "The laying down of inks is a very technical process," notes digital photography expert and guidebook author Rick Sammon, and a manufacturer's own papers are optimized for that manufacturer's line of printers. You can mix and match, but expect to see a slight alteration of colors and tone. Use plain paper or off-brand papers for less important jobs.

• For longer-lasting prints, use archival paper. It will cost you a buck a sheet or more, but for some shots, it's worth the investment. Each company makes different longevity claims, and they are based on lab tests, not real-life experience. (Check back with us in 20 or 50 years.) If you're really serious about preserving your prints, Sammon suggests using archival inks too, but cautions that colors might look a bit muted by comparison.

• To save paper, print a few different images on each letter-sized sheet. The print wizard should give you a chance to select a particular page layout before printing begins (two 5x7s, four 3.5x5s, nine wallets, etc.). Some printers like the Canon i860 — which retails for around $135, makes beautiful prints and is easy to use — come with a handy attachment that auto-feeds 4x6 photo paper. But most printers also have a slider to keep the smaller paper in line.

• Keep photo paper stored in a cool dark place. Don't leave it sitting in the tray; you might forget it's there and waste it on a text document. More important, exposure to sunlight and humidity will degrade this paper-as well as the prints you produce with it. Keep framed shots out of direct sunlight, if you can.

• Ink tanks and cartridges are expensive, so conserve. If the digital image you are printing is, say, 400K in file size or has a picture resolution of 300 dpi, and your print size is 5x7 or smaller, select "normal" or "standard" print quality. If you select "high" or "best" or "maximum dpi" the printer will pump out more ink than is necessary without any discernable improvement in print quality. On the other hand, if you are printing 8x10s, or if you have zoomed in and cropped your subject, choose the top-quality print setting. Note: A printer that claims to produce 4800 dpi prints (like the HP Deskjet 5650, a printer my local CostCo was selling the other day for $110) sprays 4800 dots of ink per inch of photo paper. This dpi count has nothing to do with the amount of picture data in your digital image. Don't think you have to match it.

The Alternatives: If you plan on doing a lot of photo printing at home, you could get a dedicated photo printer like the Sony DPP-EX5 (which retails for around $200). These dye-sublimation printers are small, compact and easier to load (because the ink is already embedded in the paper, there are no ink tanks to deal with). They use heavier, slightly more durable paper, so the prints may last longer than most ink-jet prints (though ink-jets are quickly closing the gap). But they can't print anything bigger than 4x6.

If the idea of running your own print lab does not appeal to you, or if you're interested in printing larger than 8x10, consider using an online photo-printing service. There are several solid outfits out there. We put five of the most popular ones through their paces. Click here to read the results.

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