Your Digital Pictures May Not Last as Long as You Think

[johnnymk]

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,105461,00.asp

Depending on the printer and the paper, they may only last a year or two.

[ribitch]

http://www.pcworld.com/news/graphics/105461-2011p018-2b.gif
looks liek hp is the way to go, and avoid staples paper at all costs.

I always thought kodak paper would hold up well, but apparently I was worng. I have HP photo premium glossy paper right now, and when combined with a photosmart printer, it seems to get very high life expectancy.

I am curious how those inkjet refill kits would last in these tests. Would replacement ink that isnt from the inkjet manufacturer itself have a better life, or will it just suck completely? My guess it sucks ass.

[seqiro]

Originally posted by ribitch
(image snipped)

looks liek hp is the way to go, and avoid staples paper at all costs.

I always thought kodak paper would hold up well, but apparently I was worng. I have HP photo premium glossy paper right now, and when combined with a photosmart printer, it seems to get very high life expectancy.

I am curious how those inkjet refill kits would last in these tests. Would replacement ink that isnt from the inkjet manufacturer itself have a better life, or will it just suck completely? My guess it sucks ass.

Actually, it looks like the Stylus Photo 2200 is the way to go if longevity is really what you are looking for. However after my experience with the quality of the Stylus Photo 1270 and their customer service, they would REALLY have to earn my trust back.

I pretty much always use the manufacturer's paper for my glossy prints because I have found that I get the best color results that way no matter which printer I'm using. When I had the Epson, I never had to worry about which paper to use because the rack at CompUSA is loaded with Epson Paper in just about every style you could imagine. Now with my Canon S9000, there aren't as many papers available other than high gloss, but I have found that Epson matte papers work very well with the Canon.


Oh and I would never use replacement ink that isn't from the manufacturer. That's just personal preference as I know a lot of people out there do it, but the folks who developed the printer spent a decent amount of R&D to make the inks work correctly with the printer and produce the correct colors when combined. If I were just printing text and stuff that would be one thing, but for my photos I have to use the genuine product. Plus it makes your life a lot easier while your printer is under warranty. The customer service reps will pretty much always blame aftermarket inks on your problems. That's what Epson tried to do to me and I never use aftermarket inks. :angry:

[seqiro]

Originally posted by DarkFury
won't they last forever if I burn them to CD? :D

Actually I was thinking that too. :)

Though, even a CD-R has a theoretical shelf life. But you could just keep transferring the image from medium to medium as the years go by. :P

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by seqiro
Though, even a CD-R has a theoretical shelf life. But you could just keep transferring the image from medium to medium as the years go by. :P

What is the theoretical shelf life of a CD, anyway?

[caribiner23]

What is the theoretical shelf life of a CD, anyway? According to this page on Lycos (http://howto.lycos.com/lycos/step/1,,5+24+26114+25321+22506,00.html), 5-10 years.

To be really AR about it, I backup my photos (and other critical data) to CDR and keep copies in my safe deposit box at the bank.

As for printed digital photos, I go to the photo labs and get "real" prints made. They will last as long as the printed photos sourced from film.

[spigidygak]

Actually for the best in archive printing the epson 2000p last longer than the 2200. But has some quirks on the quality compared to the 2200. Also it is always beset to use the printer's mfg paper. Its not hype, the paper is actually designed for the printer. And refils usually mean waaaay shorter life. Especially if you use refils on an epson using the ultrachrome or any of the pigment based inks since the refil companies don't use that ink in the refil.

About cdrs, it really depends on not only the quality of the disc but how much it is used and how it is stored.

[DREDD]

wonder how a high quality laser printer would fit in here?

[spigidygak]

Originally posted by DREDD
wonder how a high quality laser printer would fit in here?

Laser?!?!? I hope you don't think people print photos on laser. . . /me shudders. There are other alternatives though for good phot printing, one of them being dye-sublimination and wax both I believe have a lot longer shelf life than you average ink jet printer. But laser. . . :shake: I haven't heard of a laser printer for printing photos that does the job well.

[ribitch]

Originally posted by spigidygak


Laser?!?!? I hope you don't think people print photos on laser. . . /me shudders. There are other alternatives though for good phot printing, one of them being dye-sublimination and wax both I believe have a lot longer shelf life than you average ink jet printer. But laser. . . :shake: I haven't heard of a laser printer for printing photos that does the job well.

hehehe, i printed several thousand brochures in color laser. The printer we used was a laserjet 4500dn, and it was a POS. The toners lasted for about 500 pages each due to heat warping them. I would advise anywone looking for color laser to look towards ink based solutions

[Kevster]

My company just got a new Xerox Phaser 6200. I tried printing out a few 4 Megapixel pictures with the Glossy Paper samples that came with it and they came out looking fantatastic.

As said previously, it all depends on the paper. That will really determine what lifespan your printed photos will have.

[VileOFFender]

Originally posted by DarkFury
won't they last forever if I burn them to CD? :D

until the cd goes the way of the floppy...hehhe

[VileOFFender]

Originally posted by spigidygak


Laser?!?!? I hope you don't think people print photos on laser. . . /me shudders. There are other alternatives though for good phot printing, one of them being dye-sublimination and wax both I believe have a lot longer shelf life than you average ink jet printer. But laser. . . :shake: I haven't heard of a laser printer for printing photos that does the job well.

I agree..if you really want to print pictures for like scrap books and stuff that you would like to last for a while dye-sub is the way to go...and the ink is still cheaper then the ink jets