{"id":373,"date":"2009-09-28T16:31:15","date_gmt":"2009-09-28T23:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.knuetter.com\/christian\/?p=373"},"modified":"2009-09-28T16:31:15","modified_gmt":"2009-09-28T23:31:15","slug":"epson-3800-photo-printer-the-process-of-image-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knuetter.com\/christian\/2009\/09\/28\/epson-3800-photo-printer-the-process-of-image-making\/","title":{"rendered":"Epson 3800 photo printer & the process of image making"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently made the purchase of a new Epson 3800<\/a> photo printer – a purchase that I’ve considered for several years now.<\/p>\n

I was really on the fence about buying a photo printer.\u00a0 I have access to a really good lab locally, who charge reasonable rates for prints.\u00a0 I knew that it would take many, many prints in order to recoup the cost of the printer.<\/p>\n

But there were two really compelling reasons why I considered, and ultimately made the purchase.<\/p>\n

First, while I had access<\/em> to a lab, I never used it.\u00a0 I always had on my to-do list “print photos” and it was never getting crossed off.\u00a0 I wanted to hang more recent prints in my apartment but just never got around to sending the images to the lab.<\/p>\n

Second, and the reason for my delay in using the photo lab, I was uncertain about the printing process.\u00a0 That’s to say; without having control over what gets printed out – and being able to see variations in the final prints from changed settings, I was hesitant to make any prints.\u00a0 I knew that there were many things that I needed to consider in my prints – like color, tonality, paper, contrast & sharpness – things that either differed from or didn’t exist in online images.\u00a0 I felt that there was no real way to get a grasp on these elements without doing the work myself.<\/p>\n

So after many years of consideration and some recent diligence in research, I ended up with the 3800.\u00a0 I purchased it sensing that it was about to be replaced with a newer model (it has – the 3880).\u00a0 But because this\u00a0 newer model was about to be announced, I was able to save over $400 from multiple offered rebates making this printer much more affordable then its replacement.\u00a0 I also liked the idea of owning a printer that had been around for a while with a wealth of information available online.<\/p>\n

I set up the printer when it arrived using some of these valuable online resources, including most importantly Eric Chan’s website<\/a>, which offers many detailed setup guides and links.<\/p>\n

And the result?<\/p>\n

Wow.<\/p>\n

I am really digging this printer.\u00a0 The prints it creates are just amazing.<\/p>\n

But the best part – that comes completely unexpectedly, is what printing is telling me about my photography.\u00a0 I am learning so much more about my images, just by going through the printing process.\u00a0 I have a much greater appreciation for the final production work required to create a great printed image.<\/p>\n

It seems obvious in retrospect, but printing (or final display) is a vital part of the image making process.\u00a0 And while I’ve been spending plenty of time in this step in the past, it’s been for online presentation – something that didn’t require as much attention as does printing – or so I’ve felt.\u00a0 Of course now that I look back through my online presentation I see flaws left and right.\u00a0 The act of fine-tuning my images for printing has made me re-evaluate the process I use to set up my images for online presentation as well.<\/p>\n

And sadly, I see where my image taking<\/em> has suffered over the past several years, because I haven’t had this view of my own work: Most importantly, in image stabilization.\u00a0 I see in many of my prints, only when trying to print out in large form, flaws in the details – mostly because of a lack of clarity due to movement.\u00a0 This has not been evident in web-sized images, but when you try to blow that up into a nice landscape print, it just doesn’t fly.<\/p>\n

But I am thankful to have this insight now so that I can re-evaluate my processes moving forward and I look forward to the resulting prints that I’ll be able to make.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently made the purchase of a new Epson 3800 photo printer – a purchase that I’ve considered for several years now. I was really on the fence about buying a photo printer.\u00a0 I have access to a really good lab locally, who charge reasonable rates for prints.\u00a0 I knew that it would take many, … <\/p>\n

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