Deciding to Print Yourself

Should photographers spend the time and money to print their images themselves rather than sending their images out to printing labs? Here are 5 decision points photographers should consider when making that decision.

If you are a photographer considering getting into printing yourself, you are not alone.  I think my personal photography journey is very similar to many photographers and it seems most of us arrive at a point of wanting to have the capability to print ourselves. See if this path looks familiar to you.

* A person gets interested in photography, buys a camera, has no idea how to use it

* Learn about the exposure triangle. How to use shutter, aperture, ISO

* Learn what lens to use and how to compose photos

* Learn how to work with light. Portraits with flash, landscapes with night skies and sunsets

* Learn how to print. First with labs, but eventually themselves

This article is all about that last step.  I want to help photographers who are wondering about printing themselves. I have some things to share from the past few years where I took on printing as a complete beginner.

I am going to cover several decision points I recommend photographers use to decide if getting into printing is right for them.  Then I will cover a few of the technical things involved with printing that can help with those decision points.

Key factors to decide about printing yourself:

* Competent photographer

* Margin

* Do you think you will like it?

* Convenience

* Critical for growth in business

Competent Photographer

I don’t want to sound harsh or dissuade anyone from setting and working on goals. I have tried hard to make this site be one where I encourage photographers to get on their photography journey. I want to cheer you on, provide some help, and recommend ways to do it without having to spend exorbitant amounts of money.

However, I recommend that printing should not be taken on early in that journey.  Think of entering the world of printing yourself as being very similar to what it was like when you first started learning how to use your camera.  

There is some technical complexity to printing that is likely to prove frustrating to even the competent or professional photographer. My advice is to hold off on printing your images yourself until you consistently get the results you want from concept, shoot, and edit.

To be clear, I am not suggesting you hold off entirely on printing until you evaluate yourself to be a competent photographer. I am deliberately not using the term “professional” photographer, and I don’t think any photographer should wait for competency before doing any printing.

Quite the contrary.  I am convinced that printing your images can really help you towards becoming that competent photographer. If you don’t feel like you are a competent photographer yet, adding printing to your workflow can help you get there.  I think you should print as much as you can afford, with the right priority.  Just do it through a print lab before trying to take that on yourself.

Margin

Photographers should never get into printing as a way to save money. There is no chance you will print yourself at less cost than what you do through a good print lab.  Unless you consider your local pharmacy your pri...