Three tips for better digital photos and prints

Originally published in GP magazine .

Written for GP magazine around 2002. This is the version I submitted - the published article may have been edited.

Digital cameras often have the facility to change how many pictures can be taken on one memory card; in one setting you can take 20, in another 100. It is important to realise how this is done as it can affect the quality of your results. To take more pictures the camera will compress the picture to save memory, usually using a method that loses data, meaning that the finished picture can look very grainy and lack fine detail. If you are going to blow up the pictures and print them out this can lead to poor results and you are best choosing the lowest compression possible; however, if you are creating a website, small fast-loading pictures are exactly what you want.

Colour inkjet printers have over the last few years improved dramatically and even a relatively young printer may be worth replacing if you want the best results. They have also come down in price; however, if that is too extravagant it is worth checking your printer manufacturer’s website to make sure you are using the latest driver. This can often have a significant effect. I noticed there was a new driver for my Hewlett-Packard printer and was impressed by the improvement in quality.

For quality pictures it is worth buying the best paper you can afford. Bright white quality paper is noticeably better than photocopier paper. For best results using specialist paper can achieve photo-quality prints. Also don’t rely on the free software that came with your printer or camera, as there are some excellent programs available not only for editing pictures but for getting the most out of your printer, including printing multiple pictures to one piece of paper in an efficient pattern to minimise paper wastage - very useful for the more expensive papers.