The Importance of printing pictures.
For starters, let's talk about digital files. We all love them and we live in a digital world. We no longer have to buy music albums as we can subscribe to Spotify and have thousands of albums. Digital pictures work the same. they are small and compact and we can take them with us wherever we go. What happens when that file fails though. Whether it be a hard drive failure or computer failure. Maybe you store your files on say Facebook, google drive, etc. What if these companies go out of business. We are at a point in time where some seemingly unstoppable companies are filing for bankruptcy. The fact is that no digital storage method is completely reliable. As a photographer, I use these methods as well. I’ve had brand new memory cards fail. There is one last disadvantage for digital, Social media pictures did you know you don't own the picture once its on social media? A lot of these sites get ownership over these images allowing them to sell and profit from them. What if I told you that there is a way to get these files printed and they would last a lot longer then digital?
Lets talk printed photos. What are the benefits of printed photos? For starters, there is generally a lot more detail in them. When you upload a file on Facebook it compresses the image lowering quality. This happens with almost every digital file. There are two types of printing. Here at D² Photography, we use what's called archival printing. This type of printing will not fade, discolor, or change in look anyway for a very long time. This makes a print that you can pass down from generation to generation. However to get the best results with archival printing you need to invest in either an archival frame or an archival box/album. While this can add to cost it also means this picture will be around for several lifetimes.
The downside of printed photos is they can take up space. There are ways around this though. You can get archival boxes to store them in that will protect them and keep them safe. these are customization and look like books, so they will sit on a bookshelf. They can also have a classy look to them and let's face it, holding a physical product is always better than just having the digital version. You can feel the value in your hands.
Let's start a movement. #printyourphotos
Next Blogpost I’ll be going over a piece of equipment that I use and educating on what I use it for.