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TECH
TOOLS -
NOVEMBER
2002 |
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ONLINE PHOTO PRINTERS |
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You took
some great photos of your friends and family at Thanksgiving
this year. That was fun and easy! Now...when are you going
to get around to getting them developed? |
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Developing
photos online... |
If you used a digital camera
to take your photos, you could
print them out yourself. Except
that printing digital photos is
very time consuming - it takes quite
awhile to print a high resolution image.
Also, printing with an
inkjet printer can be expensive - some papers are
$1.00/sheet and some printers use 5 to 10 times as much ink
(at $25 - $35/cartridge) as others. Unless the print is
given a moisture resistant coating, it's still ink on paper
and subject to water damage.
A much better option is an online photo printer. They
produce real photos, not just ink on glossy paper. They'll
also develop your film photos
quickly and cheaply.
If you're using film, all you have to do is put the roll of
film in a special envelope you get from the developer's
web site (sometimes with the
postage prepaid) and put it in the mail. The online
developer will print a proof sheet on their site, and send
you just the images you like via postal mail. You only pay
for what you choose.
Digital camera users can also use online services like
uploading, storing, editing and sharing, and order
professionally developed prints (usually on Kodak paper).
You could also download to a CD-ROM where you can store
years of memories on a single disk.
Some of the best sites let you store an unlimited number of
online albums, order personalized photo-gifts, and get back
standard negatives as well. Photo-editing options, such as
easy cropping and no more red eyes, are usually part of the
package.
Prices are generally somewhat competitive with local
print-from-film pricing ($0.25 - $0.50), but shipping and
handling can be pricey so be sure to check around.
Some of the more expensive vendors promise 12 to 24 hour
turn-around on your uploaded images.
Some vendors also
accept disks, CD's, Zip disks as well as your exposed film
for processing. |
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Great online resource... |
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For more in-depth comparisons
on a number of online photo
developers/printers, check the
Online Photo
Resource Guide at
http://www.andromeda.com/people/ddyer/photo/albums.html |
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ONLINE RESOURCES |
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Get a full set of prints on
Kodak paper and a password-protected online album you can use to
edit, organize and share photos. At a price of $2.99 per roll Snapfish offers an unbeatable value. Digital camera users can
also take advantage of online services for free, and order
professionally developed prints on Kodak paper.
http://www.snapfish.com |
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DotPhoto makes it easy to put your photos on the web, with free
albums and storage, editing tools to organize your photos, great
photographic prints at low prices, and easy ways to share your
pictures with friends and family. They'll give you 30 free
prints for signing up. For lower prices, dotPhoto offers
membership plans.
http://www.dotphoto.com |
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Club Photo provides tools and
services that enable users to get superb prints from digital
images, film processing, CDs, and easy on-line photo sharing.
You can also put your photos on cookies and chocolates. Club
Photo offers a wide array of products from traditional photo
mugs and mouse pads to commemorative plates and marble stones.
http://www.clubphoto.com |
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Store and share their pictures with family and friends. Photos
can be easily edited, cropped, or enhanced with borders and
special effects, by using Ofoto's free online tools. Customers
(as well as friends and relatives) can have prints,
enlargements, photo cards, frames, albums and other
photo-related merchandise delivered. Photos printed on Kodak
paper.
http://www.ofoto.com |
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