First you should decide how you plan on using your photo printer and what kind of prints you intend to make. If you like to just make regular snapshots at 4 X 6 size and rarely make any enlargements, you may want to consider one of the small specialized snapshot printers that are on the market these days. They could be a very good choice if you like to keep things as simple as possible too and maybe feel intimidated by the more advanced printers. With these simple printers you just hook up your camera and print. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Just don’t expect this kind of printer to make anything other than snapshots. The output quality is also usually very good as well.

!inlineRSS:news_photoprinter If you buy a full size inkjet printer look for one that has the PictBridge feature that lets you hook up your digital camera directly to the printer or can accept your camera memory card, bypassing the computer altogether, and print out your photos direct from the camera itself. It’s a very convenient option that lots of people find useful at times.

And if you like to print directly from the camera itself, having a LCD screen to preview your shots before printing can be a very useful option too. The LCD screen can also help you navigate the printing options that your printer has more easily as well.

But perhaps the best advice to prospective photo printer buyers is to do your research on the total photo costs associated with each brand of printer before you buy it. The initial cost of most inkjet digital photo printers is not all that much these days since the printer companies prefer to make their money on the back end with paper and ink cartridge replacements instead. So check on how long an ink cartridge is expected to last for the printer you are interested in, and also how much it costs when you buy a replacement. Then factor these costs into your overall photo printer budget and make your choice from there. By the way, some printers are known for gulping down ink as they print while others conserve ink much better.

If you follow the suggestions given in this article on selecting and choosing a digital photo printer to buy, you should be able to narrow down your choices quickly and make the best and most cost effective purchase possible.

About the Author

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including digital photography. You can find the best photo printer and photo printer reviews by visiting our Digital Photography website.

There are lots and lots of choices available in the market today. The top three companies are HP, Canon and Epson. So, before you go and spend your money, here are some tips on what you must keep in mind while deciding on a digital photo printer.

Firstly, digital photo printers are available in two basic types. There are 4-color printers and 6-color printers. Nowadays, there are even 8-color printers available. So, the higher the number of colors the better will be the photo quality once you have hit the print file button. Using good quality photo paper and one of the 8 color printers will give you results that rival your photo lab.

!inlineRSS:news_printer Secondly, the printing method used by the printer is also very important. There are 2 main printing methods: inkjet and thermal. Inkjet is commonly used for taking photo prints but the quality of the printout is not excellent. You need to have at least a 6-color printer to get decent print quality. Also, the ink cartridges are quite expensive and the biggest disadvantage is that inkjet printing does not provide a waterproof coating to the images. Hence, the color fades after some time.

Thermal printing, on the other hand, is much better since it not only applies a waterproof coating but is also better quality-wise. It is also more cost effective as the paper and ink cartridges used are cheaper.

Most of these printers can be purchased under $500. However, there are few key characteristics that are different in all these printers which determine their price. These are :

· The printing width differs amongst printers. Normally the width is either 8.5″ or 13″. The highest quality printers will allow you to go larger but at a much higher per print cost.

· If you want to print really great looking black-and-white images, then the printer needs to have grey inks as well. So, an 8-color printer would be best suited for this purpose.

· Whether your printer has separate ink tanks for each color or does it have multiple inks in each cartridge. If you have multiple inks, then you have to replace the entire cartridge even if one color finishes. Hence, it is more expensive to replace such cartridges and you waste a lot of ink as well.

· The ability of the printer to print directly from your camera or a memory card through a link.

· The printing speed per minute. This can go up to 10 minutes for a colored snap, so you must properly check this out depending upon our usage.

Multi use printers are great for a busy office or household but if you want to make fine prints out of your digital images you should invest in a dedicated digital camera printer or digital photo printer. Look for models that will take the most popular memory cards straight into the printer without having to load the images into your computer.

About the Author

Kevin Rockwell worked as a network TV cameraman for 20 years shooting news and sports. Now a devoted fan of digital photography and video he works to gather information, tips and news for digital camera users. Oh and he loves to shoot pictures of cool and interesting things all the time. http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/gdcj.html