Photographers: Make More Money by Printing Yourself
For many photographers, the thought of printing your own images has never even crossed their minds. After all, that's what printing companies have been doing for photographers for decades, but many photographers have discovered how much money they can save (and how much they can profit) by handling their own print jobs in house. While it won't be possible to avoid a printing company on all projects (like canvas wraps or stand outs), you can save a substantial amount of money on your basic print packages, like 5x7s and 8x10s by printing them yourself.
This revolutionary idea is all thanks to the high quality photo printers, like Canon printers, and the high quality Canon ink cartridges available to photographers today. However, in addition to a quality printer, ink and paper, there are a few other factors that will affect the outcome of your prints.
Monitor Calibration – Every printer will have a specific calibration process for you to follow. When you ensure your monitor is calibrated properly, you will be able to have colours that match on paper what you see on screen. This is vital to a professional print job. It may also be well worth the investment of purchasing a monitor calibrator if you have more than one type of printer that you use in your office or if you have multiple computers. Switching between computers or printers may have an affect on your printing outcome.
Clean Print Heads – There's nothing worse than a resulting print job that has lines and ink blotches on it. Ensure your printer heads are clean after each project. This will ensure a quality job each time you print and avoid you from wasting paper.
Quality Photo Paper – Be careful and pay attention to the type of photo paper you are printing on. Don't waste your expensive paper for test jobs, but also don't forget to replace your paper when you're ready to print your final product. Quality photo paper will ensure your clients won't be able to tell if the print came from your own printer or a professional printing company.
Keeping these three factors in mind, you'll find that printing your own images for personal or client use is easy and can save you a lot of time and money. There's no money wasted on postage and handling and you can deliver prints much more quickly, which will improve your satisfaction rating with clients.
