| The exception to prints were slides, which my grandfather used to torture us with his long vacation presentations on his Kodak Carousel projector: “And this is another photo of Old Faithful…” Even at the beginning of the digital era, people still printed their photographs by going down to Walgreens and using the Kodak Kiosk. And later we had color inkjet printers in our homes so that we could print the images ourselves. But then came along the iPhone and the iPad. We could now view any image from anywhere in the world, at any time and at any place, from bedroom to bathroom! It opened up the world to every photographer…and put one more nail in the coffin of the print. Who needs to print? And while viewing an image on a digital screen has many, many advantages, it’s not as personal as viewing a “real” print. Digital viewing generally means small screens. And because there are billions of images available, we can scroll through hundreds per sitting and spend only seconds on each one: scroll, scroll, scroll, like, like, like, faster, faster, faster. | 
I belong to a large photo group. It’s hard to believe that, of all the members, I am pretty much the last of the Mohicans. I am still printing. Meetings used to be 50% projected and 50% print showing. Now it has become 100% projected. Somewhat sad. The projected images cannot even compete with he richness and tonality of the printed images.
Maybe we need to campaign to bring back the print to camera clubs!
Printing your image in a book or making a print to be framed and put on the wall is the BEST WAY to show your images. Great satisfaction in holding a print. It seems MORE REAL ….
Free Print ? Where do I sign up.
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You are spot on. I crossed over to the digital side in 1998, after 30 years of film and darkrooms, {Only as Hobbyist and Parental Shooting], I thought I would never cross back. But two years ago, I started printing 5×7’s and 8.5×11’s of my “work product” to get a better feel than the lightroom screen. I now have many albums of prints that people comb through and I ask them to look at put stickies on the ones that “move” them. I watch them going through my books and see those hesitations, mouth’s opening, looks of amazement, and double takes. Now I print large format, museum quality Giclee and I love it.. and so do others. As an aside, I do catch people smelling the prints as well. You don’t tend to smell your iPhone. Great article! Thank you.
Smell your iPhone, that made me laugh!
My wife calls the walls of our home “Jerry’s Gallery.” Important prints are reminders every day of our trips and special memories. There is nothing like a print to transport one to the past and project you into the spirit of future adventures.
there’s nothing like a good print! if something happens to you, who will go through the hundreds (maybe thousands) of photos in your hard drive or phone? some precious images maybe lost forever.
I’ve taken pictures all the way back to the Kodak pocket instamatic with the roll dial to advance the film roll inside….. HUNDREDS of pictures over my childhood lifetime.
today, I take THOUSANDS of pictures with my Android phones, but when I paint, or draw something I usually paper print the photo so I can see it up close and mark on important reference areas to attempt making an accurate representation.
I am totally digital now but I started to photograph using black and white film and my own developing and printing in 1971 and ended in 1999. I now print my digital images on an Epson P800 using their inks with Canson and Hahnemuhle papers. The cost of an 8.5X11 print is roughly $3.00. However, it is worth every penny to hold the print in my hand.
After purchasing a real photo printer, I have found that holding and quality print lets/makes me take better photos. I now photograph a scene, a building, a car, or the sky, rather than just shooting stuff. I am seeing things in a different “light.”
I too prefer prints.
When I am asked to judge, I try to get the print competitions and not the digital projections.
I love prints and still display them but for the past 12 years, I have created books. Trips I’ve taken, places as far as Tibet and today I’ve done one book per child which includes all the drawings I kept and scanned, childhood friends besides family. Hopefully their own kids will appreciate what “dad” or “mom” was like growing up. Of course it’s time consuming but as a parent, that’s what you do.
As the Print Director of the Delaware Photographic Society, we hold monthly print competitions, frequently exhibit our prints in the region and offer free printing for members. We own 16×20 aluminum gallery frames and various mats for our exhibitions. When I judge photography at other organizations, I always take some relevant prints just to remind others of how wonderful it is to see a 16×20 print compared to a 3×5 screen.
Thank you for doing that Karl, there’s nothing like the contrast between the screen and the print!
I print my images for display and agree wholeheartedly with you about viewers who are not used to a physical media slowing down and wanting to hold them! I grew up with prints so it’s not a novelty to me but provides such a contrast when ‘digital only’ viewers see them.
In addition, I make 4×6 prints of family events and things of interest that I pile into a number of dishes around our house. I love it when people, kids and grandkids take the time to look thru the decks.
Ken, sprinkling small photos around the house for grandkids is a fantastic idea! I’m going to steal that from you, if you don’t mind.
Absolutely!!!! You’ll be amazed how much interest and conversation they generate.
My family ran a photofinishing business from the 50’s until 2010. In the early 2000’s the digital era killed the photographic print for the most part, and most of the industry. We all did different things, but all of that experience in printing taught me so much about photography, i.e. composition, color theory, exposure, etc, even from printing client work! Of course I have a huge archive of family photos and in fact am going through albums with my 95 year young mother this week. Printing your own work does improve your own skills, a print is the purest form of feedback loop.
The purist form of “self feedback“ loop!
I still print, mat, and frame my own images n The walls of my home and office are lined with my b&W prints. Nothing like it~
Then I’m guessing your old like me!
I used to print everything but in the past few years I have rarely printed anything. Recently, however after a presentation on ways to display our photos I realized I was missing something. It would be merely impossible to go back five years and print everything so I have decided to select my favorites and create photo books. Books to document family and travels. Some have already been completed and I am pleased.
Awesome Al! I need to do the same.
Cole, I really liked your e-mail on “Prints” and the
comment section was fun as well. Hope to see you on the Artist’s Studio Tour.
Hope Alvin and his friend are doing well. Thanks for all you do for photography and for them. Bless you.
Your involvement is a Godsend.
Hi Carol! I do hope to see you at the studio tour.
Thank you for your letter. So very true.
Bgarely@gmail.com.
I print some images to give to others, hang in my home office and enjoy the process of printing them on my inkjet printer. When I have that “special” image I will print it, put it on my office wall for a few weeks to see if I like it enough to have it professionally printed. When I have it professionally done I usually print to 20×30. I enjoy looking at larger images.
20 x 30 is big! Do you frame it?
Aloha Cole
Your article and many of the comments reminded me of me. I used to find excitement in buying a roll of black and white film, taking 36 pictures, then taking the roll to be developed, and anxiously waiting for the day to pick up the prints and see what “masterpieces” I had created. That was part of the fun and the challenge! Then, sharing the prints with the wife and a few friends completed the happy journey.
Sadly, no more.
I was looking at an SD card the other day with pictures I had taken on a Europe trip in 2012. Been 10 years since I looked at them. Hey, some of them are pretty good! But no one will get to see them but me.
So, I’m doing what Al Heacox is doing. Printing my favorites in little books. Now the grands can see what a genius I was! Hah!
Nothing nicer than seeing your image printed, 8×10 or larger. Not only do you see the quality your camera can produce, but the Fine art print takes on a world of its own. No matter what camera your using, 35mm, DSLR, medium format, 4×5, and now iPhone, a printed image from any of them is a beautiful thing. I have a BW winter scene printed to 15×11 from my phone camera and it looks amazing. If I hadn’t printed it I would have never known that a phone image could look almost as nice as my DSLR or film camera images.
Matted and framed you have a beautiful site to behold.
Great point!
And isn’t it wonderful to fill your home with gorgeous photographic wall prints instead of meaningless wall prints from the department store. i have gallery tracking in every room in my 2 story home,( including the bathrooms!)and have my own photographic art as well as lots of other colleagues and photography friends on display. The gallery tracking means the prints can easily be moved around especially when you are trying to add in another one!
Very cool Lesley! I’m proud to say that I have my work hanging in many bathrooms!
My father was a proflic photographer as well as I. He photographed with many different camera formats and printed his own images. Lucky for me I inherited his many hundred of prints and thousands of negatives (unfortunately in many different size formats). Myself I have a lot of 35 mm prints/slides and went digital in 2003. I have just now started to sort and organize his prints/negatives (plus 2 glass negatives) some from the early 1920’s. I’ve do have a desktop scanner and a Nikon scanner so can scan the slider into my computer but unfortunately I don’t have a printer (sorry) though after I scan the prints and negatives, I will learn how to use one to print his negatives. I will have to hurry up at 84 years of age to begin sorting, scanning and printing. I must tell you that I am having such nostalgia and wonderful memories holding my father’s prints of our French family, most of them immigrants. Seeing the family images almost brings them alive…well almost…they’re in Heaven now. Thank you for your article Cole…it meant so much to me.
What a wonderful story, thank you for sharing it with us!
What will you do with the prints?
I inherited boxes of prints and slides when my parents passed away. A major project for me when the weather turns colder is to start sorting through them and reliving treasured moments (of course there are many with people I have no clue who they are which is sad). Unfortunately none of my nieces or nephews are interested at all in these “old” photos.