Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/09/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 8:53 PM -0400 9/30/02, Kyle Cassidy wrote: > >From experience, digital isn't that much of a time saver...unless you >have >[snip] It is a significant time sink having to print, as it takes >about >one minute per 4x6 print, and...the time to get the >>image into PS, and set-up the printer etc. Changing inks, head >>cleaning...the list goes on. Anyone who believes they are, in the long >>run, going to save time isn't being realistic. > >i can only speak from my own experience but this hasn't been the case at >all. digital printing IS indeed slow (1 minute per image seems a fair >estimate) HOWEVER, that's significantly faster than printing b&w in my >darkroom, which is a SERIOUS pain in the ass and takes a whole evening. (how >long does it take to make 1 4x5 b&w if you include mixing chemicals, pouring >trays, test exposure, print, fix, wash, dry, cleanup, i don't even want to >think about it) the way i do digital printing is this: open up all the >images i want to print in photoshop. add borders (i think this looks nice) >send them to the printer. go to lunch. come back, they're done. > >>Well, it costs about $1 per print from a digital printer...so I'm not >>seeing the significant money savings. For me to buy the film, develop >nd >get double 4x6 prints from a 36 roll costs me about $17. The same >hing >from digital would cost me $72... > >we could be at cross scales here, but i never print 36 exposures from a >digital "roll" of film. i'm lucky if i get one image out of 36 that i want >to print. so rather than paying $17 to print 36 photos i usually print 1 or >2. (or none, sometimes i just email/post/ftp) and if it's $1 a print, that's >money saved. > >and talk about saving time when making multiple copies of your portfolio! > >i also have a multi-meg PDF file of my portfolio which i can dump to CD and >mail out. > >digital's nice. it's not as fun as my m6 but i hate the process between >pushing the shutter and seeing the result. and i hate the darkroom. and i >hate developing film. and i hate spending money to have someone else develop >it. mostly all i'm paying for now is $5 DVD's to store the images on.... > >that's just me though, speaking anticdotally. your mileage may vary. > >kc My local 1hr photofinisher (who is actually quite good, and has ruined 0 films out of about 300 so far, as compared with one 'pro' lab in the city, which has mangled about 1 in 10 in some form or another) prints 4x6's from digital for $.50Cdn (about 30 cents US) on Fuji Crystal Archive. I give her a compact flash card with the files I want printed, and get them in 30 minutes. Nothing she does takes her an hour. So I take 400 pictures on a digital P&S. I download all to the computer via PC card adapter (about a minute), decide which ones I want prints of, for whoever and now delete the rest off the PC cards. Then, when I go do something else, drop off the CF card at the quickie photofinisher and come by on the way home and pick up prints. Maybe 30 different shots; maybe one of most, and 10 of the good one with my cousin's smiling baby. $25 Cdn, and very little hassle. Cheaper than film & prints. Not good enough for an 8x10 for any level of 'photographer', but good enough for a 4x6 for almost anyone. This stuff is getting useful, especially at this level. - -- * Henning J. Wulff /|\ Wulff Photography & Design /###\ mailto:henningw@archiphoto.com |[ ]| http://www.archiphoto.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html