Because Why Not Print More While Spending Less?
A typical development & low-res scan package from a photo lab ranges anywhere from about $10 to $25 per roll depending on where you go. I'd typically spend about $13 at my lab. Add that to the cost of a roll of film, like my personal favorite Portra 800, and it's safe to say it cost me roughly $25 every time I wanted to shoot a roll of film to share with the world. Now mind you, the scans included in this cost only provided enough resolution to display on the web. For a truly high resolution scan needed for printing large formats, I'd be looking at anywhere between $5 to $25 PER NEGATIVE depending on just how much enlarging I'd need.
All that covers is just getting my photos ready to make prints, never mind the printing itself. At a fine art photo lab I'd be looking at anywhere from $50 to $100 per final print, never mind the costs of testing color profiles and paper stocks. When it's all said and done I'd easily be looking at a few thousand in expenses to print enough work for my upcoming solo exhibit. Now don't get me wrong, quality prints from a fine art lab are certainly worth it, but until people start shelling out thousands of dollars for my prints (give it time), these costs just weren't gonna cut it. I am a starving artist after all, I barely clear a few thousand in annual income...
So as I've moved into the printing era of my photographic endeavors, and now working on my third (and possibly also forth) gallery exhibit of the year, it became clear that it was time I took printing into my own hands. And with the successful test run of my digital printing method and print sale, I've decided to do just that. Thanks to an impeccably-timed rebate, I've recently invested in a large format digital printer from Canon (full review coming soon).
