Getting started with digital pictures..

Digital cameras have revolutionized the way we take, share, organize, and print photos. No longer are you a slave to a roll of film, taking 24 carefully selected photos, paying $5 bucks for film and another $10 bucks for processing, only to find you ended up with 9 pictures you like. With a digital camera, you can take hundreds of pictures, keep just the ones you like, then keep on shooting. No more film, no more processing fees. That is, as long as you are happy keeping your digital images in digital format, which means on your computer. But what if you want to print out your pictures or share them with friends? In this article, we will provide solutions to processing, organizing, printing, and storing your digital photos.

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So how does it all work? Moving from the world of film cameras to digital cameras means finding a new way to print out the images you want hard copies (prints) of. There are a few options if you want to do this.

• Take your digital images to a store/retail location.
• Print out your images at home.
• Send your digital images electronically to an online service that will print them for you.

We'll take a look at these options one by one.

Printing digital images at a store:

A quick and easy solution to getting digital prints is to take either your camera storage device (SD card, Compact Flash card, etc.) or a CD with your desired images down to a local store that does digital printing (like WalMart). They usually have self service kiosks there where you can insert your memory card or CD and select the images you want to print, size, etc. Prints can cost 10-30 cents for a normal 4x6 print - with coupons often available for additional savings. Many people find this as easy or easier than visiting a local photo store or drug store for traditional film processing and developing. One benefit is immediate gratification - you walk out 2 minutes later with your pictures instead of waiting a day or two and having to come back to pick up your prints.

Printing digital photos at home:

With modern color inkjet printers, you now have an option that wasn't available a few years ago - you can print your digital photos at home on your personal printer. Most inkjets output high-quality images with more than 600DPI resolution. Printing images at home can be more costly than printing at a store - you need special ink for your printer, which often costs $20-$40 per refill (check with printer manufacturers when buying a new printer - you can often get average costs per printed image to get an idea how much you will spend compared to printing at a store) and special glossy photo paper, which can cost 10-50 cents per sheet for an 8x11.5 sheet. In general, home printing is more expensive that in-store printing. Most people use home printing for special quick prints they want, special sizes, etc. For example, you might squeeze 6 or 7 smaller images on one sheet of prints, and then cut them up for special frame size or for a school project. Many times, this is quicker and simpler than heading down to the mall for your prints. For inkjet supplies, check out 4inkjets.

Using an online photo printing service:

Another popular way of printing your digital images is to use an online digital photo printing service. You simply email or upload your digital images to them, they print them on professional quality printers and paper, and then mail them back to you. You never have to leave the house! This is a convenient way to make multiple copies or photo enlargements. This method is also excellent for allowing friends or families choose their own prints (and pay for them themselves!) - once your digital pictures are uploaded, you can let others browse the online album and select just the images they want to print. The leading online photo printers are:

• Shutterfly
• Winkflash
• Ofoto (now owned by Kodak)
• Dotphoto

Most of these companies charge 10 to 30 cents for standard size prints, while an 8x10 will set you back $2-$5. These guys usually offer different photo printed products as well - put your kids face on a mug, a calendar, a t-shirt. Once you adapt to the new routine of uploading digital photos and getting hard copy prints back in the mail, you may be hooked.

So now we have covered printing digital photos - but what makes digital photos so much fun is all the new ways you can use and share them. In our next section, we will look into a variety of online services that let you share and display your photos with the world.

Continue to Page 2 (Online Photo Sharing, Slideshows, etc.)

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