Starting your own
digital photo studio.
Paper published
in India in October 1999 (All
figures are in perspective to the
market prices in India during
that period)
Digital Photography
is in infant stage today in
India. Digital cameras with
professional controls at
affordable costs are now being
introduced. Inkjet printers which
give out true photo quality are
also being introduced now. Photo
glossy papers are now available
for inkjet printing which give
the look and feel of a
conventional photograph. We have
introduced FOTOLAB software, the
only of its kind, which enables
the user to print photos in
preset sizes instantly. All the
pieces of digital photography
puzzle are now falling in place.
But, people at large
have no single access to the
information which gives them the
exact idea about what equipment
is required, which software to
use and which consumables to be
used. With proper guidance for
choice of equipment, software and
consumables, a complete digital
photo studio can be successfully
started at low cost.
Following are the
common worries of people who have
considered an entry into digital
photography :
1] Inkjet prints are not
waterproof.
2] Cost of printing on inkjet is
very high.
3] Quality of inkjet does not
match the continuous tone quality
of conventional photo and looks
grainy.
4] Inkjet prints are not durable.
5] The papers are not as thick as
photographic paper.
1] Inkjet printing on
normal paper is not waterproof.
Answer : With a
proper combination of ink and
paper with some trial and error
one can get a waterproof print.
You must try out several types of
papers available in the market
today for inkjet printers.
Moreover you can further laminate
the print cost effectively with
lamination film. There are many
lamination processes available
today.
2] Cost of printing
on inkjet is very high.
Answer : Epson
printers have separate print head
and ink cartridge, whereas,
others have both combined.
In Epson printers, whenever the
printer is switched on, the ink
is charged by the print head and
for this it consumes a little
quantity of ink. Therefore Epson
printers should not be switched
on and off often.
The photo glossy paper from
Century is available at Rs.10=20
per A4 size sheet. A colour
cartridge and a black cartridge
can print about 75 to 100 copies
of full colour A4 size photos
depending on the density of
colour in the photograph.
Considering the cost of Epson
cartridges - @ Rs.975=00 for
colour and Rs.675=00 for black
cartridge, per print ink cost
will come to between Rs.22=00 and
Rs.16=50. Therefore the total
consumables cost for full A4 size
sheet would Rs.10=20 + ink =
Rs.32=20 approximately. Which is
quite affordable.
3] The printing
quality does not match the continuous
tone quality of conventional photo
and look grainy.
Answer : Every
inkjet printer manufacturer has a
range of printers which deliver
photo quality result. It is true
that even if these printers give
multicolour output, the quality
differs on selection of the
different paper media. If a
normal paper is selected for
printing, then these printers
print individual dot a little
apart, because, ink being liquid,
spreads a little on the normal
paper. But if the photo glossy
paper is selected, then these
printers print very fine dots
close to each other and thus you
cannot see individual dots with
normal vision. A photo printed in
this way seems to have a
continuous tone.
The range of
printers from Hewlett Packard
gives the same photo quality
printing even on plain paper.
A conventional 35mm
negative if enlarged to
8"x12" in a
conventional colour photo lab
will give more grains than a
scanned post card size photo of
the same negative and then
enlarged four times in a computer
and printed with photo quality
inkjet printer on a photo glossy
paper. This is because the
emulsion on the 35mm negative is
composed of tiny crystals. This
crystalline structure shows up on
an enlargement, whereas the
software in a computer uses
pixels to store the information
of photo. For enlarging the
picture the software puts in more
pixels and averages the colour in
them resulting in a finer and
smoother finish without grain.
4] Inkjet printouts
are not durable.
Answer : All kinds
of dyes used in different methods
of printing or painting are
affected by sun's ultraviolet
rays. Particularly, the magenta
dye has a bleaching effect over a
period of time. The whitening
agents used in the manufacture of
paper, have a yellowing effect
due to ultraviolet rays. These
effects are not only limited to
inkjet printouts. After keeping
both inkjet printouts and
conventional photos outdoors for
eight months we have found that
both had the same faded look.
Therefore, an inkjet printout if
preserved in albums or laminated
and put on walls indoors, will
have a long life.
5] The papers are not
as thick as photographic paper.
Answer :
Photographic papers are specially
manufactured, so that they
withstand all the chemical and
heating actions they go through
while developing the photograph.
This is why they are tough and
thick. On the other hand the
photo glossy inkjet paper does
not have to pass through any
chemicals or heating. Still they
are thicker than a normal paper
and are stiff so that they do not
wrinkle off easily. If the inkjet
prints are properly maintained in
an album or laminated, then they
are as good as a photographic
paper.
Conclusion :
Prior to the era of
color photo labs, every
photographer used to develop,
print and compose photos in his
own darkroom to his customer's
satisfaction. Those were the days
when these studios were called
photo art studio. Introduction of
mechanised colour processing labs
took away the art of composition
in photography. It took away the
liberty of the photographer of
developing his own photos to his
heart's content. He had to depend
on these colour labs for the
delivery of photos to his
customers. The investment of a
mechanised colour lab is minimum
Rs.50 lakhs and therefore not
affordable to an individual
photographer.
Every human being
needs a photograph many times in
his life. Thousands and thousands
of photographers from smaller
towns or villages have to come to
their nearest colour lab for
processing of their photos. The
turnaround of time and money is
huge in this age old business.
There are digital front ends
(DFE) available for these
mechanised colour photo
processing machines, which cost
still higher.
The photo quality
inkjet printing is a recent
development. The technology is
advancing day by day.
Hewlett-Packard has introduced a
new range of deskjet printers
which has a resolution of 2400
dpi and the price of these
printers starts from around
Rs.11,000=00 onwards. With such a
printer and a software like
FOTOLAB which gives the user the
power to print a photo in a
preset or any size instantly and
in multiple copies on the same
sheet, any photographer's dream
of starting his own photo lab can
come true. Hundreds of
intricately designed beautiful
borders, mounts, backgrounds and
templates which the FOTOLAB
contains in a single CD, is a
bonus for him.
As the usage of
photo quality inkjet printers
will increase, the cost of paper
and inkjet cartridges will come
down and thus in the near future,
the digital photo will even
compete the 5"x7"
conventional photo in quality and
cost and supersede in terms of
delivery times.
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