Photography Thailand Forum

[Marc Schultz]

Your welcome Hans. Glad you found it helpful.

[David Salmanowitz]

Marc--glad the results at Master Lab were good, but probably even better if you had calibrated your monitor, knew the profile of the paper that was used, ...    Just so many variables of having to try and guess what the printer will or will not do. Not sure the cost of Epson fine art photography printers here in Thailand versus some countries where they might be cheaper. I know I was pleasantly surprised last year as a Mac laptop was only about $150 more in BKK than USA. When one does their own printing they are in control, and not at the whim of whomever is working the printers at the lab that day. If anyone has ever been frustrated at printing from Photoshop printing from Lightroom eliminates many previous potential problems. If someone is just going to print occasionally than finding a good custom lab would  be cheaper than buying a printer, but one should still calibrate their monitor and one should know the profile for the type of paper the lab will be using. Just those two things can avoid a lot of aggravation and not have one screaming  

[Marc Schultz]

Good points David. Some of the other issues of course being cost of paper and ink for Epson printers versus the very low cost of chemical prints done in these labs in Thailand. Its hard to justify the cost of spending not only for the printer (initial investment), but continued investment of supplies.

[Paul Whitehead]

I am new to this printing game and have had a lot of frustrations in the last few weeks. I followed David's route and bought a specialized printer. I already profiled anyway. I have found printing my own to be quite hard as well 

Just deciding on a paper was hard enough and then realizing that sometimes a paper profile for another paper seems to work better in terms of output- and that some subjects print look poor when printed on certain types of paper to other -  its all just too complicated for me! And then theres the sharpening.

Oh my!

I have decided to try and track down a custom printer to do the work for me - its too frustrating for an old computer challenged chump like me.

[Marc Schultz]

My experiences with self printing have always been like yours Paul. As a result that is why I always use labs and have managed to GRT much better and cost affective results that way.

[Khun Hans]

David, Paul, Mark, I print myself on a Canon I9950 up to 13x19. My monitor is calibrated and I bought a separate ColorVision PRINTFIX Pro scanner for color profiling the printer. Getting decent results but never was really happy with at least one color, mostly red in the printing results.
Then I discovered 12 preset printer profiles from Canon for my printer and use them in Photoshop  instead of my own result from scanning and adjusting the print.
This works almost perfect as long as I use original Canon ink tanks and Canon paper and that is what I do.
Hans

[Marc Schultz]

That's great Hans. It sounds like you found a good solution. Unfortunately though it sounds like you had to go through a bit of trial and error and burn through some expensive ink and paper to get there, which is normally the case I am afraid. I also normally don't print anything smaller than 20" x 30", which is another problem with self printing. And I could just imagine the cost of making that sized print using manufacturer branded inks. Unfortunately I am afriad it wouldn't be cost affective for me. Another sad reality is that technology and printer models change quickly. This means eventually it's hard to get parts and support for a printer you bought and then you have to buy a new model and the process of trial and error starts all over again.

[Marc Schultz]

In fact it seems Canon could be announcing another pro printer model very soon:

 http://www.canonrumors.com/2011/09/canon-pro-announcements-on-september-22-2011/

Good for them, bad for the consumer who may eventually find it cheaper to buy a new printer rather than fix the old one when it starts having problems. That's fine when it comes to small and inexpensive inkjet document printers, but not so good when having to replace a larger photo printer for the reasons we have been discussing.

Normally with my small inkjet document printers it is cheaper to buy a whole new printer than replace the ink cartridges when they run out. The last HP printer I bought cost 990 Baht including the ink cartridges. When the ink runs out I will just toss it out and buy a new one instead for the same price which should be lighter, faster, and quieter each time if history continues to repeat itself.

[Khun Hans]

Completely agree, Marc. First it's not a cheap solution, second it's already an 'old' printer without the advanced b/w printing solutions, third 13x19 is max. size. But, I only print occasionally and don't need it for professional purposes.
I probably never will buy an new one.

[Marc Schultz]

That makes good sense Hans. Unless of course eventually it breaks down and it becomes cheaper to replace it than to fix it.

[Paul Whitehead]

Profiling the printer as well - I never knew about that Hans.

Good info - thanks

[Paul Whitehead]

As a follow up on this I finally found a lab that fit my requirements for full online service and the prints are great, and the print choices and profiles make my pictures look exactly as they are on screen. I ended up using Adorama in NY. They have a fee of 15$ for shipping to Thailand that has held up for both 1 print and 20 prints. I have now moved all my printing to them.

at 13 USD for a 16x20 metallic, without leaving the condo  - it is working well for me.

[Marc Schultz]

Paul - If I am going to use an online overseas services, I found http://www.shutterfly.com to be quite decent. Cheap and cheerful and if you want to ship prints to anyone in the USA it is also very good for that because delivery is fast and postage is cheap. Give it a go if you like.

[Khun Hans]

As a follow up on this I finally found a lab that fit my requirements for full online service and the prints are great, and the print choices and profiles make my pictures look exactly as they are on screen. I ended up using Adorama in NY. They have a fee of 15$ for shipping to Thailand that has held up for both 1 print and 20 prints. I have now moved all my printing to them.

at 13 USD for a 16x20 metallic, without leaving the condo  - it is working well for me.

Paul, did you have any trouble with Thai customs as waiting time, pick up somewhere etc. or did it come strait to your home?

[Paul Whitehead]

Straight to the house - no tax. Packaging was flat (!) and extremely well done and protected. Came by USPS.

Another interesting point is that I also had a comparative print done by Bangkok's "best" lab - you all know the one I am alluding to. The NY print was better all round and 1/3rd of the cost.

I would like to use the Lad Prao printers that Mark recommends but I simply don't have the time in the day to get up there due to work commitments.