Hardware article and Tip

Digital photography has exploded
exceeding all forecasted figures and many of us have one or more of these great devices
but one of the basic values of photography has been lost in the transfer from film to digital cameras.

Research shows that the majority of digital photo's are not printed or published in any way
instead billions of photos are sitting on computers and memory cards all over the world
hidden away in cyberspace.

This is a sad prospect as passing photographs through friends
family and generations has been a tradition for many years
reminding us of our ancestors and memories of times gone by. Photographs gain importance with age and there is a pleasure in flicking through old photos. It should be remembered that it may not always be possible to view photos held on today's digital media
as progress may backdate the media type and the compatibility to read them. We should therefore not overlook the importance of making actual prints of our precious digital snaps.

The major reason for our reluctance to print digital photos is the perceived complications in printing a quality digital print
but with digital photo kiosks
affordable photo printers and easy to use software
it is really not that hard. It is entirely possible for the novice computer user to produce great quality prints from their digital camera using the home photo printer.

Generally speaking
getting a picture from your digital camera to your printer normally involves these simple steps:
1. Copy images from camera to a folder on your computer.
2. Load up your printing software and choose the images you would like to print.
3. Select the size and type of paper you are using (always use photo paper).
4. Print your photos.

A great new function on many of the latest cameras and printers cuts the process right down. The PictBridge print system is probably the easiest way of getting your images from your camera on to photo paper. This system does rely on having both a PictBridge compliant printer and a PictBridge compliant camera
but most new photo printers and cameras on the market will have PictBridge as standard - but it's worth checking out if you are about to buy a printer or camera.

The PictBridge system allows you to print directly from your camera to the printer without the use of a computer. You can select photos
print size and quantities
all from the screen of the camera and process the print with a button!

The great thing about printing your own pictures is that you have total control
choice and discretion. You can print as many copies as you like
choose various sizes and finishes and using photo editing software
you can tweak your pictures as a dark room technician would
or even get creative! In fact half the fun of digital photography is what you can do with the printing of the photo.