Do the digital pictures you print at home last as long as the one's developed professionally?

Question

I have a home printer and the pictures look really good. But, how will they look a few years down the road? Should I always take my digital pictures to a photo lab?

Answer 1

Lots of good answers here. But also some garbage. If you don't use archival paper and inks, the picture will degrade, probably sooner than you want. Since you like the way your pictures look, why not back up your pictures to CD (you should copy your CD every 4-5 years, because they don't last) Then reprint your pics whenever you think they have faded. However, you may want to compare the quality of your prints with the same one printed by a lab. You might not stay satisfied with your home printer.

Answer 2

Since you have asked the question I am assuming you have not spent thousands of dollars on your computer equipment, and printer. And I am also assuming you have not had your computer, monitor, and printer calibrated to one another. So in short no they won't.

Now by professional do you mean the pimple faced student behind the counter at Walmart or do you mean a real photo lab professional? Again I will make an assumption that you will be going to Walmart. You photos will still be better than your home printer that came free with your computer and who's replacement value is less than the new ink cartridges that you need.

I am a semi pro photographer and am not very happy with what people consider good these days. Like most things now the largest factor in determining if something is good or not is quantity rather than quality.

Bottom line, you get what you pay for.

Answer 3

Resolution doesn't mean anything if your printing on cheap paper. Resolution is about pixels and sizing.
If you are using cheap ink in your printer, and your printing on some old paper you found in your desk then this will not last as long as a picture you have developed from film. Then again, it depends how you are storing these pictures as well.

Digital is always great because like mentioned before you can always make copies if you have the files. Its harder to save negatives then it is to save files on a computer.

I always love the beauty of a real camera as supposed to the digital cameras. I believe the natural lighting and non anti-aliasing makes for a true picture

Answer 4

the answer to that entirely depends on what printer you have, what paper you use and where the final print is displayed.

if you have a basic ink-jet with decent quality paper and choose to print an 8x10 and display it in the hallway. it will last about 7-10 yrs before experience fading.

quality in printers goes like this.
ink-jet=good
pigment=better/best
dye-sub=best

paper quality to think best about this you have to remember "you get what you pay for"

where you display the print. if you print an image for archival for a book and the image protected by poly then yes; you will more than likely be able to keep the image for a long time.

things that kill a print are....handling, sunlight, handling, more light, and handling. im sure you get the point.

in all seriousness, if you want a print 8x10 or larger you should consider a chemical lab print on photo/archival paper.

the choice to take all your prints to a lab is a personal one. for me i ask the questions. what am i doing with the print? who is going to see it? and what is the possible future of the print? meaning will it be handled and laid out on the dash of a car.

something else to consider. cd's only have a shelf life of 5-7 yrs. you will one day pull out a cd and try to access the images and the files will go corrupt for no apparrent reason. remember cd's are tiny bits of magnitized data arranged in a circle. changes in temperature and humidity and time have an effect on the quality of the cd's data. remember to date your cd's and reburn them and place back in storage after the expiration date. a pain i know but part of the price you pay for an all digital world.

Answer 5

It's pretty much like what "Itshowmuch" and "luke7785" suggest. However, let's understand one thing, UV light is one of the most harmful environmental effects on any images and you can protect with plastic (yes, like Plexiglas). But, there are other factors that, likewise, can/will affect the image: humidity, heat (temperature), and aerosol sprays from "air fresheners" and cleaners (for windows, furniture, etc) that may be in the immediate environment.

Some archival inks and some archival papers claim "Guaranteed to last 100 years" but digital tech hasn't been around in commercial use more than a handful of years... how do you know that claim has validity... by THEIR "laboratory" studies and conclusions? Don't believe commercial hype; it's only intended to separate you from your money. There is a great need for standards to be established for the many archival papers, the different paper finishes, the archival projections and the same with the inks and dyes; the digital industry seems to be dragging their proverbial feet in coming to an agreement in many standard issues... archival issues is but one.

Re-read the information provided by "Itshowmuch" on the lifespan of images on CDs; it is most important, and it is, likewise, important that you continue backing up your files or risk loss of image files.

It's not only that you get what you pay for, as suggested by "Luke 7785," but it's the price you pay for convenience over quality. Digital images printed at home are only as good as the printer used, and the archival inks and paper used.

Personally, I believe that we've been duped into believing that digital tech is "superior" to film tech by the industries that are now spending less in their manufacturing processes and charging more... they're making bigger profits by deceiving the public to forego or compromise quality over convenience. My family still has prints of my great-grandmother when she was a very young girl during the 1880s... and THAT you can rest assured was not digital technology! I have images of my parents, taken in the 30s and 40s, photos of my older brother an me as children during the 50s with inexpensive cameras and "commercial" films available to non-professional photographers of the day... also not digital technology.

George Schaub, Editorial Director of Shutterbug (Photography) Magazine, educator, technician, etc., in the September 2006 issue states, "In traditional prints on fiber papers, the image seems to emerge from the paper with a glow and resonance unmatched by any printing process. Inkjet prints are created by laying ink down onto the paper, and while pigmented inks do blend somewhat more with paper fibers they simply are not a match for a brilliant silver print. There's no question that detail and resolution in a digital print can match any projection print, but it's in the surface of the image, that intangible window through which we view the image, that inkjet shows its differences and where silver is unmatched."

You can't possibly afford to buy the archival inks and papers that professional photolab companies routinely use every day of operation. If you have an 8" x 10" or larger image, go with the professionals; there's a reason why they're in the business... but stay away from those cheapo Walmart and K-Mart and other "bargains" because you WILL get what you pay for!

To answer your question, the images you print at home will not last as long as those printed professionally by a photolab that specializes in printing digital images.

Answer 6

If you print your digital pictures on photo paper at high resolution the prints will last just as long as those that are developed professionally. The great thing about digital photos is that the actual stored digital image will NEVER degrade, so you can always re-print those pictures if they start to fade or curl and the re-prints will be just as sharp as the day you took them. Not so with traditional photos -- negatives degrade over time, so re-prints will never be as clear or colorful as the original prints.

Answer 7

Depends on the paper and ink used. Ilford is making a high quality paper now.On the ink I stick with what the printer manufacturer suggest. If keep out of direct sun light extremes of hot and cold it should be good for years to come.
But quality wise short of buying a 30,000 die sublimation printer the quality isn't quite there, but once its on the wall and behind glass no one can tell the difference.

Answer 8

Well I think when you develop professionally they last longer because there is no ink in the process
you have photos from 1900 and before that look good.
I think the home made print with the ink won't last for a long time

Answer 9

How long they last will depend on the printer you are using and the quality of the ink. If you get an archival paper and an archival ink, they might last 100 years

Answer 10

They claim 200 years, are you going to be around at that time??

You can not display (frame) them for to long, they fade. if you keep them in album, probably they last.
I start to print them, it was easy, the best paper and the recomended ink, but after just 18 months I saw the changes, when I visited some of my customers, I did not say anything but I was worry about it.
They did not see changes, but my trained eye did; I still digital, but print with chemestry, only for samples I go digital printing, is faster.