SHOOTING RANGE

First, the tech geeks tell you to buy a digital camera. It rules out the hassle of buying a film and getting the prints, they tell you. Besides, all you want to do with photos is share them over the Net, they say. Once you’ve done their bidding, they come up with another, and by now a seemingly sinister, suggestion. Buy a printer, they advise, so you can print your own photos. It may set you fuming, but it’s hard to match the convenience of printing at home instead of going to a shop. As for the cost, it takes the same amount of money to print at home as outside. Here are some printer options you can choose from.
Though the inkjet printer can easily print photos shot by a digital camera, it’s designed to print office graphics, not photos. Not only is the realism missing, but the ink is different and the paper is not your regular A4 copier sheet.
Today, nearly all photo printers deliver good quality photos; you can’t distinguish these from the ones printed from a film in the conventional process. Besides, you often get the same quality from a Rs 3,000 printer as from a Rs 50,000 one. In any given manufacturer’s printer line, the difference between various models lies in speed or features, not in terms of quality.
This isn’t to say that there is no difference in photo quality of various printers. Photo printers, like film developing labs, will give you results that range from barely acceptable to outstanding. A low-end printer is good for casual snapshots, but if you take your photos seriously, you will want a high-quality printer.
Photo printers fall into two major categories. The first is the inkjet photo printer, also called photo printer or photo inkjet. These offer at least one photo feature but can also function as all-purpose printers. They print business applications reasonably well, though often at a very slow pace. This is the category to consider if you want a single, all-purpose printer or if you want a second printer just for photos.
The second category is the dedicated photo printers. These are typically limited to printing on special, usually glossy, paper. They may also print on small paper sizes, often 4 inch by 6 inch. These are available in both inkjet and thermal-dye varieties.
No matter what photo printer you buy, rest assured that it will give you photos of outstanding quality. Besides, new models with increasing speed are popping up every day. Here’s how to go about choosing your perfect printer.

Type of Photo Printer
The photo printer you buy depends on the purpose you want it for. If you want to send faxes and scan pictures and documents, a combo unit is probably the best. But if you simply want to print 4 inch by 6 inch images easily and even while travelling, a compact photo printer is the best.
If you do most of your printing at one place and want the option of 8 inch by 10 inch prints, go for a standard full-size printer. If you are a pro or want impressive prints in large sizes, go for a large-paper printer.

Quality of photo prints
The dpi (dots per inch) of a printer is crucial. If you make lots of small 4 inch by 6 inch prints, it isn’t important, but if you want enlargements, particularly over 8 inch by 10 inch, you will want to examine and compare the print resolution. Look for at least 4800 dpi for large photo prints.

Connecting to camera, computer & images
Most printers come with PictBridge to ease the connection between camera and printer, and most connect to a computer with a USB cable. You should also consider other options that may be important. Memory card slots built into the printer are a handy option, but be sure the printer accepts it.

Ink cartridges
The more ink cartridges your photo printer uses, the better the quality of prints. This also means that when you run out of one colour, you won’t pay to replace all colours. On the downside, you will need to buy cartridges more often.
One of the issues for inkjet users is whether to buy third-party inks and papers. When photos are involved, it’s best to approach both with extreme scepticism.
Printer manufacturers develop ink, cartridges, printers, paper, and drivers to work together. Differences in ink chemistry can affect colours, and this is likely to degrade a photo. Differences in the ink’s physical properties, like change in viscosity can make a difference in how well the printer controls the drops of ink as they shoot out of the nozzle. This can also affect image quality.
Printers also include som-ething called a service station, which cleans the print head. It is designed for the vendor’s ink and can’t compensate for differences in third-party inks.
The bottom line—you have lots of reasons to expect problems in photos when using third-party ink.
Third-party paper can also be an issue. A printer produces different colours with different papers. The idea that one brand of paper will work well with a variety of printers from different manufacturers without colour correction software for each printer, doesn’t make sense. Before you buy a large quantity of a third-party paper, try out a few samples. Print the same photos on both the manufacturer’s paper and the third-party paper and compare the results. You may find that the quality isn’t the same, but it might be good for casual snapshots.

Gagandeep S. Sapra is the chairman and CEO of System3 group of companies. gagandeepsystem3group.com