How do amateur photographers print out a good photo?

Four "hard" knowledge of playing photo printing

Photo printing? Is nothing more than a blank piece of paper going in from the printer and then "spitting" it out from the printer? In fact, it is not as easy as it is said, but it is by no means difficult. You only need to know the working principle of the printer and some precautions in the operation process, and you can easily print beautiful photos!

Printers know everything.

Printer type

For printing photos, inkjet is generally the most common and mature way, which is characterized by high precision, strong color reproduction ability, good ink retention performance and high support for paper, but the printing speed is slow and the consumables such as ink cartridges used are expensive.

width

This is the most intuitive concept of a paper photo. Format is the printer's ability to handle paper. Ordinary household printers can support A4 format (2 10×297mm), and quasi-professional printers can support A3 format (420×297mm). Printers that usually exceed A3 format are collectively referred to as large format printers. The larger the format, the higher the requirement for inkjet accuracy of the printer, and the manufacturing cost and printing cost of the printer also rise.

Maximum resolution

This is the most critical technical index of the printer, and the unit is dpi (dots per inch), which is generally expressed by multiplying the vertical and horizontal resolution. For example, the highest resolution of a product is 5760× 1440dpi, which means that the printer sprays 5760 dots horizontally and 1440 dots vertically in a square inch area. The horizontal resolution is determined by the performance of the nozzle, and the vertical resolution is determined by the comprehensive performance of the paper feeding mechanism and the nozzle. The value of the highest resolution has nothing to do with the product and will not affect the aspect ratio of the final output of the picture; The highest resolution of a printer is also related to the format size it supports.

The Essence of Photo Display-Ink

Number of ink cartridges

Different types of printers are equipped with 4- 12 ink cartridges with different colors. Ordinary printers, 4-6 color ink cartridges (4 colors are cyan, magenta, red and black, and 6 colors are light magenta and light black ink cartridges) are the mainstream configuration; Large format professional printers usually have 8- 12 ink cartridges (increase the corresponding light color and expand the number of black ink cartridges). Equipped with more ink cartridges can better adapt to different materials of paper.

Shower head of sprinkler

The nozzle is an important structure in the printer, and it is the unit that controls the ink jet to the paper. Its hole spacing and number are huge and dense, and the number of nozzles corresponding to each color ranges from 200 to 800. The performance of nozzle directly affects the volume and shape of ink droplets. Smaller ink droplets mean that more ink droplets can be sprayed on the same pixel for color matching, and the printing quality is also higher.

Cartridge/ink selection

High-quality ink can restore the true color of photos and keep the color for a long time. Usually a set of original ink cartridges will be provided when the printer leaves the factory. The price of original ink cartridges is relatively high. Generally, it can't be filled with ink after use, but the color is stable, which has a high degree of support for the special inkjet technology of printers. In addition, there are auxiliary factory ink cartridges and a continuous ink supply system (referred to as "continuous supply"). The quality of ink cartridges in the deputy factory is different, but the price is relatively advantageous; Moreover, "continuous supply" is more cost-effective and can replenish ink at any time. At present, many printers provide a "continuous supply" kit and supplementary ink, which is suitable for users who need to print a large number of photos.

Accurate Presentation of Color —— Color "Outline" of Printer

The ability of a printer depends on the number of colors that can be displayed after matching ink and paper, and any aspect between ink and paper will affect the final printing effect. The matching between them is determined by "color configuration file (ICC file for short)", and its working principle is to control the amount of ink ejected by the printer according to the performance of a certain paper, so as to achieve standard color output as much as possible.

Highlight the texture of photos-the choice of paper

Another intuitive feeling of physical photos is the material of paper. Photo printing has high requirements for paper, and different paper materials will have different "interpretations" in color, hierarchy and texture. Generally divided into matte, high gloss, paper-based and other different surface types. The production process of the paper itself needs to be more exquisite, and it can't turn yellow after long-term storage. The acid-free material of pure cotton can meet this demand. Japanese brands such as Epson and British brands such as Yi Erfu all provide very high-quality printing paper, while German brands such as Ghanem Le and French brands such as Kangsong can provide top-class collection paper.

Photo printing and "micro-spraying"

Photo printing is actually a very general statement, with uneven quality and technology. For high-precision and high-quality photo printing, it is usually called "micro-jet". This is a printing method that uses professional printing equipment, special consumables and professional color management software to achieve the best results. Its color range has exceeded the traditional printing color gamut and is close to the recognition category of human eyes. The color preservation period is more than 100 years, which is the best way to present photos.

Create a simple print workspace at home

Want to enjoy the experience of printing high quality photos at any time without leaving home? Create a simple photo printing "workspace" at home! Follow these steps and suggestions, and you will get the most cost-effective printer package.

3 printers suitable for home use

The price range of photo printer is very wide, and the price measures its performance to a certain extent, which is usually reflected in color accuracy, frame, printing rate, consumables cost and so on. For home users, they usually don't need big batch print, but strive for a higher image quality experience. Here, we list a series of photo printers suitable for home use.

Reference of Average Price of "Minijet" Service

There are many institutions in the market that can provide fast and professional "micro-spraying" services. Depending on the format and paper, the price of "micro-spray" photos is also very different. When taking "micro-spray" photos outside, you can refer to this table as a standard to measure the price.

From hobby to professional service

Liang Donglai, a freelance photographer, initially founded his personal micro-jet studio Donglai Film Society because of his interest, and gradually provided high-end professional micro-jet services.

Doing "micro-jet" business is my hobby, starting from 20 13 with only one 24-inch printer. At first, I just printed my own photos for fun, and later I began to serve the outside world at the suggestion of my friends. Up to now, there are four large format printers, namely, Epson P20080, P99 10, P79 10, P49 10, professional color calibrator for Aiseli i 1 Photo Pro and professional display for Zhuo Yi.