Best online photo "album"? Best photoprinter?
Jun 17th, 2005, 05:36 AM
#1
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Best online photo "album"? Best photoprinter?
Want to share my trip photos, both online and on paper. Which online album provider do you recommend? -- concerned about cost to me, viewing and uploading ease, and limits to size of the uploaded "album."
and
Which photoprinter? Concerned about quality of print (obviously), speed of printing, ability to preview/sort, and cost of each print. I don't necessarily want a multi-purpose printer (don't print out graphics often, have a LexMark that mostly works) but would consider if overall it seems the best idea. Budget? Prefer to keep it in the $100-$200 range.
and
Which photoprinter? Concerned about quality of print (obviously), speed of printing, ability to preview/sort, and cost of each print. I don't necessarily want a multi-purpose printer (don't print out graphics often, have a LexMark that mostly works) but would consider if overall it seems the best idea. Budget? Prefer to keep it in the $100-$200 range.
Jun 17th, 2005, 07:16 AM
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personally, I think you are better off skipping the printer and using either online or retail sites to get your prints.
most of the inexpensive printers don't make the best quality prints.
If you want your printed photos to last, you need to buy high quality photo paper. This paper costs roughly the same as what you would pay somebody like snapfish, ofoto, or shutterfly to print the picture for you.
so, although I have a decent printer, and i print out my own photos on occasion, I mostly order my prints from shutterfly.com. And I share the albums with friends and family who can order copies themselves if they want, or just look at them online.
most of the inexpensive printers don't make the best quality prints.
If you want your printed photos to last, you need to buy high quality photo paper. This paper costs roughly the same as what you would pay somebody like snapfish, ofoto, or shutterfly to print the picture for you.
so, although I have a decent printer, and i print out my own photos on occasion, I mostly order my prints from shutterfly.com. And I share the albums with friends and family who can order copies themselves if they want, or just look at them online.
Jun 17th, 2005, 07:24 AM
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I use Kodak Easy Share, it's easy to use, and if you or the viewer orders prints, they are made and received very quickly. I haven't done comparisons. The free software is downloads easily and the photos can be edited on line, and you can email some or all of them as attachments.
I have a printer that could print the photos, but it's expensive to do it that way and people tell me the quality and the permanence of the home prints varies. I'm also old-fashioned enough to want hard-copy prints in conventional sizes to put into albums or scrapbooks.
I have a printer that could print the photos, but it's expensive to do it that way and people tell me the quality and the permanence of the home prints varies. I'm also old-fashioned enough to want hard-copy prints in conventional sizes to put into albums or scrapbooks.
Jun 17th, 2005, 08:12 AM
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I've used http://www.kodakgallery.com/ for several years [it used to be ofoto.com]It has a number of features that I like, including products that make nice presents such as photobooks and calendars. When I want prints I just order from them.
Jun 17th, 2005, 08:30 AM
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I know several on this forum, myself included, use Pbase. Here're references for a couple of my favorite artists there: http://www.pbase.com/annforcier, http://www.pbase.com/baileyzim.
If I weren't so humbled by their work, I'd give you mine too.
Pbase has an annual fee, around $25, but you don't have to deal with constant pop-up ads, or worry about who has rights to your photos.
I agree with china_cat. Unless you can afford a printer that will give you the quality you want in the range of print sizes you imagine you'd like, use a service.
If I weren't so humbled by their work, I'd give you mine too.
Pbase has an annual fee, around $25, but you don't have to deal with constant pop-up ads, or worry about who has rights to your photos.
I agree with china_cat. Unless you can afford a printer that will give you the quality you want in the range of print sizes you imagine you'd like, use a service.
Jun 17th, 2005, 12:26 PM
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Costco has recently struck a deal with Snapfish. You can upload your pictures through the Costco web site (which uses the Snapfish photo service) and if you want, you can pick up your prints at your local Costco within about an hour. Or you can have them mailed if you prefer.
The price for a 4 x 6 print is 17 cents; larger sizes are also available. I don't know if this is the same as you'd pay directly through Snapfish.
You can read more about it at:
http://www.costcophotocenter.com/howitworks
The price for a 4 x 6 print is 17 cents; larger sizes are also available. I don't know if this is the same as you'd pay directly through Snapfish.
You can read more about it at:
http://www.costcophotocenter.com/howitworks
Jun 17th, 2005, 01:31 PM
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My family and I have had good results with
http://www.shutterfly.com
(with out-of-town grandchildren, one does a lot of photo sharing).
The very best product I ever got was a hardbound book of pictures from our first trip to Switzerland. Two or three pictures, with legends, on a page of high quality paper. It was not inexpensive (I'm thinking $90), but I thought worth it for our select pictures. Alas, I think the people who did that have folded, or possibly sold their line to someone else.
From our later trips, we made what are called snap-books at Shutterfly. The pictures are just as good, but the binding looks like something from a catalogue. I did observe some months ago that Shutterfly does now offer hardbound photobooks, but I haven't had one made yet so I can't vouch for the quality; their price seems much more reasonable, if I recall it is about $35 for a 20 page book, with additional pages at about $1.
There are a large number of online services that seem to me to offer comparable quality, so I would try to find one that has decent prices, and an easy-to-use web site.
Even though color printers are relatively cheap, I understand they charge quite a bit for ink cartridges. I think going to one of the on-line sites is a far better deal, in that one can share one's pictures with anyone who can get online, and still get high quality prints for your home. I also like the ability to put legends with the pictures; it makes it easier for people to view them without you having to give a running narration.
http://www.shutterfly.com
(with out-of-town grandchildren, one does a lot of photo sharing).
The very best product I ever got was a hardbound book of pictures from our first trip to Switzerland. Two or three pictures, with legends, on a page of high quality paper. It was not inexpensive (I'm thinking $90), but I thought worth it for our select pictures. Alas, I think the people who did that have folded, or possibly sold their line to someone else.
From our later trips, we made what are called snap-books at Shutterfly. The pictures are just as good, but the binding looks like something from a catalogue. I did observe some months ago that Shutterfly does now offer hardbound photobooks, but I haven't had one made yet so I can't vouch for the quality; their price seems much more reasonable, if I recall it is about $35 for a 20 page book, with additional pages at about $1.
There are a large number of online services that seem to me to offer comparable quality, so I would try to find one that has decent prices, and an easy-to-use web site.
Even though color printers are relatively cheap, I understand they charge quite a bit for ink cartridges. I think going to one of the on-line sites is a far better deal, in that one can share one's pictures with anyone who can get online, and still get high quality prints for your home. I also like the ability to put legends with the pictures; it makes it easier for people to view them without you having to give a running narration.
Jul 17th, 2005, 09:45 PM
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I kind of like snapfish - also their prices are pretty good - look at http://www.printrates.com for a comparison
Jul 18th, 2005, 07:16 AM
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Gretchen I agree....Epson printers are a great value.....I have 2, an old Stylus 900 & a newer Stylus 1280.
I too, find that the ink is the greatest expense......I bet it won't be long before companies give-away the printers...just to hook us into years of ink buying.....lol.
I've been very happy with Pbase....I think the display choices are great....and technically it's a breeze...if I can do it.............
............
Beachbum....Thank you, thank you...for the gand compliment!!
I too, find that the ink is the greatest expense......I bet it won't be long before companies give-away the printers...just to hook us into years of ink buying.....lol.
I've been very happy with Pbase....I think the display choices are great....and technically it's a breeze...if I can do it.............
............
Beachbum....Thank you, thank you...for the gand compliment!!
Jul 18th, 2005, 07:29 AM
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I am really sold on having the pics bound together in a Snapbook- up to 50 pictures - up to 5X7. I can only find this service on Shutterfly - but it is a tedious thing - probably because I have a 56 Dial up modem being out in the boonies.
I tried Snapfish, but they didn't have the capabilities to to the ibooks for the Mac.
Pricewise - it's not cheap - but I just order 3 Snapbooks (150 pictures in 3 albums) for about $90 bucks. (including shipping) Not great, but what a great way to store photos.
Isn't it great what these computer will do!!!
Carol
I tried Snapfish, but they didn't have the capabilities to to the ibooks for the Mac.
Pricewise - it's not cheap - but I just order 3 Snapbooks (150 pictures in 3 albums) for about $90 bucks. (including shipping) Not great, but what a great way to store photos.
Isn't it great what these computer will do!!!
Carol
Jul 18th, 2005, 01:01 PM
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Brahmama,
If you have a Mac, have you tried the photobooks that you can create out of iPhoto? Maybe the Apple ones are more expensive than some of the other services. I've never done it myself, but I know it's possible and supposedly very easy.
If you have a Mac, have you tried the photobooks that you can create out of iPhoto? Maybe the Apple ones are more expensive than some of the other services. I've never done it myself, but I know it's possible and supposedly very easy.
Jul 18th, 2005, 06:58 PM
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Nonnafelice,
I have just gotten a new iMac G5 and I'm learning the ins and outs of it! There is a wonderful iPhoto Shop but I didn't realize you could do it yourself/ the ibooks that is. I'll have to study up.
Thanks for the hint.
Carol
I have just gotten a new iMac G5 and I'm learning the ins and outs of it! There is a wonderful iPhoto Shop but I didn't realize you could do it yourself/ the ibooks that is. I'll have to study up.
Thanks for the hint.
Carol
Jul 18th, 2005, 09:01 PM
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You can get better prints for less money by taking your digital files to a local photo lab and having them printed there. Home photo printers benefit no one except the companies that sell ink and paper (with margins of 99.9999% on both).
Jul 19th, 2005, 06:54 AM
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Carol / Brahmama,
Here is the link on the Apple web site that tells more about the photo books:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/books/
I hope you love your Mac as much as we love ours! (We've had them since the very first one in 1984.)
Here is the link on the Apple web site that tells more about the photo books:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/books/
I hope you love your Mac as much as we love ours! (We've had them since the very first one in 1984.)
Jul 19th, 2005, 07:08 AM
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Nonnafelice,
Do you know which Mac operating system that you have to have to use the IPhoto program?...I have a Mac that is 4 years old.... OS 9.2.
I checked out the web-link but couldn't find system requirements!
Thanks
Do you know which Mac operating system that you have to have to use the IPhoto program?...I have a Mac that is 4 years old.... OS 9.2.
I checked out the web-link but couldn't find system requirements!
Thanks
Jul 20th, 2005, 06:17 AM
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Bailey,
I think iPhoto was introduced with OS X, so I'm afraid there isn't a version available for OS 9. Depending on your hardware, you might be able to upgrade to OS X. Here is a page from Apple's web site that shows the requirements for Tiger, the latest OS:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/requirements.html
If you didn't want to spring for Tiger, you could probably find a cheaper, earlier version of OS X for sale online. Any version of OS X will run iPhoto, although I'm not sure whether the latest iPhoto (version 5) requires Tiger.
Regarding the photobooks: Walt Mossberg's column today compared four online services: Apple's iPhoto, MyPublisher, Shutterfly, and EasyShare from Kodak. Apple actually uses MyPublisher as a supplier, but puts their own interface on the software (Mac only of course). He didn't say, but I'm guessing that MyPublisher's own software would be only for Windows.
Anyway, he rated iPhoto and MyPublisher best -- he said the iPhoto software was better but ordering directly from MyPublisher gave you somewhat more options, such as leather covers (more expensive), which Apple doesn't offer.
You can read his column at:
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20050720.html
I think iPhoto was introduced with OS X, so I'm afraid there isn't a version available for OS 9. Depending on your hardware, you might be able to upgrade to OS X. Here is a page from Apple's web site that shows the requirements for Tiger, the latest OS:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/requirements.html
If you didn't want to spring for Tiger, you could probably find a cheaper, earlier version of OS X for sale online. Any version of OS X will run iPhoto, although I'm not sure whether the latest iPhoto (version 5) requires Tiger.
Regarding the photobooks: Walt Mossberg's column today compared four online services: Apple's iPhoto, MyPublisher, Shutterfly, and EasyShare from Kodak. Apple actually uses MyPublisher as a supplier, but puts their own interface on the software (Mac only of course). He didn't say, but I'm guessing that MyPublisher's own software would be only for Windows.
Anyway, he rated iPhoto and MyPublisher best -- he said the iPhoto software was better but ordering directly from MyPublisher gave you somewhat more options, such as leather covers (more expensive), which Apple doesn't offer.
You can read his column at:
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20050720.html
Jul 20th, 2005, 08:02 AM
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I just saw that Costco (which uses Snapfish, as I mentioned earlier) is offering the MyPublisher photo books for 20% off. Unfortunately for Mac users, you have to use Windows software with the Costco offer. Regular prints are available from Costco with both Mac and Windows, but not the photo books.
Snapfish seems to have just lowered their price for 4 x 6 prints to 12 cents each.
Snapfish seems to have just lowered their price for 4 x 6 prints to 12 cents each.
